Make Your Roof Leak-Proof

TERRY: Yeah, I’ve got a little bit of a difficult problem. About a couple of years back, I had my roof replaced because it was leaking.

TOM: Right.

TERRY: It’s back leaking in the same spot. The only time it leaks is during a hard rain and it blows out of the north.

TOM: So what have we learned here? We’ve learned that you probably didn’t need to replace the roof in the first place.

TERRY: Yes, more than likely. (Tom and Terry laugh) I spent some money for – it’s been a couple of years and it hasn’t leaked …

TOM: Yeah.

TERRY: … and the last couple of rainstorms I had, it began to leak in the same spot but only like when the wind blows out of the north.

TOM: Right. OK, got it. Now, this particular spot, describe it to me. Is there an intersection of two roofs that come here? Is it a roof and a wall? Is there a plumbing vent that comes through?

TERRY: What it is is where there’s like two Vs come together and it comes down to where it meets like an addition they added on at the house; it’s like where three corners all meet.

TOM: Yep.

TERRY: It meets right there at the corner where the …

TOM: OK. So, here’s what I want you to do. The way that particular section of the roof has been assembled, obviously there’s water getting underneath it. So what I’m going to suggest you do is take the shingles off of that particular area as far up as you can. And then I want you to install Ice & Water Shield. It’s made by a company called Grace. They pretty much invented this; Ice & Water Shield. And you want to completely seal that area with Ice & Water Shield.

Now, Ice & Water Shield is sort of like a flexible, rubbery kind of material. It’s used to stop ice dams but it also is used in areas like Florida where you don’t have any ice but you have wind-driven rain like crazy. If you coat that area where it’s real weak with Ice & Water Shield first, several layers of that, then you shingle over it, you’ll never have to worry about water getting under the shingles and leaking in the house again.

This is an extra step. This is not something that would be required by building code. But because it’s an area that’s very difficult to flash, I’m going to recommend that you put Ice & Water Shield under that whole area – not just at the roof edge but under the whole area – then you can shingle it and I think you’ll have a leak-free roof.