A roof leak can occur at any time on your home’s roof. Even for homes with a new roof there are things that can happen that can make your home’s roof leak. Since we can’t yet control Mother Nature most of the problems will stem from storms and other weather related events. For homes with older roofing in Canton Michigan there are other causes of roof leaks that you should be aware of and more importantly what can you do about them. In this article I’l go over some of the more common roof leaks and their causes in the Canton Michigan area.?
Common Causes of a Roof Leak in Canton Michigan
Understanding more about your roof and how it performs can help you tremendously when hiring contractors, choosing roofing materials, and more. But we aren’t sharing this information with you because you will make the roof repairs yourself. Instead, always use a qualified contractor to make any type of roof repair or inspection on your home. Going on the roof of your home is extremely dangerous and by doing so you are essentially risking your life as you may fall and get injured or killed. Always let a fully qualified roofing contractor in Canton Michigan handle the roof repair as they will have the needed experience and safety equipment to go on your roof. You can also damage the roof as well in some cases so it’s best to leave the roof repairs to the experts.
Storm Damaged Shingles
The most used type of roofing in Canton Michigan is shingle roofing. Storms can damage shingle roofing because of the winds that are usually associated. Other types of roofing may also be damaged by storms as well but shingle roofing is by far the most common type of roofing in Canton MI. The wind is the problem many times when talking about storm damage. Winds can blow shingles back and break them and the older the shingles are the more susceptible to this damage they will be. These are known as ‘tab breaks’ and when they happen they expose areas of the roof which results in a roof leak. Repair on broken tabs is common and is usually done by placing a new shingle in the place of the damaged one. If the roof is older and failing in many areas the roof likely will need to be fully replaced.
Skylights and Chimneys
The roof on your home doesn’t just mean the roofing materials that are installed on the roof but also everything that is concerned with the roof. Two items which are common to have roof leaks around is the chimney and skylights of the home. For the chimney the hot then cold makes the chimney expand and contract which can usually lead to cracked seals around the chimney. The same is true for skylights but it’s usually a different type of seal used. Many times a simple coat of roofing compound and cleaning the area good will repair the problem.
Plumbing and Ventilation Pipes
Along with the chimneys and skylights of the home’s roof there are also plumbing and ventilation pipes and fans. Usually these pipes have a ‘roof boot’ installed which is made of plastic and rubber. This allows for a bit of expanding and contracting as the pipe may exhaust hot air from bathrooms. When there is a problem it’s usually because the rubber on the roof boot cracks after it turns hard. It’s difficult to determine there is a roof leak when this occurs because the pipes are usually encased in walls inside the home and the water may go between walls rather than on the ceiling. This can also cause a problem with mold growing in the home.
Get a Roof Inspection and Free Consultation in Canton Michigan
In order to fully understand what is happening on your roof and locating any potential problems it’s best to get a roof inspection on your roof. Getting a roof inspection will allow a roofing expert to go over your entire roof looking for any of the problems that are mentioned above and offer roof repair services to help. A2 Roofing offers roof repair and roof inspection service in Canton Michigan and also gives free consultations on roofing projects. Call them today at 734-548-9915 to learn more.