Several elements work together to ensure the safety of items inside your home and the integrity of your building materials. The roof, however, plays a vital role among all of them. Since most property owners appreciate this, they spend considerable time on the roof looking for breaches that might affect its integrity. These frequent walks on your roof and the use of the wrong materials and techniques to fix the perceived issues are the leading contributors to leakage.
Commercial roof repair and expert maintenance sound unnecessary. Hiring a certified and trained roofing expert when you can get a handyman and buy the most expensive roof repair materials in a hardware store might not make sense. But the expert introduces the right tools and expertise for diagnosing issues and repairing them with minimal interference to the rest of your roof. Here are some of the installation mistakes contributing to leaks:
Incorrect Step Flashing
Step flashing is used at the point where your wood walls and the roof deck meet. Improper weaving of the step flashing is the leading cause of water infiltration into your roofing joints. This, over time, causes the migration of water under your shingles and ultimately leaks. Your step flashing should be weaved into your shingles during the roof’s installation and only attached to either the wall or the roof deck. Nailing the flashing to both the roof deck and wall causes the lifting of your shingles. This is because of the expansion and shrinking between the roof, flashing, and wall.
Lack of or Incorrect Use of the Drip Edge
The drip edge is meant to protect your fascia board and roof deck. When wrongly installed, it will contribute to leaks at the rake edge and eaves. When missing, you almost certainly will have to deal with water damage on the roof’s edge. The drip edge should be directly installed along the eaves over your roof’s edge. In rake edges, it is installed after the underlayment’s installation.
Poor Layering
Layering describes the installation methods of new roofs. Correct layering will guarantee that your roofing materials work in conjunction to produce a waterproof roof. The procedure of layering changes according to the roof design that you want. Mistakes in the layering process will cause varying degrees of leaks and might need the complete replacement of your roof.
Improper Valley Installation
The valley is the most important detail of an angled roof since a sheer water volume will meet here. All valleys should be lined using a peel-and-stick membrane measuring not less than 36 inches directly attached to the roof’s sheathing. DIYers will often use the cheapest materials available for their roofing valleys and improperly attached them. These mistakes often contribute to leaks even in small storms.
Although people will pay top dollar for the initial installation of a roof, most assume that repairs can be handled by almost anyone. This assumption only leads to the issues mentioned above and necessitates a costly replacement. Opting to hire a professional roofing contractor is undoubtedly the cheapest choice in any issue affecting your roofing.
