Tag Archives: Roof Leak Repair

Roof Leak Repair Cost

Roof leak repair cost is an inevitable part of every home owner’s life. As it guards your home against the elements and serves as the first protective layer for the building, your roof will definitely undergo damage over time. This injury to your roof can happen because of exposure to heavy wind, rains and harsh extremes of weather. The continuing assault of these elements leads to your roof becoming degraded over time.

While it may well be that your roof looks pristine and new for many years, there is invisible damage going on under the surface. Roof leak repair costs therefore can hit at any time in the lifetime of your building, even when everything looks apparently normal.

The key to protecting against this is to take swift corrective action rather than waiting for things to grow critical. If you wait too long, you run the risk of facing higher expenses when the interior of your home is damaged.

Roof leak repair cost can be significant and strain your budget. This is what generally tempts home owners to wait until too long. However, it is far wiser to get an initial assessment of the potential damage from an expert. If all it takes is a few simple repairs to fix things, you may well avoid the need for costly replacement later on.

Roof leak repair cost is analyzed in greater detail in this short special report which you may study for more information.

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How Much Does Roof Leak Repair Cost?

Your roof is your home’s first line of defense, so damage to it is inevitable.  Damage is caused by wind, precipitation, the sun and other adverse weather events.  Your roof is slowly being degraded by these elements.  Years can pass without any visible signs of harm, but gradually you may develop leaks or other signs of damage.  These need to be addressed, not ignored, or the damage will spread to the interior of your home.

Because of the high costs associated with roof leak repairs and roof replacement, you may choose to hold off as long as possible. First of all though, get it checked out, as you may only need simple repairs to sort it.  To find out how to identify roof damage and how much roof leak repairs cost, continue reading this buying guide.

Roof leak repair cost: Determining whether your roof needs repairs

Just like maintenance on your vehicle to avoid breakdown, the same applies to your house roof.  It is cheaper in the long run to keep it in good condition than it is to wait until you have a major problem.  However it is difficult to see if there are any repairs required, unless water is actually pouring through your ceiling.  In order to make the process a lot less difficult, follow the steps below:

Exterior Inspection: visual inspection of roof – look for missing or damaged (curled, cracked or torn) shingles.  If there is any damage and it is localized (i.e. covers less than 30 per cent of entire roof) repairs will probably solve the problem.  More than 30 per cent damage may require total roof replacement.  Also take into account other areas of potential leakage such as damaged chimney, ventilation pipes and roof flashing, and be sure to inspect as well.

Interior Inspection: a damaged leaking roof can be indicated by brown, yellow or grey stains, or moisture marks as well as peeling of paint on walls and/or ceilings.  Take a look in your attic where roof damage could be indicated by damp rafters or leaks.  A sudden rise in energy costs also makes an inspection of your roof ventilation worthwhile.

Calling in a Professional: when it comes to noticing any roof damage, although you are the first line of defense, you should also be aware of your limitations and call in a professional roofer without hesitation for inspection if required.  Although it may cost a couple of hundred dollars, it could save you thousands of dollars in major roof repairs if left unattended.

Roof Leak Repair Cost: Average costs

Location can be a factor in the cost of your roof repair.  Other factors include the roof type, nature of repair, the contractor themselves, and so on. Basic repairs such as replacement of asphalt or wood shingles, for one square (10 ft x 10 ft) may cost between $250 to $1000. Roof flashing repair may cost – around a skylight or chimney – $250 to $500, around a vent or pipe – $50 to $100 and valley roof flashing costs – $15 to $30 per linear foot.

Finally, the layer of materials between the trusses and joints – the roof decking that holds the roof up, and the waterproof insulated layer of this roofing, when needing replacing may cost $2.50 to $7.50 per square foot.

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Roof Leak Repair – How To Repair a Leaky Roof

Roof leak repair is usually urgent, even an emergency.  Localized roof damage like cracked or missing shingles or shakes, or a blistered or cracked area on a flat roof can cause leaks, but sometimes it can be years before the entire roof needs replacing.  The hardest part of repairing damage caused by leaks is locating the leak.

Roof leak repair – Repairing shingle roofs:
They are usually easy to repair.  At the leak stain mark, inspect for damaged, curled or missing shingles. Inspect every place where surfaces meet, around chimneys and vents – look for breaks in the flashing or caulking and gaps in the lines of roof cement.  If the shingles or flashing in the leak area don’t shown any sign of damage, you may have to contact a roofing professional. Deterioration of the shingles or inadequate flashing may be the cause.

Repairs are fairly simple if evidence is found of shingle damage.  Compound for caulking guns or asphalt roof cement can be used to reattach curled back shingles, which can be easily straightened out in warm weather.  They need to be softened before they can be flattened out in cold weather, which makes them brittle. This can be done by the careful use of a propane torch with a flame-spreader nozzle applied gently to the curled edges just warm enough to soften, but not to catch fire, then flatten them.  Apply roof cement to the bottom of the shingle at each corner to reattach, and press firmly into place.  Shingles that can be raised up off the roof with no effort are rotten and need replacing. Torn and missing ones should also be replaced – they (and rotten ones) should  be replaced with new ones.

A whole new roof may be required if a large area of rotten shingles is found – this is the stage when a roofing professional should be consulted.  If not, the shingles left over from the previous roof installation can be used for replacement.

Roof leak repair – Replacing damaged shingles:

Step 1:  Damaged shingle needs to be removed by raising edges of neighboring shingles and using pry bar to carefully remove nails.  Slide out old shingle, and if there’s any brittle or loose cement left behind, scrape clean. When shingles are blown off by adverse weather conditions, removal of any protruding nails in the roof is necessary.

Step 2:  Slightly curving the back corners with a sharp utility knife will make it easier to slide the new shingle into place.

Step 3:  With the front edge aligned with shingles on each side, and back edge under shingles in the row above, slide the new shingle into the space provided.

Step 4:  Raise the corners of the overlapping shingles.  Use 6d galvanized roofing nails, hammered through each corner to fasten the new shingle in place.  Nail heads should be covered with roof cement, then the overlapping shingle edges smoothed down.

If the shingles are not damaged, or after replacing damaged shingles, the chimney, vents or vent pipe flashing should be inspected, as well as any line of roof cement where two surfaces meet.

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