Real estate blog entries tagged with roof leaks by Jay Markanich, Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia (Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC)

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roof leaks: In An Attic, Two Buckets Are A Pair, But Three Are A Charm! - 05/09/16 08:53 PM

In an attic, two buckets are a pair, but three are a charm!
There was remodeling and many changes, upgrades and all you can imagine. And nothing seemed done professionally. Certainly permits were not pulled for anything.
There was a new bath vent and sky light in the bathroom. They looked good from below.
THINGS ALWAYS ALMOST LOOK GOOD WHEN THEY ARE ONLY GLANCED AT!
But you have to look further! Take the bathroom for instance. It all looked good!
Let's see.
The new fan blows into the attic space, not outdoors.
And the skylight framing is weak, cuts a truss, is uninsulated and the insulation that was … (13 comments)

roof leaks: "Can You Tell If There's Water Under The Roof Surface After Repairs?" - 07/31/14 08:14 PM

People call with questions after finding me on the web - like this one: "Can you tell if there's water under the roof surface after repairs?" The answer is yes!
Scenario - a hotel roof had leaking in many places. There are three separate roof areas - over the laundry, over the kitchen and the main roof over the hotel rooms. There was leaking all over.
The hotel called a roofer, who patched and glued and did repairs. Not long after the leaks began happening again.
So the hotel called another company in another state specializing in analyzing previous work and … (45 comments)

roof leaks: High-End, Upper-Level Condos Have To Be Checked For Roof Leaks! - 05/18/14 07:08 PM

Believe it or not, high-end, upper-level condos have to be checked for roof leaks!
You would think that condo fees go toward not only regular maintenance, but immediate needs!
But you have to look!
The evidence might be slight.
In this condo it was in the ceiling (the owner had tried to paint out the stains) as a small line and near the wall.
It was in the cavity both near the ceiling and near the HVAC register.
And the stains had "ghosts."
What are ghosts?
That is the slang term, at least used by home inspectors, for different sized stains … (42 comments)

roof leaks: Have You Ever Seen A Copper Roof That Is Seamed And Soldered? - 05/11/14 08:33 PM

Have you ever seen a copper roof that is seamed and soldered? I see them now and then.
They are very high end, very attractive, very durable, very expensive and very finicky.
Some roofing materials should not be installed when there is not much slope to the roof.
THERE IS A PRINCIPLE HERE!
Asphalt shingles are one of those materials. Shingles are very good at shedding water, but are not water proof. Really, anything less than a 4/12 slope and another roofing material should be considered.
That means a rise in the roof of 4' for every 12' of horizontal roof … (18 comments)

roof leaks: The Bank, And Realtor, Didn't Know The Roof Was In Poor Condition - 01/01/14 05:55 PM

As I pulled into the driveway I could see from the street that the roof was really bad and was told later that the bank, and Realtor, didn't know the roof was in poor condition.
Really? This house is a bank REO. The buyer's agent met me at the house, along with the buyers. The buyers had no idea the house was in such rough shape. And the roof is not the only thing visibly wrong from the outside.
My clients flew half way across the country to be shown what is pictured on the photo on the left below as … (45 comments)

roof leaks: A New Product Filling A Market Need Very Quickly And Very Well - 08/10/13 09:32 PM

Anytime I see a new product filling a market need very quickly and very well, it just brings a tear to my eye.
My client couple and I had been going through a house, kind of from thing to thing, when it came time to go into the attic.
As I did, the realtor, one Miss Kennedy, who, by the way, is walking around like she never had knee replacement surgery (!), and looks great, waited comfortably for the attic information.
There were a number of areas leaking into the attic.
And looking under a couple of those spots what did … (24 comments)

roof leaks: Another Of Many Leaks On A One-Year Warranty Inspection - 05/28/13 09:03 PM

This is just another of many leaks on a one-year warranty inspection.
How can so many leaks happen in just one year?
The answer, of course, can be given in one word -
PROFESSIONALISM.
And when I say professionalism, obviously I mean the lack there of.
When different materials abut, like siding and roofs, there are well-known, tried and true techniques that have been around for many decades, if not centuries, that can permanently close gaps to prevent water penetration.
Why is it so hard to understand then?
Why is it that on one-year inspections so many leaks have opened up?
… (8 comments)

roof leaks: It Wasn't Only The Obvious - Roof Questions Are Always Difficult - 11/21/12 07:39 PM

A client contacted me for a home inspection, asking me also about an obvious problem out front. Yep, that was a problem, but there was a roof problem as well. So, in this case, it wasn't only the obvious - roof questions are always difficult.
The first stair on both sides of the front sidewalk, not really attached to the front porch stoop, was settling and separating. Only water causes that.
But, looking the house up on line, I was able to diagnose why the stairs were settling just by seeing a photo of the front of the house.
The photo … (8 comments)

roof leaks: Following A Trail Of Tears And Roof Leaks - 10/31/12 08:56 PM

This post is following a trail of tears and roof leaks, in more ways than one.
This couple built their dream home. It has had troubles from the start, too many to mention here. The builder is long gone, and has skipped the scene. They have tried for five years to determine the causes of many problems.
One problem has been ongoing roof leaks. And for five years nobody had been able to find the source of any of them. Three weeks ago they got fed up and had a roofing company come and replace all the flashing on their roof. … (16 comments)

roof leaks: We Never Had A Leak In This Room Before - 10/30/12 08:39 PM

The phone call was from someone I have heard from before to perform a thermal imaging inspection, but began, "We never had a leak in this room before." This was my first hurricane-related call, coming the day after! It was still raining hard during the inspection!
They had been waiting for the right rain to call me back. Well, with the hurricane coming to town, they got it!
This is a house with a history of leaking, which I found to be due to improper window installation, improper door installation, and an improper roof installation.
We went into the home office, … (15 comments)

