A couple of weeks ago I got a call to inspect a roof that was leaking right along the edge, where the ceiling met the wall.
We had a walk around and inspected both inside and outside.
We sat down at the table to discuss repair versus replacement and he offered me a glass of water...
Stick with me here— Follow what I’m about to tell you and you will be able to fix your roof leak today without spending $1,000 on a roof repair.
As he was pouring the water from the pitcher I’m watching a good amount of water drip on to the table from the side of the pitcher.
I said, “Hey, watch you’re spilling it.”
He replied, “No, don’t worry about it. It’s just water sticking to the pitcher... it always happens with this darn pitcher.”
It was like a bell went off in my head!!
“This is what’s going on with your roof!!”, I said excitedly.
“What are you talking about?”, he replied.
“Think of the cup as your gutters, the pitcher Is your roof, and the table as your ceiling.”
Most of the water goes into the cup (your gutter), but there is excess water that is sticking to the bottom side of the pitcher (your roof deck) and dripping down on to the table (your ceiling).
“The rain/water is adhering to the wood and coming back up under your roof, just like the water pitcher and leaking into your home the same way it’s dripping on your table.”
Most homes with roofs 7+ years old do not have metal flashing covering the seam where the roof decking meets the fascia board that the gutters are screwed or nailed into.
See images below...
Immediately- Drip Edge came to mind as a potential solution...
This is a metal flashing that covers the seams at the edges of the roof and diverts all water into the gutter and/or away from the roof decking.
And just as promised... you can use what you learned here to fix your roof leak.
Need help looking up at your roof to see if you have drip edge?
Here are a couple of images to make it easier to identify from ground level.
Full disclosure: Getting up on your roof and roof repairs in general are very dangerous and not recommended for anyone other than roofing professionals.
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