a previous customer asked me to look at her roof,it was leaking for some reason

she told me she paid a ''roofer'' to fix it for her last year,normally i shy away from roof leaks as my percentage over the years for finding and fixing them has not been good

But ive been ''cultivating'' the ho for 2 years doing minor window repairs,the house has at least 50,000 dollars [U.S. not Canadian]of old Marvin wood windows that have rotten out the way they do,so i wanna be a hero on this,any advise?

few more

this is where it gets even more funky

might as well show them all,last pic is where the leak is showing up on the inside

That valley running right into the capping is a big problem for one thing. Water can run down there and rush right in to that cap and right through the sheeting. Also the flashing around that box looks like a problem waiting to happen.

See in the photos also how the shingles are wet way out from the valley? I am wondering if they cut the end of the shingles that would have hit the valley at a point. If you don't that point of the cut can draw water away from the valley. So you have to cut the end of them so that the water doesn't get trapped by that. What they do is make a cut 45 degrees on the shingle so water can keep going.

For this message the author Greg from K/W has received gratitude :

tomstruble

Those shingles look a little rough and soaked too....

I hate woven valleys if there is snow and always get a metal valley installed. Not to mention I try to not have dams situated in the valley... :)

I am sure most of the leaking occurs when the snow that piles up there starts to melt? That is a funky roof detail to start with.

I agree Dave I would be recommending a complete re roof of that job. I would use more ice and water shield than I have ever seen on a job. Also I would cover every square inch with roof gaurd.

http://www.roofmart.ca/product_main.asp ... ct&&sub=12

There is no way to tell where precisely that water is getting in but I would lay bets its soaking through the shingles out past the 90 pound valley material. Also that ridge if it isn't wrapped in so much ice a water that you can't feel recognize it as a ridge its most likely going to leak like a sieve.

It wasn't done right in the first place and if you touch it you may make it worse and not know it. CYA My friend and ask them to redo it. Its the only way you can make sure.

think i can carve out the hip with Greg's multimaster? i hear them things are awesome

tricky part is getting a saddle in there and keeping enough pitch at both valleys

You don't need a saddle its a matter of laying enough ice and water to endure water can't penetrate the area. I would have put one layer right down the middle then one on each side of that valley. Then come down that hip with as many layers to protect it. Unfortunately its the only way to do that and ensure its a good seal.

tomstruble wrote:tricky part is getting a saddle in there and keeping enough pitch at both valleys

I agree with Greg. Although that thing should never have been built like that, like you mention a saddle rework would be a little tricky. Ice and water guard and metal in the valleys should help immensely - a complete re-roof might take it out of your hands; but redoing that whole section seems necessary while the HO knows that the detail is inherently problematic.

Are you done yet? I like the term "cultivating the homeowner" - are they sprouting yet?

not yet but im hoping for a good crop

Anyone that tar's a leak like that is not a roofer..

I'd tear out all the newer shingles that where replaced when the hack tried fixing it and I&W it all.

Before doing that I would pull a couple shingles and see if that if it's even under there at all.

I've fixed alot of leaks and what i've came to the conclusion not to rule out the least likely. I've seen some follow a vent stack down the pipe and drop off the pipe in a total different area. Making you think a valley was leaking when really it was something as simple as vent stack.

One I fixed recently was the the first floor house bathroom of a two story house had a stain on it. The vent stack was channeling water down inside the wall and dropping off in the first floor ceiling. The customer thought it was a leaky window.

For this message the author Josh has received gratitude :

tomstruble

Tom,
How much pitch is on this area? I have an idea but it all depends on the existing pitch.

ETA: I agree with Josh on the tar, whoever they hired wasn't a roofer.

Dennis

that feels to me like a 6or7 the rest is a 9 i think

im bringin a roofer buddy of mine over to look,he's even older than me

between the 2 of us we have 2 maybe 2 1/2 good eyes between us

cause there is definatly more than 1 problem here,not to mention the chimney

its all cathedral so i can imagine there is a condensation problem to boot