You found water where water should not be. Now what?
Roof leaks are frustrating because the entry point is rarely directly above the wet spot. Water travels along rafters, down sheathing, and through insulation before it finally drips onto your ceiling. Tracing a leak requires patience and sometimes detective work.
Finding the Source
Start inside. Put a bucket under any active drips and look for the highest point where water is visible. In the attic, look for water stains, mold, or wet insulation. Follow the trail upward as far as you can.
Mark what you find. A piece of tape or a photo helps you communicate with your roofer later.
Outside, look at the roof area above where you found interior damage. Common leak sources include:
- Flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights - look for gaps, rust, or missing caulk
- Valleys where roof planes meet - high water flow areas that wear first
- Missing or damaged shingles - obvious once you see them
- Rubber boots around pipe vents - these dry out and crack over time
If you can safely access your roof during light rain, you can sometimes spot the entry point directly. Water sheeting across the surface and disappearing into a specific spot tells you exactly where to look.
Once you know the general area, a roofer can pinpoint the problem. Sometimes it is obvious. Sometimes it requires removing shingles to inspect the underlayment.
Repairs depend on what is wrong. Flashing repairs might mean resealing with roofing cement or replacing metal sections. Shingle damage usually means replacing the affected shingles and checking the underlayment. Valley repairs can range from sealing to complete valley replacement.
Do not try to seal a leak with roof tar and hope for the best. That kind of patch might stop water temporarily, but it does not address the underlying problem. It also makes the eventual real repair more complicated.
Act quickly. Water damage spreads fast. What starts as a wet spot on the ceiling becomes mold in the walls, ruined insulation, and structural damage. A leak you catch in day one is cheaper to fix than a leak you ignore for a month.
Peak Builders tracks down roof leaks and fixes them correctly. If you have water coming in, call us.
