How is a leak traced when the stain is in another room?
By following the wet material back up the framing. Water tracks along rafters, sheathing and the tops of walls before it shows, so the entry point is usually uphill of the stain.
A roofer starts in the attic. The attic shows the wet path: darkened sheathing, a wet rafter, a stain on the underside of a deck board or daylight at a nail hole. The wettest point is nearest the source, and the roofer moves uphill until the framing is dry. Moisture meters help where the wet area is hidden behind insulation.
On the roof, the flashing and penetrations are checked first, then the covering around them, then the valleys and edges. A leak after a storm often comes in at a joint the wind has opened, so the wind direction of that storm is part of the diagnosis.
- Start in the attic at the wettest framing member
- Check the flashing and the vent collars first
- Note the wind direction on the day of the leak
What should the homeowner do before the roofer arrives?
Contain the water, protect the room and photograph the damage before anything is moved or cleaned.
Water on plaster, carpet and paper does its damage quickly, so the first hour is about keeping it off the surfaces it soaks through. Photographs taken before anything is moved, with the date visible, show what the leak did and where it began, and they are the start of any claim record.
Do not climb a wet roof to try a repair. A temporary cover is the most a homeowner should attempt, and it should be applied from a secure position, or left to the roofer.
- Place containers and towels before anything else
- Photograph the ceiling, walls and floor before cleaning
- Move valuables out of the path of the water
When is a leak a sign of a larger problem?
When the leak has more than one entry, when the decking is soft over a large area, or when the same spot leaks after each repair.
A single leak with a single cause is a repair. A roof that leaks in several places at once, or whose decking gives under foot, is showing that the covering or the deck has reached the end of its life. A roofer should be able to show the evidence, and the replacement question is answered in writing, separately from the leak repair.
Repeat leaks at the same spot mean the first repair missed the cause. The roofer should look at the framing and the flashing before the covering is touched again.
- Leaks at more than one point after a single event
- Decking that gives under foot across a large area
- The same spot leaking after two repairs
What belongs in the record after a leak repair?
The entry point, the cause, the repair made, the materials removed, the readings taken at the start and the end, and the photographs.
A short written record after a leak repair is worth asking for. It should name the entry point, state the cause, list what was replaced and what was dried, and give the moisture readings at the start and the finish. Without that record, a later leak becomes a dispute about who did what.
The record should also say what was not done. A roofer who finds ageing covering elsewhere should name it, date it and say it was outside the leak repair, so the homeowner knows what to plan for.
- The entry point and cause, in one sentence each
- The readings at the start and at the end of drying
- Any item found but outside the scope, named and dated
