Repairing Roof Leaks In Valleys

Start low soaking the area just above where the leak appears in the house.

Repairing roof leaks in valleys.

A lead valley is a particularly difficult item to dispose of as lead is toxic and so a repair may involve simply patching up your lead roofing. If you find that this is a problem then you will need to repair your roof valley before anything serious happens such as plaster loss or even major water damage. In order to stop the leak in your roof you need to get to where the leak is occurring. This will require that you remove the shingles.

And that s what we ve done here montgomery s old cloverdale neighborhood. Most shingle installers will use a thick 30 lb paper as a base for the valley. The right thing to do here is to pull a valley basically pull a valley apart and rebuild it. And you can tar it but it s a real stop gap band aid like measure.

Valley areas are prone to leak due to the lack of using proper materials. If a leak is difficult to find enlist a helper and go up on the roof with a garden hose. Move to the highest end of the valley and work your way down cleaning. If the ice and water shield is missing then you will have to remove the shingles on both sides along the valley put ice and water shield in place and re shingle the roof.

Where valleys run from the edge of the roof to a ridge trim the flashing to fit under the corresponding side of the ridge shingles. Clear any debris in the roof valley and surrounding area. For example soak the downhill side of a chimney first then each side then the top on both sides. And if they put a second layer of shingles on they brought it up the valley but they didn t replace the valley it s probably leaking and cracking and split.

A properly flashed roof valley should have an ice and water shield installed with roofing felt being properly secured over the ice and water. When a valley begins to leak it s very difficult to surgically address the leak. Most roofers that install shingles will not have rubber membranes with them to do such areas. The best way to find and stop the roof leak is to start over and roof the valley the right way.

Isolate areas when you run the hose. Take measurements of your roof flashing most flashing is 14 inches wide but yours may vary. Carefully remove the shingles from the whole area of the leak and extend it approximately three or four feet beyond the leaking area. Most roofers that do shingles will use a heavy base paper instead of a rubber membrane.

Follow these three preparatory steps to get ready to fix the valley leak.