So I’m sittin watching the tube last night and my 13 year old goes walking by with a bowl and nonchalantly says I need this to catch the drip from the ceiling. Of course I’m out of my chair like a cat whos tail has been stepped on. We had just had a gully washer and sure enough theres the leak coming down from the ceiling in a corner of a little one story addition at the side of my house. This is a hip roof and when I go to check I find a shingle that looks like a crater. Its low slope so it essentially acted as a reservoirfor water which I assume backed up under the shingle above. After such a long introduction the question is what is the most effective quick fix you’ve used to stop the water before you can get to the permanent repair. I suspect in this case that the deck underneath is shot hence the sagging shingle. What would you do to buy time until you can make the proper repair, in this case probably rip it off, resheath and reshingle. Thanks
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There are any number of options. For small holes just troweling on some black jack will do, but for bigger areas one of the rubberized roof coatings is probably the way to go. It's like thick paint and creates about a 1/8"-1/16" thick layer. There's some fiberglass tape that's usually sold with it -- you use this kind of like drywall tape to bridge gaps, etc.
Go to the closest Menards, HD, Lowes, whatever and just start reading the backs of the cans until you find something that sounds good and doesn't cost too much. Don't waste any money on thin roof paints that are only good for changing the roof color, though -- you need something with a little body.
In your case you may want to use some sheet metal or pieces of old shingle to bridge over the depression before you seal it up. It might even make sense to screw down a piece of thin plywood (some old paneling, eg) and then spread the glop on top of that.
I got some old sheets of aluminum from the local newspaper for 25 cents each and made some temporary shingles that I just slid under the existing ones to cover the leaks I had. Worked great.
In KY, we like the big blue tarps..don't forget to weight it down with a toilet an old tires..
Me? I slip a hunk of flashing up and over the bad spot.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
In KY, we like the big blue tarps..don't forget to weight it down with a toilet an old tires..
There've been discussions on this very topic here in the past. Seems that the absolute best solution (bar none!) is the blue tarp that is not actuslly blue. It's been colored and patterned to look just like real shingles.
Use your hammer stapler to put one of those up, and you're good for years.
I'll betcha that if ya google on it, there might actually be a retail source for them.Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Are those UK colors? I'm a Buckeye so I would need a Scarlet and Gray tarp.
LOL...
I actually saw a house here in Columbus with a Scarlet n Gray tarp!
Go BUCKS!
I got into my roof a few back (done by a "pro")... and lo and behold... no tar-paper. So, I will also give odds on the "no tar-paper" bet.
Edited 8/5/2004 8:06 pm ET by Rich from Columbus
You ain't alone in Kentucky..."sobriety is the root cause of dementia.", rez,2004
"Geodesics have an infinite proliferation of possible branches, at the whim of subatomic indeterminism.",Jack Williamson, The Legion of Time
You got my toilet?
What didya do with the flowers DW had planted in it?
Dave
flowers? I thought it was a SALAD bowl...har har
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
You say low-slope. Since shingles should nbot be used on a low slope roof, I have to ask you to define the term as you use it. I hate to think that there are shingles on a low slope roof, but if soo, that is the cause of the problem, and you probably have leaks in other places as well, that you are unaware os since they haven't yet penetrated the ceiling. That is too often the case, that there is oinly just enough of a leak to constant ly wet the plywood but to never leak on through unbtil it is disaster time.
To compound the answer to your question, withg a roof like I am imagining from the description, ANY thing you do or touch can just as easily cause more trouble than it fixes. added to that, you metion that while a hip roof, this leak is near to an addition or part of it, which spells vally to me. if this crater is near a valley, the pronblems are three times as hard to deal with. You might think you have it fixed and only find that it has moved a few feet.
Thus, based on what little I know of the situation, a tarp is probably your best bet, followed by immmediate roof job.
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I'm not sure what the slope is but its probably not much more than 3/12. No valleys, just the side walls where it abutts the main house. The source of the leak is actually out adjacent to one of the hips. I should say the "suspected" source is there. I've always wondered about that roof, but it was a professional job done just before I purchased the house so I figured the pros knew what they were doing. No doubt that I need to tear it off and take a look at the structure. I'm just trying to buy a little time until I have the time. I'll try and post a pic later and get peoples opinions on what may be the best roof covering for such a roof. Thanks for your input.
A picture would be good.
3/12 is the minimal pich for asphalt shingles but not bad unless yuou have a lot if ice buildup. You can temporary that like other's have siad by just slipping a sheet ot metal up under the bad shingle from below, if indeed it is confined to only one.
how old did you say it is?
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Architectural shingles about 15 yrs. The shingles seem to be in good shape its whats underneath thats in question. Perhaps there has been a gradual degradation of the deck over time due to an imperceptable leak. Then again maybe someone just covered something up rather than repairing what lay underneath. Like I said I'm going to rip into it and see whats up but until I have the time in the next week or so I need a quick fix. I think I'll go with the sheet of aluminum flashing tucked under so it will bridge the depression and caulk the hell out of the edges. Thanks for your help.
If that doesn't work, You've still got tarp as a standby
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ya know, I just happened back to this again and it dawned on me that you have archy grade laminated shingles. That creates an extra layer at the headlap, making them more sensitive to the minimal slopes. I feel more comfortable with them on a 4/12 and up.
The other thing is that some "roofers" lay shingles with no underlayment, but that is a definite requirement, and should be double layered with lower slopes. How much anybody wanna bet there is no tarpaper under these shingles?
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Place your bets. I'll let you know the result in a week or two.
Of course shingles (asphalt?) can be used on a "low slope " roof. A low slope can be anywheres from 2/12 to 3/12. there are different approaches to these so-called "low slopes". Some require more LAP COVERAGE, some also require sealing compound spread under them, either the starter only, or the first few starting rows, or all the entire shingles on the roof. Depends on the slope. How low is low, how steep is steep? A math number is required to identify various installation methods. Hube
going by the wrapper instructions is good place to start.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
HIya, Hube,
You make some good points about the ways you can get around the low-slope problem, but I think you may have mis-understood me when you said, "Of course shingles (asphalt?) can be used on a "low slope " roof. A low slope can be anywheres from 2/12 to 3/12."
First, I didn't say that they cannot be used. I said they should not be used. They CAN be put on the ceiling of the bathroom for all the word CAN means, but that does not mean that they should be, or that they are designed and intended to be used that way. Use something differently from the intent and you either have problems or you haver to do work-arounds of the type you suggest, which might or might not work, according to how well they are performed on site and the climate there.
Second, After twenty years in roofing before I devceloped more strength in remodeling, it is my observation that most roofing professionalls refer to "low-slope" roofs as those between 1/4"/12" and 2"/12" or so as being low slope roofs. Often the laypeople call them flat roofs, bu5t since no respectable roofer does any truly flat roofs without adding a minimal slope to it, we call them low slope roofs.That is why I asked the original poster to define his terms for point of discussion
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Flashing on spots does wonders and if its as bad as Piffin thinks it might be , the blue tarps . Makes your wife give you a hug and a kiss because shes so proud when she sees the blue tarp. Does wonders for them really , you may like to try it . Not .
Tim Mooney
I thopught the "What's the Difference" article in the new, improved FHB said that the green tarps were better. Oh, wait a minute ... the idea is a temporary patch ... ok, go ahead and use the blue tarp.
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