My standard 3-tab shingled roof is leaking into the 2nd flor in one spot and a roofing company came out and looked at it. I can't see the back half of the roof from the ground and I haven't been up there, but from inside the attic I do see that several sheets of plywood are water damaged, so even though it's only 13 years old, I need a new roof, right? But I'd rather wait until warmer or drier weather, and I'd like to just solve the one leak into the 2nd floor until then.
A roofer who came to look at it told me it shows that those who put on the replacement roof 13 years ago caulked the weepholes in the ridge rail, and that's the reason for the lake that bothers me. Is that what you thought too?
Does that happen? Is it a problem?
Are those oblong holes the weepholes. Of those in the picture, it looks like only one is partly blocked, and the others are open.
Can I get a handyman to clean out the weepholes, to last me until the summer?
If it's the caulk, it's been there for 13 years. How come no drip into the 2nd floor until this year?
Get the guy at the coffee shop - you know - the guy with the ball-cap and the tattoos to recommend a roofer. Best if he can come tomorrow - 'cause he's at the racetrack every other day .. John T.
This is interesting. Do you remember several years ago, we were discussing ridge vents here? You claimed that the cutout for your ridge vent was like a foot wide? And I said that can't be, that they are typically cutout about one inch on each side, two inches total? And that having one that wide made no sense? But you insisted that was the way it was? Well, I guess you were right. LOL
Your roofer was a hack. With a normal 2" wide cutout, the ridge vent cover is wide enough that water can't go uphill under it and get inside. And they are not caulked, like yours is, which is further proof the roofer was a hack. If the opening is indeed very wide, then the roofer who did the replacement probably caulked at the edges because he figured wind drive rain would get under it and run inside. Bad idea. The correct idea would have been to reduce the size of the opening to what it should be.
Is that the only picture? I presume the main area is over your unit, where the problem is? To the right, which I assume is your neighbor, there the roof sure is hosed big time, right up by the ridge vent. It's all buckled. Is this even your problem? Isn't this a condo situation, where the roof is a common area? If not, IDK how this works, because it's all one continuous roof. What was the process 13 years ago when the new roof was put on?
Finally, how old is this place? Back in the 80s for construction like this they were using fire retardant plywood on the east coast. It had a chemical added that activates at high temp and inhibits the fire. Problem was that over time, roofs got hot enough that it activated with no fire and the process releases an acid, that destroys the wood. I'd make sure you don't have that crap. Most of it has already been replaced. Of course you won't see any of this, since you have me blocked from the little safe space that you're living in. Carry on.
Thanks. I know about tarps. I can't tell if you are trying to help or you're just being sarcatic.
Can you or someone who knows something tell me what the picture shows?
And if the oblong holes are the weep-holes, and if opening any that are closed would help keep water from backing up into the attic? Can you tell me if there is anything wrong with having caulking at the bottom edge of the ridge vent?
Less important. The guy who came out says there were no drip edges installed. When the house was built in 1979, would that have been acceptable? When the first replacmeent roof was put in in 2007, would it still have met the standard of the industry? Or did I basically get short changed?
Built in 1979 you better make sure the roof isn't made of fire retardant plywood. IDK about drip edge in 79, nor does it matter. But it certainly should have been put on in 2007. Per my other post, that roofer was a hack. But living in your little safe space, you have me blocked and won't read this. It's going to be pouring and very windy today, hope you don't get too wet over there.
What I see in that picture... weep holes are clear. It's the bad caulking between shingles and flashing. All those gaps will let water in. Where the roof is buckled, I see no caulking at all.
I would get someone up there to recaulk that line asap. Fix the buckled part later if you want to wait. For now, stop the leaks. Recaulk it and check the other side too.
Note: No caulking outside will hold up for 13 years. With an important thing like a roof, get that caulking checked and repaired once a year or two.
Right, if a house roof is done correctly it should last for 20 or more years without doing anything unless damaged by hail or very high winds or something falling on it.
Some of the campers and such seem to need recoating with a sealent, however I have no experence with them, just what I have been told by a few friends that have them.
Don't know about the caulking, but there are MANY kinds of "ridge vents" - some very good, some decent, and some terrible. Is the leak at the ridge?
Drip molding has been a de-facto requirement since the early eighties
- not sure when it went into code - but only a cheapskate would have done a re-roof without in 2007 - at least up here. Ice Guard was pretty much universal on the eaves as well by that time up here.
A properly installed roof has to get pretty bad before it will actially LEAK. The back of my garage looked like corn flakes and it still didn't leak, (that's what the tar paper or "membrane" installed before the shingles is for - - - -
Actually the new caulking being used by quality window, door, and siding installers will last AT LEAST 25 years - Mine has been 30 on the upstairs windows and it's still pretty much the same as when it was installed.
On a roof it won't last QUITE as long because of the heat etc - yet I have a 25 year warranty on the flashing - including the caulk - on my new roof.
