What is Your Roof Trying to Say?

November 16, 2017

There can be certain signs that your roof needs replacement or a fix. When you pay close attention to some warning signs, you should act upon it immediately before matters get any worse and also more expensive to fix.

Always Check For Water Spots

Water Spots on your ceiling. A slow leak can be harder and trickier to pinpoint than a big leak. What can make a leak especially difficult to locate is the fact that water does not necessarily drip straight down. It can travel along roof panels or lumber in the attic before dripping onto your insulation and leaving the telltale yellow water spot on your ceiling. That means the leak can be far away from where the ceiling shows damage. Unless you have good detective skills when it comes to roof leaks, you will want to enlist a roofing contractor to help track down the cause of the problem.

However, water spots on the ceiling do not automatically mean the roof is leaking. It can also be caused by other factors like windows, condensation, plumbing, or even condensation on the plumbing pipes. But, if the spots only appear, darken, or grow in size after it rains, the roof is likely the culprit.

When there are water spots on exterior walls, this may indicate that the step flashing where the roof meets a wall is loose, rusted, or otherwise damaged.

As with water spots on the ceilings, if the damage appears or gets worse after rain, the problem is most likely the flashing. Replacing step flashing can be tough, because it has to integrate with the roof and adjacent siding, so roofing skills are needed to tackle this job and stop the leak. Also, one other cause is a place where two different siding materials butt together and leave gaps or leaky windows.