The last thing that you want is living in a house with a leaking roof. Apart from making you feel uncomfortable; it can also cause significant damage to your home’s interior and appliances. Besides, the effect can linger months after fixing your roof in the form of mold growth.
At times, you may have challenges pin pointing the causes of roof leaks. Why? Well, because where your roof leaks on the outside may look entirely different from the inside. You never know first water enters from top and comes out at bottom.
Still, locating where your roof is leaking doesn’t have to be hard work. It is more or less of an elimination process because a couple of factors could be causing the dripping.
Where Do You Start?
Of course, you’re better off if you can see the leak as it happens. That way, it is relatively easier to trace it back to the source. Plus, it makes perfect sense to try and locate the source of the dripping when you can see it as opposed to relying on the remnants such as stains on your ceiling.
While you can use staining to try and narrow down the specific point of dripping, it may not tell you the entire story behind the problem.
Wait for the Rains
One of the easiest ways to see a leak as it occurs is during a snow event or rain. And, if this is not possible, you may consider conducting a water test on your roof. All you need to do is to pass a garden hose over a suspected part of the roof for a few minutes until the water starts to drip inside your house.
How to Locate the Source of a Leak?
01. Start Inside your House
Begin by inspecting your house from the inside. Check to see if the piping system or other components inside your home are the cause of the roof leak. Some of the potential reasons for roof drips include drains, plumbing, scuppers, condensation, and HVAC.
02. Measure the Location
Now that you know the exact position of the leak, it’s time to measure the area affected inside your living room from two fixed points. As a rule of thumb, make sure that these points are either your fireplace chimney, perpendicular walls or any other component that stretches through the finished ceiling through to your roof.
03. Locate the Source from your Attic
Climb inside your attic and find the source of the leak on the lower side of your roof deck. Be sure to carry the measurements taken inside your living room with you. Inspect the entire area and note the area of the leak.
Remember, the location from where the water is getting in your house can be significantly different from the area of the dripping on your attic. It is, therefore, essential that you expand the search in your attic to make sure that you don’t miss any dripping points.
04. Go to your Roof
Now that you know where the water is leaking right from your house to the attic, it is time to move to your roof. Again, you need to carry the measurements, but this time you’ll make a couple of adjustments while taking into consideration the depth of wall bearing.
05. Pinpoint the Leaking Point
You can quickly find the location where water is gaining access into your roof if you have kept the measurements constant from right from your living room. Work in circles from the point of dripping.
Keep in mind that even as you review your roof, any opening is an opportunity for water to get inside your house. So, ensure that you move around your roof carefully to prevent further leaks.
06. Dripping Sources Other than your Roof
Sure, roofs leaks are the most common. However, other sources can have the same amount of inconvenience, including pest infestation, plumbing, and condensation as well as air conditioning leaks.
One More Thing – Consider Hiring a Professional
How to fix leaking roof?
Indeed, you can handle leaks in your home if they’re minor. However, you may need the help of experienced service to repair your roof in case of extensive damage. But wait, why is this essential? Well, you see, fixing roof leakages isn’t the easiest of chores. At the very least, you need to make sure that you seal every point that is dripping water inside your house.
On top of that, you want to fix the situation without causing further damage to your roof. It, therefore, makes perfect sense to allow experts to take care of business. Think of it as a way of getting rid of the leakage problem while making sure that the rest of your roof remains intact.