Are Ice Dams Causing Leaks? For information on how to prevent ice dams, please see How to Prevent Ice Dams. How to Maintain Roof Flashing. Prevent roof leaks in the future by following these important roof flashing maintenance tips now. Also find tips on inspecting condition of flashing.
If your roof leaks, the chances are pretty good that deteriorating metal roof flashing is the culprit. Flashing protects the intersections between roof planes; the joints where roofing meets dormers, skylights, and chimneys; and a roof’s edges. For a complete discussion of the various types of flashing used on a roof, please see How Roof Flashing Works. Types of Roof Flashing. Given enough time, these formed sheet metal (or sometimes plastic) angles and troughs can rust, deteriorate, or simply work loose from the surfaces they protect, opening up places for water to penetrate.
Because flashing tends to be used where there is heavy water flow, leaking flashing can funnel streams of water into a house. Check the flashing as well as the condition of your roof shingles. Look carefully for loose nails and holes as well as the seals at the edges of the flashing. Roofing cement and caulking can become dry, cracked, and crumble away, exposing joints to the elements. It is a simple matter to reseal the flashing and much less trouble than patching and painting water- stained walls and ceilings. New flashing can look conspicuously shiny, so you may want to paint it and touch up existing flashing to blend with the roof. Even galvanized metal flashing corrodes after extended exposure to rain and sun.
Use a stiff brush and solvent to remove flaking paint, corrosion, and dirt, but keep the solvent away from asphalt shingles because it will dissolve them. Use a zinc- based primer and then spray on two or more light coats of rust- inhibiting metal paint. For flashing around dormers, scrape out the old caulking compound, if any, and brush the flashing with a wire brush. Apply urethane roofing cement between the siding or shingles and the flashing. Be sure to seal any obvious seams. About DIY Roof Repair. Unless your roof’s pitch is relatively low and you have the necessary experience, tools, and confidence to get the job done safely, be wary of doing your own roof repairs—working on a roof can be dangerous.
It may be best to leave this work to a professional. If you decide this is the case, please see our affiliate partner, Home. Advisor, to receive free bids from local asphalt shingle roof repair pros.
Installing A Roof Cricket. Installing A Roof Cricket. By Robert Robillard on Roofing. What’s a roof cricket? Before installing a roof cricket you first should understand what it is and why it is important. A roof cricket is a ridge structure designed to divert water on a roof. Generally found on the high side of a chimney or the transition from one roof area to another, the cricket is normally the same pitch as the rest of the roof, but not always.
Crickets can be covered with metal flashing or with the same material as the rest of the roof. Crickets are also often referred to as “saddles” in this context. Installing A Roof Cricket. When the chimney is at the bottom of a roof slope or has roof sloping into it I always install a cricket.
Below are some pictures of a cricket I recently installed. Prevent Roof Leaks ~ How To Build A Roof Cricket. Chimneys are notorious for leaking, and the culprit is almost always the sheet metal flashing.
It doesn’t take an expert to spot problems—simply look for water- stained ceilings or other telltale signs of leaking in the vicinity of your chimney. Because chimneys are such a potential trouble spot, consider installing a roof cricket as well as inspect them once every year or two for loose or missing flashing and cracks in the masonry. Small cracks can be sealed with caulk designed to repair masonry. This chimney pictured below is on a Main Street Concord house. A leak caused rot roof sheathing rot, ant infestation and plaster damage in a bedroom below. We determined the cause of the leak to be several things; lack of an adequate waterproof underlayment .