Last week I decided to follow our Roof Replacement Production Manager, Daniel White, on his route for a couple of days. One of the most common problems we found were stains on homeowners siding. Unbeknown to me, these presumed siding or paint issues were actually a result of gutter problems.
Daniel and I produced this video to show you how the original roof installation roofing contractor skimped on the details, which has led to annoying water stains on this home.
Summer is finally here in the greater Portland area which means it’s important to be thinking about the components of your roof. The component that has the most difficulty dealing with the summer heat is your (rubber) pipe flashings. Your pipe flashings typically last 10-15 years, but because most homeowners have rubber pipe flashings, instead of lead, they fail due to the heat of summer and cold of winter.
SCRIPT
I want to talk a little bit about pipe flashings on a roof. This is an architectural composition three-tab and this is a two inch pipe flashing that’s ventilating probably a tub, more than likely a tub on a two inch and this is a no-caulk pipe flashing. You can see this is 12-14 years old and this pipe flashing is bad. So during hard rain water is going to run down right into the building and this just lets water in there. Not a good thing. We’ll replace these on homes and we look for them all the time for being bad. We’ll pull this whole unit out, put a new one in and you’re good for another 15 years. A permanent solution would be a lead pipe flashing fits over the top of this with a cap. It would be a permanent solution, though some clients opt not to do that and want to go the least expensive method which is putting a new one of these on. Again, this is an example of a failed pipe flashing this would be the cause of a leak.
When was the last time you had your pipe flashings inspected? Contact Roof Life of Oregon to have one of our roof consultants provide you with an inspection and a full report on your entire roof. Call us at (503) 925-0125 or submit an estimate form.
Be sure to tune to KPAM 860 AM tomorrow from 9am to 11am to hear Handy Randy interview me about the unique challenges of keeping your roof in good shape here in Portland!
If you want to stream it live at home or at work click on the Listen Live link at the top right of the page – http://www.kpam.com/programming/handy_randy_home_crew.shtml
Home inspectors check all aspects of your home, while they are useful, you are not always guaranteed an expert in all aspects of the home. A large percentage of home inspectors will never walk your roof.
We offer REAL ESTATE inspections for pending home or property sales. This is a very thorough and professional statement of the condition of a roof. Since the inspection is made with no expectation of future maintenance business, we cannot offer them free of charge. Please contact us for pricing information.
If your roof needs a check up or you have questions, call us.
Here’s how opting for the cheaper, no-caulk pipe flashing will cause rainwater to enter your home.
It’s worth having us come inspect your roof to make sure the rubber on your pipe flashings hasn’t deteriorated in the Portland weather.
