Common Roof Problems

Shingle Roof Problems – Buckled and Curling Shingles
This roof on the left suffers from buckled/curling shingles, one of the most common shingle roof problems. It happens when shingles get so hot that they literally begin buckling away from your home. Buckled shingles can no longer fully protect your home from water and other weather. In other words, your roof could suffer from leaks that you’ve yet to notice in your home!

Granule Loss
This roof suffers from granule loss; it often occurs to shingles when they’re older and have begun to wear away due to extreme exposure to weather. When you have granule loss, you can no longer expect your roof to fully protect your home.

Lack of Ventilation
This roof suffers from a lack of ventilation; vents allow the roof to breathe. They bring air in and out of your attic consistently. If your attic isn’t properly ventilated, it can severely reduce the life expectancy of your roofing materials.

Missing Shingles
This roof suffers from missing shingles; there are portions throughout the roof where they’re simply not there. Missing shingles often lead to water damaged homes.

Damaged Flashing
This roof suffers from damaged flashing; the flashing is not properly sealed against the roof. When flashing isn’t sealed tightly, water seeps into your roof.

Cracked and Sliding Tiles

Cracked and sliding tiles expose your roof’s underlayment to harmful sun and UV rays which deteriorate your roof’s protective layer. Left unattended, deterioration of your roof’s underlayment begins in as little as 90 days, depending on the material. Deteriorated underlayment allows water to seep through your roofs protective layer and causes damage to your home.

Corrosion

Florida’s high humidity and frequent rain causes corrosion and rust on your roof vents and flashings. Once these become damaged, water is able to find its way between the flashing and roof deck and into your home.

Deteriorated Underlayment

Deteriorated underlayment is caused when a tile breaks, cracks, or slides, exposing the watertight layer of your roof to the elements. Left unattended the underlayment will crack and allow water to cause damage to your roof deck and home.

Soffit and Roof Edge Damage

Soffit and roof edge damage is caused by water damning behind the mortar or eave closure at the first row of tile at your roof’s edge. Often this occurs because water does not properly drain at the edge of the roof due to poor installation. Trapped water rots the underlayment, roof deck, and supportive structure of the roof. Signs of rust on your soffit may be a sign that your roof is damaged around the perimeter. Left unattended, damage spreads quickly and may require substantial repairs or cause early roof failure. Regular inspections of soffit areas by a trained professional are necessary because water damage does not show up inside your home.

Valley Failure

Valley failure is caused by exposure to the elements. The age of your roof and the type of materials used in the valleys contribute to failure. Valley failures can cause serious damage to your home due to the large amount of water that travels through the valley.

Ponding Water

Ponding water is the main cause of roof deterioration on flat roofs. Water breaks down the membrane and causes leaks. To solve this problem a tapered insulation system can be installed which will shed the water off your roof and as a bonus reduce your energy bills.

Cracked Membrane/Alligatoring

These low slope/flat roofs have been coated, probably to try and fix existing leaks. Water, debris and the sun breaks down the coating and roofing membrane providing only a temporary solution.

Edge Damage

Edge damage is caused by water not draining properly and ponding at the edge. As the roofing membrane deteriorates, leaks occur and cause damage to your home. 

Roof Tie-In
A common problem area for leaks is where two different roof surfaces meet. The flashing (the metal between the roofs) was not installed properly and caused damage to this home.