Flow Down The Roof

You might not notice it for years but eventually rot will destroy sheathing and framing.

Flow down the roof.

The metal roof forms a valley where one roof meets another. This valley shoots rain in a flume during our frequently heavy downpours. Also look for a thin stream of water flowing down one of the rafters. The slope of a roof or pitch is determined by how many inches the roof rises over 1 foot or 12 inches.

Place a piece of standard metal drip edge onto a table or between a pair of sawhorses. If the slope of the roof is reduced a point will be reached at which pressure on the windward slope becomes zero. If you have attic access the easiest way to track down a leak is to go up there with a flashlight and look for the evidence. Without it roof runoff flows down the wall and possibly into the wall.

They can be several feet above the leak or to the right or left of it. Kick out flashing is critical where a roof edge meets a sidewall. Penetrations can include plumbing and roof vents chimneys dormers or anything else that projects through the roof. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape.

Bring a 20 foot sewer auger onto the roof. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. This is worst when there is a door or a window below and water can seep behind the trim. Drip edge is available at hardware stores and it is made.

Insert the head into the vent opening and feed it down until you encounter resistance. Look for potential entry points like roof vents valleys loose nails and mark the area with chalk so you can examine the exterior of your roof after it quits raining. To put it in perspective the angle of this slope would be around 30 degrees. Crank the handle to work the head through the obstruction.

Follow the water uphill till the wood is no longer wet. This means that the rise of the slope goes up or down 8 inches for every 12 inches. Numerous people have tried ideas but none have worked. Look for damp spots on the underside of your roof.