If you’ve noticed that you have water puddles in your attic, it’s quite possible that your roof is leaking. In this situation, the most important thing that you could do is to repair the leak right away, mostly because doing so will prevent further damage to the roof, the structure of the house, insulation, flooring, as well as the space underneath the structure.
Contacting a repair firm may be a bit expensive for you at the moment and if so, you may be thinking about repairing the leak by yourself. However, if you’ve never done this before, you may be looking for some tips that’ll help. Here is a list of the six tips you should follow to repair leaks in your roof:
1. Firstly, Gather All The Equipment & Materials
Before you move on with our article, the first task that you must complete is gathering all the instruments and equipment you’ll require for the job. Depending on the deterioration, you’ll most likely require a pry bar, blade for removing shingles, hammer, ladders, flashlight, caulking device, a circular saw, some chalk, a measurer, and a pencil. Besides these items, you’ll also want to protect your body, hence, don’t forget to prepare gloves, protective goggles, a helmet, and some old clothes.
You’ll also be required to head to a hardware store and get some materials including shingles that suit the type you have on your roof, some roofing sheets & nails, some common nails, an external sealant if you’ll be fixing a malfunctioning vent, and some plywood if you’ll be rebuilding the deck. You must remember, that the instruments and materials you’ll require will depend on the issue you’re fixing, hence, before purchasing all the items we’ve mentioned, go through our next tip first.
2. It May Be A Bit Daunting to Locate The Leaks
You should know that it could be a bit daunting to locate the leak – or several of them – however, if you wish to fix it by yourself, you’ll have to go through this particular step. To make things simpler for you, you should begin at the lower end of the roofing, and you should slowly work your way up. For this, you’ll require ladders and some light, and you’ll also have to access your attic or the space underneath the roof.
Firstly, look if the wood is colored black or white – this could happen due to water that has caused mildew and mold to develop. Second, if you cannot find any stained spots, the vents may be the cause of the issue. These can include things such as buffs, turbines, tubes, or any other object that goes beyond the area. Lastly, the leak may be caused by broken wooden decking, which is something that is also referred to as sheathing.
3. If The Vents Are The Problem, They Must Be Replaced
If you determined that the water is coming from the vents, you must climb the roof and inspect their condition. For instance, the housing could be cracked or it could be dislodged from its initial position. No matter what the issue is, you’ll most likely have to extract the malfunctioning vents so that you could place and install a new one. You must keep in mind that if you aren’t 100% certain that you could do it by yourself, it may be best to hire an expert firm such as https://domroofing.com/ to assist you.
To extract the vent, you’ll have to climb your roof. By utilizing the pry bar, firstly yank all the nails from the base of them, and next you should use the same tool for drawing back the shingles wrapping the base. Now, you should know that it’ll be simpler to have somebody hold them for you since you won’t want to remove them entirely, especially if they aren’t cracked. Lastly, extract the nails that are holding the device to the deck.
Once you go through the aforementioned tasks, you’ll have to add a thick layer of adhesive or a sealant that you opted for to the floor. Since you’ll probably opt for someone to assist you, you should have them move the shingles back so that you could set the new vent. Guarantee that the lower portion is a bit higher so that you could prevent more leaks from occurring in the future. Simply nail the device, place a bit of adhesive or cement on the pins, and you’ll be good to go.
4. A Cracked Deck Will Require The Removal of Shingles
The leaks might be coming from a cracked roofing deck and if so, you must remove several shingles in order to get to the part that has been damaged by water. Doing this isn’t difficult and complicated, and you’ll only have to place the pry bar under each of them and simply pull until the nails come off. Besides this, you must also remove the plastic/paper that divides the deck and shingles and you can do this relatively quickly by cutting it out with a knife.
5. You Must Use a Saw For Cropping The Cracked Deck
When you extract the paper and shingles, you must draw the spot that you’ll remove. Again, if you aren’t sure about your skills, you must call an expert since this could be a bit tricky. By utilizing chalk, simply draw a circle around the damaged area. When you’re done, set the depth of the saw to suit your deck and add another inch to it. By tracking the line you drew, trim away the cracked part of the decking. By utilizing a ply bar, yank the damaged part out.
6. Cut a New Patch + Attach it
You shouldn’t throw away the decking your previously cut, instead, you should use it for cutting a new one. You must do this on the ground since this will ensure that you’re safe. When you’re done cutting, you’ll have to attach it to the roof. You should set the new patch in place and use some common nails for setting them. When you’re done, you should place new paper over the area you were working on, and then you can start working on setting new shingles.
Conclusion
It can be quite daunting and complex to repair a leaky roof on your own. However, if you follow the list of tips we’ve mentioned in our article above, you won’t only ensure that you do everything properly, but you’ll also ensure that there isn’t further damage to your house and interior.
By now, you’ve probably learned what you’ll have to do in order to repair leaks caused by roof damage, and if so, you really shouldn’t lose any more time. Instead, start with the second tip we’ve mentioned, which is learning the location of the leaks, and from there, get all the tools and equipment you’ll require for the project.
