Roof Repair

Roof repair is just about an everyday occurrence in our business. We get phone calls regularly from homeowners who are just noticing a water spot at the top of a wall, or a drop coming from a sagging ceiling tile. As you might imagine, the calls we get for roof repair increase sharply after a heavy rain. If you have this problem, we can definitely help.

Before we can do any roof repair, we must first locate where the damage is. Many times, we can do that simply by walking the roof and looking closely at some of the more likely “trouble spots”. In some cases we would need to check the attic for signs of water entry, and track the leak backwards that way. Here are a few of the common locations where we find problems:

• The chimney – Your chimney has several potential locations that may require a roof repair. The likelihood of a problem here really depends on how well the original roofing installation was done. Your chimney has four sides, and each side has flashing, which is what protects the line where the side of the chimney meets the roof. In addition, each of those four sides could have a different type of flashing, depending on where the chimney is located. Even the tiniest crack that allows water to get in behind the flashing can turn into a serious roof leak. This is why the chimney is one of the first places we check.
• Plumbing vents – This is another likely possible location for a roof repair, since the vent has to actually come out through a hole in the roof. Whenever a hole is made in the roof, it has to be sealed up properly. In some cases, such as a plumbing vent, the hole could be sealed fine at the time of installation, but then the rubber boot around the vent pipe can become hardened or cracked and become compromised.
• Wind-blown rain leak – This is not actually a problem caused by a faulty roof or a bad installation. Here in Florida we can have strong winds and rain, and the rain can literally be blowing sideways. This happens most often in the summer. Your roofing material is designed to divert water that comes from above, not from the side. When rain is blowing strongly, it can be driven up and under your shingles – at that point, the only thing between the rain and your house is a layer of tar paper. This type of roof repair usually just means replacing any shingles that were compromised. If part of your roof normally faces the wind, we would also fasten down the shingles on the edge with some roofing cement – this minimizes the chances of the same thing happening again.
• Missing/damaged shingles – We can spot this pretty quickly once we are up on the roof. Every shingle that is missing, or damaged enough that it is not doing its job properly, is one less layer of protection between your house and the rain. Every shingle is important, so if one or several are missing it is definitely time for a roof repair.

One of the big decisions that sometimes has to be made is whether to fix the roof, or replace it. If your roof is near the end of its useful life, the money spent on a repair may better be put toward a new roof. We can provide estimates for both repair and replacement, and then we can help you weigh in the other factors to determine which would be the most cost-effective way to go.

We offer professional roof repair in New Port Richey, Port Richey, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, St. Pete, Tampa, Safety Harbor, Trinity, Tarpon Springs, New Tampa and South Tampa.