Leaky roof

It rained most of Saturday. About noon I get a call form tenant, roof on front pourch is leaking. So I put a sprinkler on roof and ran water for about an hour. Removed the gable vent, no leaks, everything is dry.

So I drilled a tiny hole in ceiling where tenant said it was leaking. Pushed a small wire through hole so locate where it was leaking. Some evidence the roof vent was leaking. I'm thinking the wind may have blown water into vent. So I put a plastic tote under vent and where water was leaking. Hoping the little water getting into attic will collect in tote and dry on it's own.

BTW, first time I got a call I caulked around the vent with roof cement, tar.

Has anyone ever had such a proplem? A roof that only leaks when it's raining and it's windy.

Yes, it happens sometimes even if the vents are installed correctly. But don't rule out the possibility the water is coming from somewhere else and working its way over to the porch roof.

Plastic cement can certainly dry out and crack. I check mine every fall and touch up where needed.

The only time a roof does leak is when it is raining. When the sun is out no need to fix it. LOL

My dad was a carpenter and told me many times he'd found the source of the leak was a good distance from where the drip was.

Check your boots around the vents they seem to crack and start leaking

It can be leaking 3-4 feet above where it comes through. Water gets on top of the felt paper, then travels under the shingles until it finds it's way through. Even then it can track along the underside of the decking.

It can be very hard to find leaks. Took me a couple years to find one at the church. Finally found a nail pop about 5 feet above where it was coming through. Never could get it to leak with the water hose, had to be rain. Even then it was some times it would, sometimes it wouldn't...

I think it was Sunday night a week ago that we had a big "front" come through.

I had a new roof (4/12 pitch, 30 yr. Timberline) installed first part of this year and was present for the whole thing.

I know that my fireplace-free standing Earth Stove, 8" triple wall, vertical vent, was sealed properly and has a new SS cap, custom made, sloped down in front, below stack opening and open in the rear....4" roughly above stack opening, 180* curved side to side, lubricated (by me) so it easily follows the wind direction blocking the opening, wind direction positioned by a vertical 4"x10" vane...............leaked, staining the sheetrock ceiling material adjacent to the ceiling flange. Never had a leak from this vent in the 40 years it has been there and Its good as new as I clean it out with a wire stack cleaner brush annually and know it's condition.

Round 2.

Coming off the 4/12 pitch roof, not part of the new roof as it didn't need replacing, I have an add-on room with a slope of about 2/12. I installed Mueller brand 3'x18' steel roof panels years ago because the slope was too shallow for conventional shingles and never had a problem until lately. Seems my house is sinking into the ground (Houston Clay) with the wet-dry cycles of the weather as of the last few years and this has upset the seams where the panels seal to one another. Took me awhile to figure the location of this leak but wind driven rain made it's way through the seam and into the sheetrock. I got some white roll/brush-on rubberized roof coating, $100 for 5 gallons, from Home Depot and after sealing the seams it seems I have that problem solved. The last 2 strong fronts through here haven't leaked a drop. Phew I hole that's over!

In answering your question: "Has anyone ever had such a proplem? A roof that only leaks when it's raining and it's windy", my answer is yes and they are not necessarily easy to find. I couldn't believe my new roof was leaking (in looking to solve the add-on roof leak) because of the effort the roofers went to ensuring a leakproof job at the interface of the main roof to the add-on. I even bought a 6' (sensor tube length) Fiber Optic camera and cut observation holes in the sheet rock/insulation of the ceiling trying to find where the "new roof" was leaking and no symptoms were found. Finally I decided that the only way the water could be getting in is wind driven rain coming down off the main roof combined with what fell on the add-on was leaking as described. So far so good.

Good luck on your search but finding roof leaks is said to be a trying experience......yes on that.

If it ONLY leaks when its raining, I always tell the wife I cant fix it when its raining and when its not raining I don't need to.

John T

The main point on the stove is that the wind driven rain had to come in via the roof cap not being able to prevent it....aka wind intensity....best guess.

I had a small leak in my shop roof. I had a guy look for it & he found a spot that had been caulked when it was built. He recalked it & it still leaked. Then I had the roof painted. The painter couldn't find anything, but after painting the leak stopped. Must have been a small hole that the paint sealed.

I have had that in a few places on my shop roof whenever we get a strong Nor'easter. The place that was the worst I saw it run down to the edge of a sheet of plywood and then to a truss and drip from there. I put a large pan there and have not seen the ceiling wet since.

I have seen similar on porch style roofs. Question; does the porch roof attic connect with a bigger vented attic space? Is there any chance you could be getting negative draw through this vent?

John, Snuffy Smith in the comics used that excuse.
Richard

Evaporation is not a solution.

Gee I thought I was the original lol

John T

I've been trying to find a leak on my house for years and the leaks do not stay in the same place. I have coated and re-coated the roof many times and still have a leak some place. But the metal roof of a mobile home seem to like to leak just because it heats and cools

(quoted from post at 07:05:31 10/29/19) Evaporation is not a solution.

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PJH, why not? it has been woking well for me for around 25 years.

Only thing I can add to comments below is that I recommend using this stuff when you reseal around roof penetrations, it?s the best I?ve used. It?s nasty but effective, I wear plastic gloves and wear old jeans.

PHJ,
If there are only a few drops and it rained all day. I think evaporation and a 17 gallon tote is a good begining.

Let sprinkler run for an hour and not a drop any place. Air vent is only a few inches away.

One time we had high wind and snow. Snow got in my attic.

I don't know how to modify vent to prevent wind from blowing water in attic, Short of removing vent.
geo.

George, I need to clarify things.

I said, "Evaporation is not a solution". I should have went on to say that I know that from personal experience. My masonry shop chimney goes through the peak of the metal roof. I have a very small leak on the north east corner of it. It has never leaked bad enough to show inside on the ceiling - just in the attic. I have pasted plastic roof cement around that chimney every fall. I've embedded fiberglass screen in the plastic roof cement. I've removed everything and started over with fresh roof cement. It still leaks. So - I have a five gallon bucket carefully placed in the attic under the drip. In a hard rain it barely wets the bottom of the bucket. I don't consider the bucket to be a solution. Stopping the leak would be the solution in my view. In the absence of having a solution to the leak, I have a five gallon bucket.

Showcrop, I'm sorry that I misled you. Please see my reply to George below.

I have gabled ends on the house facing N and S. with no eaves. 40 years ago I built this house and used a 12', 4x12 pitch eave vent at the peak on both ends. When strong, wet Northers come in, I sometimes get water spots on my ceiling through 6" or so of insulating bats with vapor barrier. Have yet to have a problem with "the sky falling" (Chicken Little nursery rhime).

The lattices in the vent are obviously sloped to the outside at 45ish degrees and at the top of each lattice the aluminum has a reverse twist to catch the rain that the wind drives up the lattice.....but some gets in anyway.

On your comment about just closing it off or replacing it, what are your options? At my last house, also with a 4x12 pitched roof I installed a 24" wind driven turbine roof vent and on a storm one day, soon after the installation, I crawled up in the attic to check it and it was spinning like crazy and wet mist hit me with my head stuck up in the hole. So that was not one of my ventilation methods when I did my current house.