Roofing Contractor

**HILLCYD** · 05-24-2007, 10:49 AM

Earlier in the week I noticed a little bit of spotting on the ceiling in my son's room. Looks like I have a small roof leak.

Can anyone recommend a roofing contractor and give me an idea of what a fix like that might cost?

**benjay** · 05-24-2007, 11:02 AM

I would go to your attic and try to find where the leak is. Then you can go on your roof and identify the problem. Common problem areas are the flashings around chimneys, stinkpipes, and vents that go through your roof. It might be something you can fix on your own without much time or effort.

**Cyclonesrule91** · 05-24-2007, 11:14 AM

Get a pale of roof tar if you have small area and apply liberally around flashing and/or under torn shingles after you isolate the leak. Once warm sunlight hits it, it will seal real well. If you have an old roof that is the reason for the leak, the roof tar will only slightly lengthen the time till you have to replace the shingles.

If you end up replacing the roof, make sure if you do it, or get it done by someone else that you scrape off the old shingles and then new tarpaper and shingle the roof. If you get bids and one is quite a bit cheaper, it might be they are only putting a new layer on and your new shingles won't last as long as if you remove and replace.

Good luck

**HILLCYD** · 05-24-2007, 11:24 AM

I would love to do it myself, but my house is TALL and my roof has a VERY STEEP pitch. The roof isn't very old, I am thinking it is a leak in the corner of one of the dormer (might be the wrong term) type areas.

**Cyclonesrule91** · 05-24-2007, 01:05 PM

Not sure what you mean by the dormer area, but if there is flashing(sheet metal) around a pipe or trough, just take the tar and apply in the seams and where the leak is coming from. That should take care of the problem if your roof is not that old.

**C.John** · 05-24-2007, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclonesrule91

Not sure what you mean by the dormer area,

Dormer:

**Cyclonesrule91** · 05-24-2007, 01:11 PM

You are the man....rep 4 U...Thanks

**C.John** · 05-24-2007, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclonesrule91

You are the man....rep 4 U...Thanks

Not a problem. I figured that would be easier than explaining it and alot quicker than running outside, snapping a few pictures of our dormers, editing the pictures to make the sky more vibrant and the dormer windows shinier (I really need to clean those windows this weekend), shrink the photos for web use, upload them and post them in this thread. Like I said, no problem.

**benjay** · 05-24-2007, 01:52 PM

It could be a valley (the place where the dormer roof meets the main roof), which is another common problem area. You'd have to inspect the valley and figure out exactly how and where water is getting through. Then you would probably have to slide a new shingle or some flashing under existing shingles to stop it.

Still should be doable on your own if you have some time to fart around with it. Not sure what a contractor would cost, but you are smack dab in the middle of the roofing busy season. You'd probably have to get a crew chief out to your house in the evening and I'd expect to pay a couple hundred bucks at least.

**benjay** · 05-24-2007, 01:57 PM

oh and check the area where the peak of the dormer meets the main roof. The shingles that go along the peak are called caps, and the capline should extend under the shingles on the main part of the roof. If the crew didn't do it right, water could be seeping in there and it wouldn't be hard to fix.

**HILLCYD** · 05-24-2007, 02:00 PM

Thanks for all the great advice fellas! Another thing to love about the Fanatic, you can always find good info on any topic. I feel a new tagline coming on:

From Shirley to Shingles, Beer to Bachelor Parties, you can find it all at CycloneFanatic.com!