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leibold
MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
Netgear CG3000DCR
ZyXEL P-663HN-51

leibold to robbin

MVM

to robbin

Re: Leaky Roof

Looks like I now have an entire forum dedicated to my leaky roof

Sadly the leak (while minor) is for real and needs to be taken care off this summer. Still undecided about trying to get a spot fix or replacing the whole roof (roofers estimate was that it has "at least 5 years" useful life left).

On the April's Fools front, it appears that there are quite a few forums under a new roof

Security => Chinese Hackers
All Things UNIX => All Things Eunuchs
Electronics => Forks in Toasters
Wireless => Look Ma No Hands

SmokChsr
Who let the magic smoke out?
Premium Member
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL

SmokChsr

Premium Member

said by leibold:

Sadly the leak (while minor) is for real and needs to be taken care off this summer. Still undecided about trying to get a spot fix or replacing the whole roof (roofers estimate was that it has "at least 5 years" useful life left).

What kind of roof is it?

leibold
MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
Netgear CG3000DCR
ZyXEL P-663HN-51

leibold

MVM

Composite shingles (which seems to be the most common type) about 20 to 25 years old. By the look of it a basic/inexpensive type but professionally installed by a company that has a reputation for quality work (and unlike many others is still in business today).

Most of the roof area has a good slope for good water runoff but there is also an area where the roof is fairly flat. One roofer on inspecting the roof commented that he didn't think shingles appropriate for that portion of the roof. The leak (exact location has not been determined) appears to be either a valley where the almost flat roof joins a regular sloped roof section or somewhere near that valley within the almost flat roof section.

I should probably mention that many times on even heavy rainfall the roof does not leak. With the correct wind direction however it will drip even when there is very light rainfall.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

There are several different types of coatings that can be applied to make it waterproof.

SmokChsr
Who let the magic smoke out?
Premium Member
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL

1 recommendation

SmokChsr to leibold

Premium Member

to leibold
Yes everyone seems to like shingles.. It sounds like your first step is to use the clues, (wind direction, location of drip) and try to figure out exactly where your leak is. Once you find it, (and that's often quite deceptive) then you can make and informed decision on which way to go.

If I were to guess, I'd think that you likely have wind blown water going back up under the shingles in a low pitch area of the roof.

As for me I have an antique tar & gravel roof, and it's got a few problems, I've been working getting them all fixed up and recovering the roof with an elastometric coating so it should last at least another 10 years.

I also have no idea why anyone would want to put on a shingle roof in Florida. (yes I see your in cali) in the 50's & 60's pretty much all the roofs were T&G now those are rare. But when a hurricane came in, the T&G roof's stood up to it. The shingle roofs of today just sort of fly away (even the storm rated shingles).
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

1 recommendation

MaynardKrebs to leibold

Premium Member

to leibold
said by leibold:

Composite shingles (which seems to be the most common type) about 20 to 25 years old. By the look of it a basic/inexpensive type but professionally installed by a company that has a reputation for quality work (and unlike many others is still in business today).

Most of the roof area has a good slope for good water runoff but there is also an area where the roof is fairly flat. One roofer on inspecting the roof commented that he didn't think shingles appropriate for that portion of the roof. The leak (exact location has not been determined) appears to be either a valley where the almost flat roof joins a regular sloped roof section or somewhere near that valley within the almost flat roof section.

I should probably mention that many times on even heavy rainfall the roof does not leak. With the correct wind direction however it will drip even when there is very light rainfall.

a) Shingles need to be replaced when you see about 5% of them starting to curl - the rest of them will follow in short order (1-2 seasons at most). The cost of 40-50 year shingles is minimally more than the cost of 20-25 year shingles, so always install the longer-life ones.

b) NEVER install shingles where the slope is less than 4:1 Use a proper low-slope roofing material in these areas.

c) In areas with high winds, always install a ice/water shield membrane over the entire roof before shingling, to prevent wind-driven rain from being forced under the shingles. It's also prudent to install an ice/water shield if you have raccoons habitually on your roof - they're known to rip shingles off.

leibold
MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
Netgear CG3000DCR
ZyXEL P-663HN-51

leibold

MVM

said by MaynardKrebs:

a) Shingles need to be replaced when you see about 5% of them starting to curl - the rest of them will follow in short order (1-2 seasons at most).

The shingles were most likely 25 year rated (and therefore nearing end of rated life) but they are holding up really well with no curled shingles anywhere.
said by MaynardKrebs:

b) NEVER install shingles where the slope is less than 4:1 Use a proper low-slope roofing material in these areas.

I didn't measure it (there is no level reference to get a good measure of the height) but it seems to me that there are 5 to 6 feet horizontally for every 1 foot gain in height. I admit that I could easily be deceived by the way the roof looks (optical illusion). For many years I didn't know my roof had any low slope area at all but when I actually climbed up it seemed like that part was completely flat.
said by MaynardKrebs:

c) In areas with high winds, always install a ice/water shield membrane over the entire roof before shingling, to prevent wind-driven rain from being forced under the shingles. It's also prudent to install an ice/water shield if you have raccoons habitually on your roof - they're known to rip shingles off.

We do have a significant raccoon population but they seem to spend more time on the ground and in the storm drains then on the roof. I never heard of shingles being ripped off here.
Any animal damage to the roof would be more likely from squirrels. The water being pushed/forced under the shingles is my suspicion as well. Ice isn't really an issue here but a good water seal will be a priority when the roof is being replaced. Somehow it seems weird to me to put a perfectly watertight membrane on the roof and then pierce it with hundreds of roofing nails. I guess there is no other way to keep the shingles in place ?

Since the low sloped area of the roof faces south I'm tempted to install a solar array once the roof is fixed (there is a tall tree in the neighbors yard that may cast a shadow over it).

Since pictures say more then a thousand words:


Google Maps

Colored for clarity. Red = low slope


I have colored each area of the roof in a different color to make it clear where the ridges and valleys are. When the home was originally build in the 50s all parts of the roof had a good slope. The red area was much smaller, probably with the same angle as the yellow area on the opposite side. However later another room was added behind the garage and without changing the ridge line the red portion of the roof was stretched out to cover it. This caused that portion of the roof to be very much lower sloped. The circled area with the question mark is where the leak appears to be. There are no roof penetrations (vents, chimney, antenna mounts, etc.) near that area.