One of the things I’m always sorry to hear is when someone contacts me and says “Hey, I put up a metal roof…I’ve absolutely loved it, and here I am five years later dealing with some water infiltration” (basically a leak). I hate it when I hear that.
However, the fact is…hanging around Up on the roof is a pretty brutal environment, and any roof system (no matter how well it may have been designed – no matter how well it may have been installed) certainly has the potential at some point of having a minor problem come up with it. The neat thing about metal roofs and leaks typically, is if you do have water infiltration through a metal roof, usually it can be remedied pretty easily. You’re usually not having to chase it around. You can usually identify pretty quickly what’s going on.
What to look for when your roof leaks
Some of the common things that you may look for if your metal roof is leaking:
- A visual inspection. Do you see any areas on the roof or perhaps some roof panels have been damaged by a tree limb falling on the roof? Or perhaps you see an area that has been lifted up by the wind.
- Sealants. Are there any sealants on the roof that perhaps might have failed or broken loose at some point over time.
- It’s not the roof system at all. This this probably happens in about 50% of all metal roof leaks that I will hear about… actually the leak is not pertaining to the Roof System at all, It’s not unusual even though it may be many feet away from where the water is actually entering the home, it’s not unusual for roof leaks to actually originated in a sidewall on a house, or in the trim around the window or chimney (chimneys certainly break down over time as well) either through the sides of the chimney or through the cap of the chimney. So, about 50% of all metal roof leaks I hear about we find out that had nothing to do with the metal roof system at all. The metal roof system was fine but the problem was actually in the side wall, or a window, or a chimney.
So, the important thing, if you do have a problem with your metal roof, contact the manufacturer, or contact your installing dealer. Find whatever help you can possibly find out there. Make sure that the repairs are remedied quickly, and make sure that they were done by a competent installation technician.
The post Water Leaks appeared first on Todd Miller.