Skylights are a great addition to a home. A skylight allows natural light to enter a home. But these skylight windows can create confusion from time to time. Water that appears in and around the skylight might be condensation or it might be a skylight leak. The challenge is to discover the source of the water.
Roof leaks can develop in new homes. Metal flashing prevents these leaks by connecting roofing materials to non-roofing materials. They are made from tin, copper, galvanized steel, lead, aluminum and rubber.
During winter, ice dams on roofs can melt and soak the inside of exterior walls and ceilings. While you can't stop them, you can prevent their damage by installing ice dam membranes underneath your shingles. Even though ice dams may form, the membrane won't let the water into your house.
Metal flashings cannot be replaced by a caulk in order to prevent roof leaks. The caulk can pull away from the surface due to expansion and contraction of materials, while metal flashings act as shingles to repel water when installed correctly.
Roofing nails commonly pop out of their asphalt shingle roof holes. Your roof experiences heating and cooling every day, which may cause the nails to slowly wiggle out over time. Or, the roofing nail wasn't driven into the wood beneath the shingle well enough. In either case, these nails can be repaired.
Roof repair of rotten wood should be verified before you allow a roofer to charge you extra when he installs your new roof. Ask him for a cost breakdown and monitor his progress. You can also address the cost in the bidding stage.
Ice dams can form on any roof under cold weather and snowfall. When gutters turn to solid ice and the barrier creeps up onto your roof, thawing will cause a deluge of ice dam water to leak into your home. Protect your roof with an ice dam membrane.
Roof leaks can happen in the center of a roof, but they usually don't. Roof leaks happen where the roof touches up against non-roofing materials such as walls or chimneys. Metal flashings protect water from leaking into these intersections. Caulk is not a replacement for these flashings.
Asphalt shingles are very common in the Midwest. What happens when they fail? Problems can be caused through the location of nails, the sealing compound beneath the shingles, installing shingles in the cold and not using felt paper.
Cedar shake roofs are popular for many reasons. They create such a distinct look that asphalt shingles and metal roof manufactures have entire product lines that try to mimic wood. But wood roofs need maintenance and the help of chemicals to keep them healthy.
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