LESLIE: Now we’ve got Sylvester on the line from Louisiana who’s dealing with some hurricane damage, possibly, with a leaky attic. Tell us what’s going on.
SYLVESTER: Top of the roof is about – at a vertex, is probably 46, 49 feet. Well, there’s a – where the attic breathes, sometimes there’s squares, some rectangular, some round where it ends, the …
TOM: Yeah, the vents. Uh-huh. The attic vents.
SYLVESTER: I’m getting blowing rainwater that’s coming in there, running down the wall, coming in to a bedroom window below on the second.
TOM: Mm-hmm. Oh, boy. OK.
SYLVESTER: How is that – and it has happened before. But it’s only when it’s a strong, blowing wind blowing the rain …
TOM: Is it always in the same spot?
SYLVESTER: Yes.
TOM: So it’s probably not all of the vents. It’s just one or two of the vents?
SYLVESTER: I would think so. I don’t know. I haven’t actually gone into the attic yet to see which – where most of it’s coming from.
TOM: So I would do that as my next step, because I would go up in the attic and I would look for the leaks.
Now, it might be that maybe it’s not blowing in the vents; it might be blowing around the vents. The vents could be leaking. Because every one of those vents has to be cut through the roof, so this may not really be what you think it is. But I would get up in the attic with a high-powered flashlight and take a look in the area of the problem. Remember that water will run downhill, so it might start up high, run down a rafter and then drip off down below into – and show up in your bedroom or wherever.
But I would take a careful look to try to find those leak stains. That would tell me exactly where it’s leaking. And if I can identify the vent that’s leaking, I would just simply reseal it or replace it.
SYLVESTER: Thank you much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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