Repair a tile roof leak, or patch a tile roof leak?
There is a difference between a repair, and a patch. A patch is when one sees where water is coming in from a roof, then either just trowels Modified Bitumen roof cement (“tar”) over the spot, or Modified Bitumen roof cement then a roofing membrane over the spot.
A repair is when the leak is discovered, and materials are removed and replaced with new, uncompromised materials. Orchid Island Roofing only repairs leaks, never just a patch. This is how OIR will only do the right thing when it comes to repairing your roofing leaks.
Tile leaks can be identified by staining on the fascia, visible rotten fascia, or visible rotten plywood from inside the attic. Once identified OIR determines how far one needs to repair so a future leak will not occur. For instance, if a leak is found at the bottom of a valley, the entire valley will be replaced so a future leak will not occur right above the first leak. When a valley wears out towards the bottom, the section above that area is soon to follow because it has seen just about as much wear.
The tiles are removed, and the existing underlayment is exposed. Once this is done the repair technician can see the visible cracks in the underlayment which are allowing the water intrusion. This is where some roofers will assess the problem and then spread Modified Bitumen (“tar”) over the cracks, then re-install the tiles and walk away. This “patch” will never work because the Modified Bitumen roof cement will not necessarily stick to the old dirty surface, and over time it will dry out and crack. When this happens water will follow the same path and rot the area below.
The proper way to repair this area is to remove the underlayment in the entire valley exposing all the rot. Even though water only showed up at the very bottom, when underlayment was removed, one can see the water stains extended 60% of the way up the valley.
The rotted plywood, and fascia is removed and replaced. Following this SHARKSKIN ULTRA SA® underlayment is installed covering the plywood and tucked under the existing underlayment. The next step is to install the copper drip edge and copper valley.
After the valley is installed another layer of SHARKSKIN ULTRA SA® is installed over the copper valley and under the existing underlayment. This joint between old and new is then sealed with Modified Bitumen roof cement. All joints are installed to ensure positive water flow, materials are never lapped over, always under. Now the tiles are installed for a worry-free leak repair!
