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Roof Leak Call Back

5K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  DaHammer 
#1 ·
Today after installing this roof 4-5 months ago I get a call back about it leaking into the garage and ruining the drywall. I was freaking and drove over. The homeowner said that it was all wet in the attic and water on all the nails. So I climbed up and noticed it all too. The moisture was on the nails and on some of the plywood. I was quite puzzled because I never saw this before. This winter here has been really bad and today it hit 60 and rained. It was so foggy I couldnt see across the street. There was 2 huge gable end vents in the side of the house and then we installed a ridge and there was a whirly bird too. So I put 2 and 2 together. The first indication was i looked at the drywall and noticed no water in the attic. It then clicked and i figured the warm humid air was rushing into the attic from the gable vents and hitting the cold snow covered roof and condensing. In this case the gable vents let to much humid air in. The moisture in the garage was caused from the humid air hitting the cold drywall. I was freaking for a bit but now i can sleep better tonight lol. Anyone else say this?
 
#2 ·
Why do roofer always install a ridge vent? If you have soffit vent and gable vent. I see it all the time. There will be soffit vent and gable vents and roofer will install ridge vents. That totally screws up the ventilation. The air use to come in the soffits and out the gables. Now the air comes in the gables and out the ridge. Cover up the gable vents now is the only way to correst it if you have soffit vents.
 
#3 ·
First off, unless the garage was a heated garage, there would be little if any reason to have added any ventilation.

You didn't mention anything about any Soffit Intake Ventilation, so I presume it is non-existent.

Now, by having 3 different types of Exhaust Vents on the roof and for the attic air, you have created a Short-Circuit in the ventilation system.

Any one of those vents would have been sufficient, but you also may be correct with your rational regarding the high humidity levels from the continuous fog, which condensed on the nails and the underside of the deck sheathing.

If it's any consolation, I noticed all of my soffits on my house today, under the same weather conditions, (NW Suburbs of Chicago), had wet droplets collecting on the underside. There was no snow or ice left on the roof, from the quick warming thaw we just experienced, but the intake vents may have sucked in too much humidity which then condensed and formed the water and permeated the soffits.

Close off the whirlybird turbine vent and the gable vents and add continuous soffit vents to,provide the most desirable situation to limit this from occuring again.

Ed
 
#5 ·
Thats the thing though is that I got rid of some vetilation because there was way to much to begin with. There were 4 roof vents a whirly bird and 2 huge ass gable vents plus the sofit is vented. I got rid of the roof vents and added a small ridge vent but reinstalled the whirly bird. I know its from the humidity in the air. Its just so humid out its condensing on the snow covered roof. This so rarely happens that it shouldnt pose a problem but as soon as I say that ill have to go back again. The worst part is by the vents themselves both ridge and gable because thats where the warmest air is.
 
#6 ·
Let me ask ya'll this.
Prior or after installing a new roof. (hopefully prior, at time of offering the estimate, in case vent changes need to be made they can be at time of tear off)

Do you not offer your customer a ventilation guide, free at all roof supply houses.
Most roofing supply houses also have someone that will do an attic inspection/evaluation, some free, some charge, some recommend an Insullation Company, but none the less, suggest to the H/O if they want to ensure the warranty on the shingles, they should consider to schedule the inspection/evaluation. If scheduled after completion of roof, ask for a copy of report & corrections if any, for your records.

This can prevent call backs as posted here.
Should something ever go wrong & a shingle rep is called in & finds burnt shingles from a lack of ventilation, regardless if you should be or not be drug into this, it can prevent you being drug into this. Especially if you have it listed on your estimate/invoice.
It shows you did your part to ensure the best overall job possible.

About everything in a home is a 2 part responsibility.
The one performing the work, the Contractor
The H/O, "knowing" what to do as their part to maintain upkeep and longivity & them "doing" their part.

Just a thought or suggestion. :thumbsup:
 
#8 ·
Your right, except as a roofing contractor I do that inspection myself and make sure a proper ventilation system is installed.
Educate yourself on the three [3] steps to proper ventilation.
So long as the home owners are informed 'in writing' prior to the start of the job, any problems that arise later fall on them, not you.
 
#11 ·
I didn't read all the replies, sounds like a ventilation short-circuit. I am a fan of ridge vent but only when installed properly. Why install it when there are gable vents? Well you shouldn't unless you remove/cover the vents, and get rid of those whirly birds.

To me I think you had a condensation build up and ice formed in the attic and it melted. It might not be a leak of any kind.

Contact a professional roofer, since it seems you are a handy man, and have him specify and make repairs. Chances are he will remove some of the ventilation.
 
#12 ·
I didn't read all the replies, sounds like a ventilation short-circuit. I am a fan of ridge vent but only when installed properly. Why install it when there are gable vents? Well you shouldn't unless you remove/cover the vents, and get rid of those whirly birds.

To me I think you had a condensation build up and ice formed in the attic and it melted. It might not be a leak of any kind.

Contact a professional roofer, since it seems you are a handy man, and have him specify and make repairs. Chances are he will remove some of the ventilation.

Thank you!! You said what I was thinking. Here in Massachusetts. I think every roofer looks at a ridge vent as aftersell. I can not tell you how many houses I have looked at where people have new roofs and condensation and ice damn problems that they didn't have before they got a new roof. There is 1 guy I do a lot of work for, he called me and asked me to look at his roof which he had done 6 years ago (3 tab IKO shingles). The roof looks at least 20 years old. People play around with ventilation and don't understand how it works or it purpose.

By the way I am not a roofer.
 
#14 ·
I built a new personal home in '07/08, finished March '08. It's a ranch style house with a garage that is perpendicular to the main house. The ridge of the main house runs North to South, with the garage roof running East to West. Over the garage is a bonus room. The main house has a 10/12 pitch, with the garage portion having a 12/12 pitch. GAP Cobra ridge vent is installed on both the main house roof and the garage roof. There is a sole 18" gable vent installed on the main house at the opposite end from the garage. That's my fault, as I told them to put it there not knowing it could cause problems with the ridge venting. The soffit is the perforated vinyl type, so it's vented as well. The roofs are also open to one another in the attic. Only slightly due to the bonus room, but open still.

Last week we got an accumulation of snow, a rarity around these parts, coupled with some very strong winds and a rapid rise in temperature after sunrise. Around noon that day, I noticed water dripping from one of the HVAC vents in the ceiling of the bonus room. By this time the snow was gone from the roof except for in the valleys. The drywall around the vent was damp and slightly stained. I got into the attic and found tiny water droplets on top of the insulation, directly underneath the ridge vent and for the entire span of the ridge vent. This was just on the garage portion. There wasn't a drop of water anywhere in the attic of the main house. Nor was there any water anywhere on the rafters or decking of the garage attic. So, I can only assume that snow blew through the ridge vent and into the attic, melted, and made its way through the HVAC vent cutout in the ceiling. There wasn't much water that got through, as the spot on the floor wasn't any larger than a half dollar and the bowl I placed under the drip didn't collect more than 1/4 cup at most. I didn't actually see snow in the attic, but the roof has never leaked before not even in other very strong wind/rain storms. This is the 2nd time it's been snowed on, but there weren't any strong winds associated with the 1st time.

Now having said all that, how do I best remedy this problem? Again we don't get much snow, maybe once or twice a year if that, but still I don't want mold nor do I want to repaint the ceiling every time it does happen. Will sealing off the gable vent fix it? On a 12/12 roof, it's hard to imagine how removing the ridge vent would be necessary, but I will if I have too. And it didn’t get through on roof where the gable vent is, so I'm not sure if that will take care of it or not. Thanks for your input.
 
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