Roof leaks have a wide range of potential causes. The most common problems include weather damaged or missing shingles or tiles, cracks in flashing material, insufficient sealing around a skylight or dormer window, water backup resulting from a clogged gutter and failure of a seal in one of the “valleys” formed when two planes of your roof come together. Other possible causes include cracking at the base of a roof vent and cracks in your chimney. Some roofs can also develop leaks if you walk on it repeatedly.
Each potential source of a roof leak in you Coquitlam home has its own typical underlying causes. For example, damaged or missing roof shingles are usually caused by age-related deterioration, high winds and/or heavy downpours. A leak associated with cracked flashing may stem from prolonged weather exposure or corrosion of the tar used to seal flashing edges. Potential causes of a failed roof valley seal include improper seal installation, heavy rain and cracking produced by extensive foot traffic.
Signs That Your Roof Is Leaking In Coquitlam
There are several signs that point toward the presence of a roof leak, most of which you can observe from the exterior of your home. They include curling or buckling shingles, rotting shingles, missing shingles, visible damage in the flashing around a roof vent, the appearance of mold or algae spots on your roof. You may also have a roof leak if you notice water stains on the rafters of your attic or experience a significant drop-off in your normal level of attic ventilation. Inside the main interior of your home, the most common sign of a leaking roof is the formation of water spots or mold on a ceiling.
Troubleshooting Roof Leaks In Coquitlam
Unfortunately, it can be notoriously difficult to pinpoint the source of your Coquitlam roof leak. This is true, in part, because signs of leaking you notice inside your home typically don’t line up with actual point of damage in your roofing materials. We rely on a systematic process to identify all possible points of water entry.
First, we’ll make sure that you actually have a roof leak and not some other issue such as a plumbing leak or a malfunction in your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system. After confirming the presence of a leak, steps in our process may include using a series of measurements to match the apparent interior point of the leak to the true exterior source of the problem, closely examining the exterior slope of your roof, checking the condition of the shingles (or tiles, etc.), checking the conditions of the roof valleys, checking the condition of the roof vents and checking the condition of the roof drains, rain gutters and downspouts.
