How is a leak traced when the stain is in another room?
By following the wet framing back up the roof. Water tracks along rafters and sheathing before it shows, so the entry point is usually uphill of the stain.
A roofer starts in the attic. The wet path shows as darkened sheathing, a wet rafter, a stain on the underside of a deck board or daylight at a nail hole. The wettest point is nearest the source, and the roofer moves uphill until the framing is dry. A moisture meter helps where insulation hides the wet area.
On the roof, the flashing and the penetrations are checked first, then the covering around them. Moss at a joint can hold water against it, so the moss is cleared at the entry point before the repair is judged.
- Start in the attic at the wettest framing
- Check flashing and vent collars before the covering
- Clear moss at the entry point before judging the repair
What should be done before the roofer arrives?
Contain the water, protect the room and photograph the damage before anything is moved or cleaned.
Water on plaster, carpet and paper does its damage quickly, so the first hour is about keeping it off the surfaces it soaks through. Photographs taken before anything is moved, with the date visible, show what the leak did and where it began.
Do not climb a wet roof to try a repair. A temporary cover is the most a homeowner should attempt, and only from a secure position.
- Place containers and towels first
- Photograph the ceiling, walls and floor before cleaning
- Move valuables out of the path of the water
When is a leak a sign of a larger problem?
When the leak has more than one entry, when the decking is soft across a wide area, or when the same spot leaks after each repair.
A single leak with a single cause is a repair. A roof that leaks at several points, or whose decking gives under foot, has reached the end of its life in that area. The replacement question is answered in writing, separately from the leak repair.
A leak that returns to the same spot after each repair means the cause was not found. The roofer should look at the framing and the flashing before the covering is touched again.
- Leaks at several points after one storm
- Soft decking across a wide area
- The same spot leaking after two repairs
What belongs in the record after a leak?
The entry point, the cause, the repair made, the materials removed and dried, the readings at the start and the end, and the photographs.
A short written record after a leak repair should name the entry point, state the cause, list what was replaced and what was dried, and give the readings at the start and finish. Without that record, a later leak becomes a dispute about who did what.
The record should also say what was not done. An ageing area found elsewhere should be named and dated as outside the leak repair, so the homeowner knows what to plan for.
- The entry point and cause
- The readings at the start and the end
- Work found but outside the scope, named and dated