Doesnt matter what you do with a "camper" or trailer - particularly if it is towed - the roof WILL leak if it is not religeously maintained. Caulking, recoating, even a few exorcisms might help -- -
- Any wood framed RV of any description has a limited lifespan - they are SO shoddily built it is pretty much criminal.
On the inside, the plywood near the leak is brown from the roof peak half the way down, and I thin kthat's where it drips. I've been waiting for it to rain so I could watch, but it has barely rained.
I guess he was a cheapskate, although he was also cheap. Less than half the price of another one.
I watched them do parts of it and they definitely used overlapping tar paper.
That's why it makes sense that it is somehow backing up into the ridge rail.
He didn't suggest that. Mine was the third probably identical townhouse I know of in this n'hood that he'd done. They worked efficiently and cleanly and I talked to the first owner and he was happy. The owner of the first one has moved but I'm still curious enough to ask the new owner how their roof is. I think they might have solar cells on the roof now (and did a very attractive job, compared to the other nbor with raw metal conduit running down the front of house). (I'm not sure which house got the second roof.) My friend also had him do her roof but she had an entirely different house, and she moved a few years ago, so I don't know how it did.
I don't know how that happened. It wasn't like that 13 years ago, and I don't know what could have messed up the metal.
Yes, my neighbor's house is in the back on the right, but the picture shows the front half of my house and the leak is in the back. I don't know what the ridge vent looks like there.
No, it's not a condo or a coop. . I own the roof, the yard, even 3 feet beyond my fence, which had to leave room for people to walk around the houses, but the easement is still my responsibility. At least one of my n'bors doesn't understand that when it comes to his house.
Then we both needed roofs and we split the cost, with my paying a little extra because he did a couple other little things for me. This time I asked the new owner how the roof is and he said no problem. (Of course, it could have problems he doesn't know about yet. Maybe I'll ask the next roofer to look at his roof too.) All the houses are in pairs like this but I wouldn't be the first one to replace only one half.
Interesting, in map view Google maps shows his house and mine as one house, because the roof is all one color. Where the roofs are two colors, map view shows them as two houses. (Also fwiw, it shows my house in the wrong place because it has the house numbers going the wrong direction. It's only 400 yards from one end to the other so I haven't bothered to send in a correction.)
1979
How can I tell if that's what I have? Won't it have been gassed out by now? Since the house was 4 years old, I have a roof fan that keeps the attic somewhat cooler (plus full-width soffit vents and the roof vent, and I got a less dark colored roof last time to keep the attic cooler in the summer. (The soffitt vents get covered by what I think is milkweed every few years, but I think the milkweed tree** fell down, so maybe that won't be a problem. **It was on land my n'bors and I don't own, wooded land that's ultimately owned now by the rich guy from Omaha, whose name I can never remember.
This is my roof so it's important to me. ;-)
I would love to be able to talk to you, but a) you seriously insulted me by saying I put party ahead of country. Of course I put country first but the events of this very week have shown, and I hope have shown you, what happens if one thinks someone from the other party, no matter how moderate or how much she works across the aisle, can be relied on when it really matters to, herself, put country ahead of party . And at least two men are like that too. If those 4 were Democrats, there would be witnesses and documents, and maybe other differences in procedure, like not herding the press as they've done this week. You insulted me, incorrectly no less, and have never retracted or apologized. b) When we were discussing one thing, you'd bring up one or another of your favorite complaints about me, even though it's unrelated to the thread. I hope you don't do this in person. It makes reasonable discussion nigh impossible. You'd do the same thing to a degree with Trump complaints, but that's different. I enjoyed those. c) I think there was a 3rd significant reason but maybe not.
Thanks, Gary (and everyone). When you guys disagree, i'm not sure what to say, but I'm glad to hear all everything
It's enough that I'm not fully trusting what the first roofer said. So I'll see what the second guy says. The guy coming on Monday charges $60 for each replacement sheet of plywood, but I don't know what the main charge will be.
There are other pictures, but mostly plywood. This one is the ridge rail but it's probably the front of the house when the leak is in the rear. I wish it would rain so I could go up there and watch it in action.
First picture, repeated:
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I think this is just a close-up of the problem area on the right of the first picture.
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BTW, it kept raining when he was doing the roof and he would diligently tarp the roof and come back the next day, 4 days total I think. And he tarped the grass and I found only 2 or 3 pieces of roof in the grass after he left. So he still gets a lot of points. I wonder if he maybe he taught himself how to do a roof and didn't know some things. His mother did the booking. I called a few years later for a different task and she said he didn't do that, and I can't remember the rest.
Yes, maybe the lack of a drip edge was why there was damage to some plywood, even though that same plywood is original.
I made an exception, since it's my roof. I was impatient with Joe because no one had addressed the weep holes.
Rain was predicted, but little occurred and now it's supposed to be clear. I wanted it to be raining enough to go in the attic and see where the leak was.
People always bitch about permit fees and building inspectors but if customers demanded a permit and the inspectors are doing their job, this kind of stupid shit would never happen. I'm guessing the cheapest bid doesn't come with a permit.
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