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Hi, this is Steve from Roofer 911.
I'm on a roof in Mclean, Virginia, that has multiple roof leaks. One of the leaks I noticed inside the home, was right in the area of the valley, but then also along the wall, and it went all the way down to the gutter line. What we need to so is, we're going to have to remove all the roof material on both sides of the valley, and also, where the roof and the wall meet.
Let me show you something here. This roof is very, very tight. There's no way I can lift up any of these shingles at the seam, because they have ice and water shield, most likely, installed underneath all the shingles. Here, at the valley, it's very, very tight. I can hardly even lift it up, I can't even lift it an inch.
When that happens, it tells me one thing, when the contractors did the roofing, at the valley, they had fashioned the shingles too close to the valley's center line, so when it rains really heavy, the water can get underneath that seam. Like I said, that nail is only a few inches away from the center and the water gets underneath the seam, then the water seeps through the side of the nail and into the house.
We need to remove all the roof material completely around the valley, install new ice and water shield, reshingle it, but this time we're going to fasten about nine inches away from the center of the valley. Also, where the roof and the wall meet, we need to take up all the shingles, here, because when they fastened the shingles into place, they nailed the shingles too close to the wall, and by doing that, they damaged the protective step flashing underneath.
Now, another thing, very important, even after the roof is installed, there's a very good chance that a leak will come back. I'll show you why, the gutter, here, the downspout is on the left side. They have an end-cap on the right side, so no water's draining over there, and the gutter's low, here, in the middle. When it rains really heavy, not only does the water overflow over the front, but also, the water goes over the back. Then the water settles inside the exterior wall cavity between the outside siding and the drywall. Once the insulation inside the wall becomes completely saturated, then the water will let loose, and then you see the water damage inside the home.
Now, also, they have a leak that's in-between these two skylights, and there's a 750 vent that's directly above. This vent is very likely attributing to the leak below, but I cannot remove the shingles around here to check the overall fastening procedures because, like I said, it's very tight just like the rest of the roof, because of the ice and water shield.
The best thing to do is remove all the roofing material, install new ice and water shield, and then reshingle it. Another thing, very important, like I said, they have a leak in-between these two skylights. Now, here, when you look up the roof, here for example, there's a seam right here where this shingle joins up against this one.
Now, when the contractors originally did the roof, they used roofing nail guns. Now, with a nail gun the contractor can fasten anywhere from five to eight nails a second. If he doesn't pay attention to where he's placing each and every nail, especially when they're in a rush, some of the nails are going to be exposed at this seam. Even though the shingles are very tightly adhered to the roof, the water can still seep through the seam, then the water will leak right through the side of the nail, and the water will just travel down the roof, on top of the felt, and wherever the water finds an opening, like a tear in the felt, that's where it will settle. With this leak, we need to focus on everything.
Also, the homeowner said that there was a leak next to the skylight. What we'll do is remove all the roof material, completely around the skylight. Then we're going to install ice and water shield, then reshingle it.
Here, you can see somebody put caulking where the roof and the side of the skylight meet. Whenever I see something like that it tells me one thing, there was a leak here before and somebody tried to resolve the problem by caulking the area. Caulking is just masking the problem, you have to take things apart to get to the source.
Now, another thing is, where the dome meets up against the metal, many times there's hairline fractures, right at the metal and the water can seep right underneath, and then it will leak at the skylight, and then settle down near the gutter.
What we'll do is clean up all the dirt and dust completely around the skylight, and then we're going to seal it with polyurethane, and that's it. With this leak, we have to target everything as a whole, because if I don't, I will most certainly be back in the future, that's something I do not want.
Again, my name is Steve from Roofer 911, and we specialize in roof repair in all areas of Mclean, Virginia, and all areas of Northern Virginia. I can be reached at 703-475-2446. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.
Hi, This is Steve again, Roofer 911. This is a continuation from the last video of the home in Mclean, Virginia.
The homeowner has another leak around this skylight. One thing I noticed, right off the bat, is after the skylight leaked the first time, the contractor came back a second time, and he installed what they call a water diverter on the back side of the skylight. They're really a complete waste. The reason why it leaked to begin with, is because of improper installation. Most likely, they have nails fashioned too close to the side of the skylight, say here. When it rains heavy, the water comes down the roof, and then it backs up underneath the roofing shingles, and the water seeps right through the sides of the nail and into the home.
Now, the water diverter is nailed up here, so the same thing can happen here. The water can hit the diverter, especially during a melting snow, and the water will go underneath the shingles, and seep through the side of the nail. Also, what about the space between the water diverter and the skylight? When there's a very heavy rain, the water's going to get inside here, and it's going to find the same opening as before.
What we need to do is remove this water diverter, and then remove all the roofing material completely around the skylight. Then we're going to install our ice and water shield completely around, and then reshingle the area. Now, also, we're going to seal where the dome and the metal frame meet, with polyurethane, because, as with the other skylights, this eventually can lead to a leak because of hairline fractures.
Also, this skylight is too big for the frame, and you can see on the inside here, it's about six inches too big. It's the wrong size, but that's okay, just as long as everything is water-proofed correctly on the outside, they won't have any problems. The leak to the skylight also, is not coming from up above. It's strictly because of the skylight.
Now, looking at the roof further, I see you have no ridge line going across the top, so you can develop condensation buildup in the wintertime. The attic fan is very good for the summer, it releases all the warm, moist air, but in the wintertime it will not work. The thermostat is set to a hundred degrees, so the only time the attic fan is going to work, is when the temperature gets hot in the attic.
What I would highly recommend, is to remove these cap shingles, cut through the wood sheathing, approximately one and a half inches on each side. Then we're going to install our ridge vent, so this way all the warm, moist air in the attic, it rises to the highest point and it will go out through the ridge vent.
Condensation is very, very common, especially in the wintertime and people develop mold from that. It can turn into a serious problem. Now, this roof here, the lower roof, there's no ventilation here at all. There's one little 750 vent, but that's only ventilating the area in-between the rafters and it's not even up high enough. Again, I would install a ridge vent here, because this home is just asking for mold.
Again, this is Steve, Roofer 911. Thank you.
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