Leaks can cause major damage to your house, which can be costly to repair. You can minimize the risk of roof leaks through regular roof maintenance. Before spending money on roof repairs, check if your insurance covers roof leakage. Keep reading to find out what to do when your roof is leaking.
Minimize Water Damage In Your Home
Place buckets or some kind of receptacle underneath the leak to prevent everything from getting wet; cover your belongings, such as photos and furniture, with a plastic tarp or some sort of waterproof cover. You should consider removing certain items to a dry location in your home. If water is splashing into the container, attach one end of a chain of paperclips to the source of the leak, allowing the other end to hang freely. Make the chain long enough to be a foot away from the container. The water will now dribble down the chain instead of splashing into the container. Along with water drips, Be sure to take care of stains and mold as soon as possible.
Shingles
Over time, your asphalt or wooden shingles may rot or be dislodged due to inclement weather. Naturally, your roof will need to be re-shingled, a job you can do yourself. Simply remove the old ones by prying them back with a pry bar and pulling the nails. Replace the damaged area with new shingles, working from the bottom up. You might need to slice off a portion of the shingles to ensure they fit securely. Do not cut off too much, as this will bring you back to your original leak problem. You can nail the shingles or anchor each shingle with roofing tar from a caulking gun.
The water damage is also more likely to occur in roof valleys, which is the area where the roof angles meet and water flow is concentrated. Roof tar is the best way to stop your roof from leaking. Get the tar or caulking underneath the shingles to ensure a secure grip that will stop water from leaking into your home.
Metal Roof
Metal roofs expand and contract with heat, which loosens metal roofing nails and expands the nail holes, thus allowing water to enter. Repair a metal roof leak by removing the nails carefully and fill the old hole with tar. Then, screw the nail back in a few inches away from the tar-filled hole.
If the leaking roof persists, TalkLocal can connect you with the best local roofers at your convenience.
