Robert Jones Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 A previous client contacted me about a roof leak that was occurring at their home. Has been about 18 months since the inspection. The home was built in 2007, 20yr three-tab shingle roof. What has me scratching my head, is where the leak(s) is showing. Not at a seam. Not at a roof can. Right in the middle of the sheathing. The shingles appear to have been installed correctly. All of the key's were over the shingle below. Took a while for this to show. My first instinct is a nail head? Any other suggestions? Click to Enlarge 56.65 KB Click to Enlarge 50.46 KB Click to Enlarge 44.78 KB
mjr6550 Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 I have seen them before and sometimes its impossible to figure out. The first thing I look for is an exposed nail or a hole in a shingle. I see many like that where scaffold brackets were nailed through shingles, but they are always close to edges. Sometimes it can be water traveling down from above or from a nearby valley, but then usually would enter at a seam. Could have entered through a nail hole in the sheathing that it not in the roofing.
palmettoinspect Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 How does the snow sit on the roof when it snows? Nail pops or exposed nails can be hard to find, but usually drip through without staining that much sheathing. If the nail is not driven all the way through the sheathing I guess it could soak into it like that, but it seems a little excessive for just a nail pop or two.
Robert Jones Posted February 10, 2015 Author Report Posted February 10, 2015 Not really a lot of snow in this area. A ton of rain, but, very little snow. It is a simple 4/12 gable roof.
Jerry Simon Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 Not really a lot of snow in this area. A ton of rain, but, very little snow. It is a simple 4/12 gable roof. Nail head/nail pop. I remember one very similar; took my third rooftop look-see to find the sucker.
John Kogel Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 I had something similar where there was wind damage to a couple of other shingles and a wet spot like that several feet away. I was able to lift a few shingles, so came up with this - wind lifted some shingles and blew rain in under. The curse of untreated OSB is that it absorbs that water rather than shedding it. It is a good bet there is no roofing paper under those shingles. 3 or 4 rolls of roofing paper underlay might have saved that roof for a few more years.
Mike Lamb Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 It is a good bet there is no roofing paper under those shingles. 3 or 4 rolls of roofing paper underlay might have saved that roof for a few more years. Probably. No underlayment, at least at those areas. I assume you lifted some shingles at the eave when you did the inspection and saw roofing paper. One layer of underlayment should stop leaks that severe I would think. Did you rule out high indoor humidity bleeding into a cold attic?
David Meiland Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 I also wonder if it's actually humidity and not a roof leak. Any chance there are can lights buried just under that insulation... although it's hard to want to crawl over there to see. How did they notice the leak? How much water came into the house? Did you lift any of the tabs and see what the nailing looks like? There wouldn't be any toe-board nails on a roof like that.
hausdok Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 Maybe a piece of underlayment got torn during install or was lapped the wrong way. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike
Scottpat Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 I'm going with missing underlayment or like Mike said about it being installed wrong in that area. Look at all of the other dark spot in the same area, it looks like it has done it before.
Chad Fabry Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 I'm going with missing underlayment or like Mike said about it being installed wrong in that area. Look at all of the other dark spot in the same area, it looks like it has done it before. On a properly installed roof, the underlayment never gets wet save for the rare wind event that drives water uphill for 5 inches. There's a nail between tabs, a nail worked up through the cover or two seams are aligned.
Erby Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 Had this just the other day. Nail Head Click to Enlarge 45.27 KB Water staining Click to Enlarge 42.21 KB Click to Enlarge 40.52 KB
Robert Jones Posted February 10, 2015 Author Report Posted February 10, 2015 The humidity levels were normal in the home. No cans. No forced air but wall heaters. I did look at the gutter edge and did see roofing paper. The water appears to be literally pouring in the home. The main section, is now covered with tarp which did stop the water from entering the home. I couldn't find any damaged sheetrock. The other strange thing, is that it's only happening at the front plane of the roof, nothing at the back.
Chad Fabry Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 The humidity levels were normal in the home. No cans. No forced air but wall heaters. I did look at the gutter edge and did see roofing paper. The water appears to be literally pouring in the home. The main section, is now covered with tarp which did stop the water from entering the home. I couldn't find any damaged sheetrock. The other strange thing, is that it's only happening at the front plane of the roof, nothing at the back. Why is that strange? There's a roof leak.
Tom Raymond Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 The A team was on the back slope, the B team on the front. The low slope doesn't help any. Unless it's a monsoon the run off pace will be approaching glacial.
Robert Jones Posted February 10, 2015 Author Report Posted February 10, 2015 Chad, Just strange that the leak or leaks in this case are only showing at the front.
Chad Fabry Posted February 10, 2015 Report Posted February 10, 2015 Chad, Just strange that the leak or leaks in this case are only showing at the front. Things work until they don't. A roof doesn't start leaking all over all at once.
John Kogel Posted February 11, 2015 Report Posted February 11, 2015 Chad, Just strange that the leak or leaks in this case are only showing at the front. Things work until they don't. A roof doesn't start leaking all over all at once. That roof is only 8 years old. No visible damage. Something is not right with the installation. Robert, a strip of paper at the eaves is pretty standard, but then they will lay the rest of the shingles without underlayment. Even so, the roof doesn't usually fail that way so soon.
Eric B Posted February 11, 2015 Report Posted February 11, 2015 Robert - It's due to such conditions that I include the following in my report; "Please be aware that even roofs that appear to be satisfactory can still leak. So while the inspection may not find a concern there can still be a bit of an unknown over the roof's ability to shed water." This helps set the client's expectation of my inspections.
ductwork Posted February 12, 2015 Report Posted February 12, 2015 Looks like the other areas next to the area had leaked or were actively leaking in addition to the area closer to the eaves, seems like possibly wind driven rain, is there ice and water shield installed underneath the shingles ?
Brandon Whitmore Posted February 13, 2015 Report Posted February 13, 2015 Is it just in that one area of the front plane of the roof? I see a gable end wall in your pic.. If so, is it possible that the rake edge shingles aren't installed properly, and that the water is working its way in from there? If that rake / gable truss sits just a little higher, water will run in and downwards diagonally. Then, water will travel down atop the felt paper until it finds a weak point to drip through. Make sense?
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