If there are water stains on your ceiling, that’s a clear sign of a leaking roof. Sometimes it is difficult to locate roof leakage, because the water may show up at a ceiling spot distant from the leak. In some cases the ceilings has a plastic vapor barrier between the drywall and the attic insulation. You can push the insulation aside looking for a flow spot on the plastic.
First of all, when trying to repair you roof, you should take into consideration that working on the roof can be very dangerous. And do not forget to take safety measures when repairing the roof. That’s why repairing should be done on a sunny day when the roof is completely dry, as wet roof is very slippery.
What can you do if your roof leaks?
The first thing to do in this case is to find where is the damaged part in your roof that causes leakage. You can use a ladder in order to find if there are any missing, curled or cracked shingles. You should take into account that leaks can also be found at those points where caulking and flashing have been damaged, shingles butt. You can apply a coat of asphalt roofing cement with a brush, or use other adhesive compounds in a caulk gun in order to flatten and secure curled shingles.
In case you want to replace or remove missing, damaged shingles, you can rise up the edges of the surrounding shingles and remove the nails with hammer. After this the shingle will slide out then you should align the new shingle and fasten it with roofing nails which are galvanized.
Plastic sheeting and roofing paper are the most temporary measures that can be taken against roof leaking. You can take heavy plastic sheets and with the help of roofing nails fasten them around the hole. Roofing paper is also known as roofing felt or tar paper. You can easily find them in the building materials sections. Roofing paper is made by impregnating paper or fiberglass mat with tar, which produces a waterproof material useful for roof construction.
And one more important thing is that the roof must breathe; otherwise, the moisture from the air will be trapped in the attic, which will ruin insulation and lead to mold and rot. Ventilation is a very important thing for roofing but sometimes it is overlooked. It will help you to protect your roof from damages longer than it supposed to be.
If your roof has water damage and needs to be fixed, call Roof Repair Specialist today.
