A roof leak is a serious problem in your home. With the record amount of rain we have had here in central Maryland here in May of 2018, many home roofing systems have sustained damage. In times such as these when water has access to a part of your home where it is not supposed to be, you need to take prompt action. If left unchecked, water can do serious damage, and you may wind up spending thousands of dollars to fix the problem. It should go without saying that roof leak is going to need to be addressed right away before any long-term damage is done to the structure.
At first, you will probably realize something is wrong because you are seeing small signs of water damage. Maybe there is a bit of mold growing, or maybe you see a couple of water stains on your ceiling. Those are possible indications of a roof leak, but what is the next step? Finding the leak might not be quite as easy as you would think at first. If you think that the roof leak is always going to be located directly above the signs of water damage you have spotted, you are in for a big surprise. In many cases, the water will have traveled quite a complicated route to wind up where you found it.
A Flashlight is Your Friend
As you might guess, you are going to need to visit your attic in order to look for the leaky point in your roof. It is almost certainly going to be dark in the attic, so bring a good flashlight with you for the visit. Of course, you’ll need to be careful while exploring the attic space, since you won’t have much headroom or a solid floor. Shine your light up at the underside of the roof to see if you can spot anything that doesn’t look right.
An Artificial Storm
Ideally, you will be able to spot the leaky spot in your roof during a period of dry weather. That will allow repairs to be made before rougher weather moves in, hopefully limiting the damage that takes place in your home. However, it’s hard to see the spot where a roof might be leaking when it is dry outside. There may not be much evidence to work from, which is why you might want to create your own storm. Have one person spray the roof with a hose while the other person uses a flashlight in the attic to watch for drips. If there is a leak in your roof, this method is likely to help you find it in short order.
Take Action
It’s not worth much to find a leak in your roof if you don’t bother to fix it right away. Once the offending spot is identified, you’ll have two choices – fix it yourself, or bring in a pro. When in doubt, bring in a professional to keep yourself safe and make sure it gets done right. Unless you have experience and know you can do your own repair safely, the cost of a professional contractor will be worth it to both stop the leak and avoid the potential for an accident if you were to climb up on the roof yourself.
