Message Boards

I need a roof repair. Don't know HOW the water is getting in. just know the leak is showing up in the garage ceiling. Current roof is about 22 years old, and LOOKS good (no trees over it, or anything like that). So I'm hoping it's just a flashing issue around the vent stack.

What your best roofing advice for picking shingles? Your 2 or 3 best tips?
- is the longer-term shingle worth the extra cost?
- what should I be on the lookout for when contractors are talking to me.

Vent stacks or any chimneys can certainly be a common location for leaks. However, depending on the type & quality of shingles and the slope of the roof, the shingles may be getting close to their end of life (seems 25 years is not uncommon for a warranty for many).

The best roofers will insist on removal of the old layer of shingles (even if two layers are legally allowed). I would do this regardless as the new layer will lay flat, and any issues with the sheathing will be addressed, and depending on the roofing paper under...I'd replace that too with a heavy layer. Labor for doing all this is expensive...so I would not skimp on quality of (long term as you say) shingles either.

Ask around for referrals for a few good roofers in your area. Have them come out and tell you what needs to be done and the cost/warranty of what they suggest in a written estimate. Then you can compare what you think of them too.

Agree with Conrad.

If the rubber on the boot around your vent stack is the cause of the leak, this is a good solution.
I had a leak that only showed up in REALLY heavy rains. The rubber around the PVC vent pipe sticking out of my roof had degraded and water would run down the pipe and appear on my family room ceiling on the first floor. Took me a while to figure that one out. I thought the shower above was leaking.


http://www.permabootstore.com/

Bare with me I'm asking this out of ignorance...

...is the top of the vent stack open? (Open, right?)

I watched the Permaboot video. Is that top cap open or solid/closed at the top? I couldn't tell.

I did some more looking at the Permaboot site. If the cap is open, what's the purpose of even having it, the Permaboot is open anyway.

Why put an open cap on an open Permaboot? (Unless it's extra covering to make sure no water gets between the sealer/adhesive and the vent stack (which would be exposed to the elements without that extra covering)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: clbselah,

The top of the permaboot is open the inside of the pipe, so any water that goes there will go down the sewer, as it would without the permaboot.

The permaboot is to seal the outside of the pipe so water doesn't run down the outside of the pipe to the inside of the house.

I had one that looked like the picture below from their website. The water ran between the pipe and sun damage seal and leaked on my family room ceiling.

Maybe this will help?

A plumbing vent stack is open at the top. It allows gasses to expel from the sewer, and allows air pressure to equalize so your drains... and the drain to work. Any rain that gets in the top inside, no problem. If it leaks around the outside...then it follows the outside of the pipe to the interior of your home...equals probable damage. This is where the boot, flashing and caulking work to keep it out.

A gas or furnace/waterheater vent will normally have a hat on top, to keep the rain out, but open on the under sides of the cap to allow the carbon monoxide gas fumes to escape. It also needs to be sealed around the outside just like the plumbing vent, or rain water can follow it down.

Here is a picture from the same website on how the permaboot seals the outside while still allowing the vent to work. The cool thing with this, having had to replace one of the ones like in the first picture, is you don't have to disturb the shingles to install it. If the existing gasket is broken and brittle you can be sure removing shingles to replace it will not go without breaking a shingle or two.

I haven't used this product, I don't work for them, but when I saw it I thought why didn't I think of that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,

I'm sure hoping this is the problem....we'll see soon enough I guess.