roof leaks: Famous Last Words - "But I Caulked It!" - 03/21/12 08:51 PM

Within a couple of months of moving into a house, a couple started having water leaking from the light fixture on the edge of the sitting room off the kitchen.
The builder came out and there was no issue in the roof near or over the area or light fixture. They were puzzled.
Mighty Mo was called to the scene and saw residual moisture.
But the builder was right, there was no evidence above that the roof, or gutter, had an issue.
What nobody knew was that the water was also making its way into the floor below.
This was going … (74 comments)

roof leaks: How NOT To Flash A Chimney, Or A Roof - 02/14/12 10:52 PM

So often, more than seeing something flashed correctly, I see how not to flash a chimney, or a roof.
Roof tar does not flashing make! Period. It's great UNDER "stuff," like shingles, or vent covers, and when under it is long lasting. But it is not intended to be installed (my word is "gooped") over "stuff!"
But it does inspire song! Please, feel free to sing along. It's best to bob your head too...

I SEE A RED CHIMNEY AND I WANT IT PAINTED BLACK,

NOT ONLY IN THE FRONT, BUT UNDER AND … (88 comments)

roof leaks: I Was Called To Find One Problem, But Found Another Instead! - 10/15/11 12:00 AM

Doing inspections with a thermal image camera is a bit art and a bit science. In this house I was called to find one problem, but found another instead!
This house had a basement with moisture problems in the past. A company was called to fix them and dry out the basement. It seemed to have worked. But the homeowner felt that the basement was very humid and wondered if the basement was leaking again. He was referred to me, called and I went over.
Not a single problem anywhere! No moisture! Nothing! And in the last month we have had … (59 comments)

roof leaks: The Cricket Isn't Cricket - 09/12/11 12:00 AM

What do you do when the cricket isn't cricket?
Do you know what a cricket is?
It's a little, triangular feature roofers build behind a wide chimney. In roofing slang, it's called a cricket!
It's intended to divert water around that chimney, so it doesn't flow rapidly down a roof and splash violently into the chimney, causing a leak.
I would assume this cricket has been behind this chimney long before the recent roof shingle replacement.
But even if the cricket was built then, it wasn't angled or flashed properly.
How do I know this?
BECAUSE I WENT INTO THE ATTIC … (23 comments)

roof leaks: Looked Up, Looked Down, Looked All Around - 09/10/11 09:43 PM

Entering the garage I looked up at the ceiling. I always look up first.
As I looked up, what did I see? A swelling stain in the drywall. One of many actually.
But this one looked like a question mark!
(I couldn't take it's picture with the flash, as the swollen stuff was whited out. And there wasn't enough light to take it without a flash. But I did find some orange cellophane and used it as a makeshift filter, and viola! Eat your heart out Thornton...)
I began questioning what I saw!

So I looked down.
What did I … (53 comments)

roof leaks: When Flashing Isn't Good Enough - 07/12/11 01:19 AM

When you see something for the first time, you can wonder about it and understand it in the same moment. When I showed this to my client the other day, and his Realtor Justin Dibbs, it was looked at for the oddity it is, but the big question remains.
WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT!?
This is just one aspect of a fireplace chimney where it bisects the roof.
Lifting things up and looking around I simply couldn't find any evidence of flashing.
Best practice, instead of this mortar parging, would have two types of flashing. A step flashing, against the … (13 comments)

roof leaks: Home Inspections In The Rain - 04/20/11 10:44 PM

Sometimes people will call me to ask if our scheduled home inspection should be canceled because it's a rainy day. Of course I say NO! When it's raining and water is flowing, on, off and around a house, you can see things not otherwise manifest!
Take this house for instance. When I got there it had been raining all night and well into the morning. It was raining hard at the time I arrived. Taking the time to carry my things to the front porch, I noticed this leaking under the front porch roof.
There isn't any reason why water should … (59 comments)

roof leaks: It's Good To Be Able To See Everything - 03/08/11 11:18 PM

Sometimes when I see from the outside of a house what I believe is a problem on the inside of a house, I often wonder if I will actually be able to see it from the inside. Sometimes ceiling structures, and drywall, prevent me from being able to investigate things completely.

From the parking lot of this townhouse I could see that the ridge vent had a bulge in it.
And the sheathing right under that bulge was sagging.
This sagging can indicate rot, and a compromised structure.
It was evident in a couple of places along the roof's ridge … (37 comments)

roof leaks: It All Flows Downhill, But Especially Water - 10/15/10 01:00 AM

If you give it a place to go, water will go there. And water is THE killer of houses, inside and out.
You have all seen the rubber membrane roof product, particularly on flat or low-slope surfaces. That is an EPDM roof, or Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer roof. Technically, it is a thermoset with high tear strength that can be cross-linked by both peroxides and sulfur (I learned that in Indianapolis!), but I digress.
If you look out a window at a small, flat front porch roof, you will probably see it.
It comes in different thicknesses, principally a 60 weight … (14 comments)

roof leaks: Pre-drywall Inspection With A Problem - 10/03/10 12:34 AM

I do a lot of pre-drywall inspections. During new construction I only recommend two inspections - the pre-drywall and the final just before the walk through with the builder. It is interesting the things I find on both inspections.
The pre-drywall is particularly important because it is the only time to see the house while skeletal. I am particularly interested in transference of loads, making sure that things are evenly distributed and that load-bearing structures rest on a proper platform or the steel beam intended. Of course, there is a lot more to look at than that. And I do!

… (31 comments)

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