Roof Repair & Leak Detection: what to know
Water almost never enters directly above the stain on your ceiling. It lands on the deck, runs along a rafter or the underside of the sheathing, and drops at the first low point, sometimes several feet away, sometimes on the other side of the ridge. A roofer who starts in the attic with a flashlight, tracing the wet path uphill, will find the entry point. One who starts by quoting a new roof from the driveway will not.
Where Connecticut roofs actually leak
- Chimney flashing. The single most common source, and half a masonry problem.
- Vent boots. The rubber collar around a plumbing vent cracks from UV after ten to fifteen years. A cheap, easy fix that causes a lot of ceiling damage.
- Valleys. Where two roof planes dump water together; failed or under-lapped valley metal leaks under volume.
- Step flashing at walls and dormers. Frequently tarred over rather than replaced during a previous re-roof.
- Skylight curbs and low-slope porch or addition roofs shingled at a pitch shingles are not rated for.
Wind damage you cannot see from the ground
Connecticut storm wind often does not remove shingles: it lifts them, breaks the self-seal strip, and lets them lie back down. The roof looks fine and is no longer wind-rated or watertight. Creases across tabs, missing tabs at the rakes and ridge, and granules in the gutter are the tells. Ask for close-up photographs, not a verbal summary.
Repair or replace
A single failed boot or a length of valley metal on an otherwise sound roof is a repair. Widespread granule loss with mat showing, shingles that crack when lifted, multiple existing layers, or a deck that flexes underfoot point to replacement. Get a second opinion if a contractor jumps to replacement without showing you the deck.