Seeing pinholes of light through my attic roof. Immediate replacement?
dustindawind
| Posted in General Discussion on
I have been up in my attic preparing for air sealing and insulation contractors and noticed that I can see several spots with pinholes of light.
1. I want to confirm that this is not normal.
2. I assume that this means I likely have sources of water intrusion (though I do not see any evidence whatsoever of this occurring), and should not get insulation installed until a new roof is put on. My current roof is 25 years old and due for replacement anyway.
3. In the meantime, should I attempt to fill those pinholes with a roofing caulk or something else from the interior?
Replies
Not normal.
But keep in mind that water flows downhill for the most part.
What you should do is call a roofer and get some estimates and options.
Don’t get insulation installed because a roof tear-off often leaves debris in your attic. Do the roof 1st, clean the attic then insulate. You can air seal though
This might be a sawn cedar shingle roof or shakes (split cedar shingles with skip sheathing). It's not uncommon to be able to see light through them when looking horizontally, kind of like you can see out from under an umbrella, but it will still keep you dry.
When shakes reach end of life, you have to do a tearoff. At that point, my advice is to replace with metal or add plywood sheathing and composition shingles. If you have sawn cedar shingles, you can cover them with composition shingles, butting each course of composition against the next higher course of cedar. Not recommended, but sometimes dictated by finances.
House built in 1900.
It has board decking. Several knots have fallen out and it looks like tar paper above. Shingles are asphalt. I've haven't seen evidence of wooden shingles but who knows... this house is full of bad surprises.
Prepare yourself for some decking repair expense once they strip the existing shingles for the re-roof.
In a situation like this, it's important to strip the existing roof to bare sheathing, not for the re-roof, but to know the condition of the existing sheathing.
I understand about the surprises- I get those regularly and I'm only 78.