Finding the source of a leak in the roof of your Fort Collins, CO home can be frustrating. If you have noticed slight water damage on your wall or ceiling, it might be caused by a leak in your roof. They can be hard to track down, but there are some steps you can take to trace the water back to its source.
Is Your Roof in Fact Leaking?
Keep in mind that if you do find signs of water damage in your walls or ceiling, it may not always mean that your roof is leaking. The water could be coming from leaky pipes, or if your house is sealed up particularly tight it could even be condensation. Investigate any plumbing that you have that is higher than the water damage. Remember that the water might be leaking from a pipe and traveling pretty far inside the walls before seeping into the plaster or drywall and becoming visible. Check the water damage when it is raining. If it consistently becomes wet or gets worse during or a few hours after rainstorms then you can be pretty sure that you do have a leak on your hands.
Find the Source of the Leak
You can check for signs of where the water is coming from inside your attic. You might see old water damage on the inside of the roof or rafters if you own an older home. This possibly could have happened years ago with the previous roof if your house is old enough. Touch the wood to see if it is wet. If it is dry, then it might not be where your current problem is coming from. If the wood is in fact wet, then you should estimate where that spot is on your roof and inspect the roof from the outside.
Inspect the roof from the outside for any obvious damage. Look for missing shingles. Check the flashing around the chimney and any skylights or vent pipes. Another thing to look for is nail heads showing. Don’t forget that the leak could be getting under the shingles higher up on the roof and then traveling down the tar paper before making its way into the attic.
Now What Should You Do?
If the problem is with the flashing, or not very extensive, you might very well be able to do the repair yourself if you are handy. For more serious damage to your roof you would probably want to leave it up to professional roofers in Fort Collins, CO.
If you are looking for Affordable Roofers in Fort Collins, CO you can contact Jerry’s Roofing Service.
