Are there water stains on your ceiling? You have a leaky roof and you should fix it as soon as possible. If you have roofing skills you can go ahead and try to fix the roof but if you have never done it before, hire roof repair contractors to help you out.

Find the leaks

For you to fix the leaks you need to find them, right? The best place to start looking for them is uphill from the stains. Pay attention to the roof penetrations. These include roof vents, dormers, chimneys, and anything else that projects through the roof.

It’s common to come across some leaks that are hard to find. In such a case, use a helper. The helper should go inside the house to notify you when he/she notices a leak. You should start by soaking the area above the area where the leak appears. Let the hose run for a few minutes before moving it up the roof. You should do this until you find the leak.

If you do this and still don’t find the leak, remove shingles and by doing so you will track the leak right down to the source.

Fix the problematic part

How you repair the roof depends on the source of the leak. The areas to pay attention to include:

Damaged plumbing vent boots: What are your vent boots made from? Plastic? Metal? Or two-piece metal units? How you fix them depends on the material used in making them. Inspect the pieces for cracks and broken seams. Are they damaged? Replace them.

Fix roof vents: Are there cracked housings on plastic roof vents? Are there broken seams on metal ones? When you have this problem you might be tempted to try and fix it using caulk but this won’t fix the problem. The best way of doing it is by replacing the damaged vents.

Pay attention to the walls and dormers: Sometimes water gets in from above the roof, especially around the windows, through cracks, between corner boards and siding, and many other places. The roof might be leaking due to old caulk, missing or cracked corner boards and issues between window edges and siding. Fixing this issue is easy. If the problem is due to old caulk, consider replacing it. If there are cracks in the corner boards, replace them.

Fix the step flashing: You use the step flashing along the walls that intersect the roof. Each short section of the flashing channels water over the shingle downhill. When the flashing rusts or a piece gets loose, water will run behind it and get into the house.

If the flashing has rusted, you should replace it. This calls for you to remove shingles and prying the siding loose. You should then remove and replace the step flashing.

Roof repair tips

For you to properly repair the roof you need to consider a number of tips. Some of the tips to consider are:

Don’t rely on caulk: While you might find caulk being used by a lot of people, it might not be the ideal product for your roof repair. Remember, it’s rare that caulk will cure your roof leaking problem. The best way out is to try a mechanical way of fixing the problem. Instead of using the sealant, repair or replace the flashing. The only time you should use caulk is when fixing extremely small holes.

Always fix even the smallest holes: When finding the source of the leak, it’s common to come across small holes. Some people ignore them as they deem them harmless. Don’t do this. Tiny holes can be sneaky as they can cause rot and other forms of damage for years before you see signs of a leak.

If there are exposed, misplaced roofing nails, remove and put them in place. It’s easy to fix small holes but if you have never done it before, hire an expert to help you out.

Pay attention to leaks around the chimney: A lot of issues can develop around your brick chimney. One of the most common is rusting of the flashing around the chimney. When having this problem, the best way to fix it is to get a new flashing. If there are other issues with the chimney, get experts from roof repair companies to help you out.