# Roof vents leaking



## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

The shingles do go up underneath the flashing (from the bottom side to the middle of the flashing piece) although it is hard to see.

















What did I do wrong here?


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

The front of the house which is doing fine. 










Here I have circled where the water is showing in the attic. I have pointed out the outlet and water line that goes to the swamp cooler. There is definitely a leak here that needs to be fixed. How do I afix flashing to the water line and outlet? 
Note: the two vents near the ridge do not show leakage, as far as I can tell. 
And the chair is where I drink a beer. : )


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

please someone criticize my work here.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

You need to get better photos of the roof top air conditioning unit and the support legs and how they attach to the roof.

Do the legs penetrate the roof? 

Have they vibrated and worn through the roof?

Other than that, the pipe flashings look extremely amateurish, with all of the roof cement and the improper overlap of the shingles and covering up the bottom flange on the first photo, which is what I would expect.

How much did you wind up saving to wind up with an improperly done roof that also has ongoing leak problems?

Ed


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Legs do not penetrate the roof at all for the swamp cooler.

How do I fix the flashing? Neighbors roof flashing has more cement than mine. You said first photo flashing is bad, what about the others? I put it on just like it came off- pros did that. My am. job is holding up on the other four penetrations. Front of roof completely fine (you see something wrong here?) . Flashing maybe improper but not whole roof. 

Saved over 3 grand. Thanks.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

robb_ said:


> please someone criticize my work here.


 
Gee! You asked for someone to criticize your work and when someone does, you get all sensative about it. Here is an imaginary tissue paper for you.

Only 20 % of the pipe flashings you did are leaking. I would be so proud to tell people that "Only" 20 % of our work leaked. 

Yes, the front roof looks just fine and since there were no obstacles to circumvent, I would expect it to look like that even if you were only 16 years old. Anything less desireable on such an uncluttered easy obstacle free section would be worthy of a thrashing.

How much interior damage and potential mold and loss of insulation R-Value has taken place or will take place in the future. Oh, I forgot, you saved $3,000.00. My bad.

Obviously the other "Pro" who did your neighbors roof had the same skill level as yourself. Now, he does not deserve to be considered a "Pro", does he?

By the way, which brand of "Invisible Vents" did you use to ventilate the hot attic exhaust air out of the attic? Did those "Invisible Vents" provide the 1/300 or 1/150 ventilation requirements? Also, I am sure you ensured a near balanced intake ventilation system to correspond with your "Invisible Exhaust Vents", didn't you?

Don't get down too hard on yourself from the criticism you requested, because betwee 90 % and 95 % of all roofs installed do not meet the manufacturers specifications for a properly installed roofing system, especially in regards to the intake and exhaust ventilation.

Ed


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Sorry, I should restate my request. How do I fix leaking roof penetrations?
I planned to rip up shingles around that area and redo the protrusions, tips here are what I am looking for. 
I am interested in "invisible vents" as there were none on the previous roof and I saw nothing of the sort during tear down. The side of the house has openings that lets air flow through attic. Not sure if it is relevant that this is in southern AZ and we get 10 inches of rain each year. 
I can take pics of interior of attic. No insulation is wet. There is hardly any insulation anyway up there. Several wood planks showed moisture after recent rain. I am capable of replacing if need be. I planned to inspect further once I rip off shingles, if possible. 
Also, every house that I can see around me has similar situation for roof cement on protrusions;seems likely that I would have ended up with an AM job there anyway. Although this is completely irrelevant. 
Can you help me fix this issue? 

I do appreciate your help.


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Back again, Ed. I hope your day is going well. 
I have inspected again from the inside and the outside. 
One pipe penetration is leaking. The flashing I used, I now know is somewhat cheap, has a rubber boot for the pipe to come through. I did not seal around the rubber boot properly. I can pull back some of the boot easily and this shows a way for water in. I think that I should just seal this area better? yes, no?
The other leak is more interesting. My swamp cooler (are you familiar with these?) is dripping, the water is running down one leg of it and that is exactly where the leak is showing up. So I need to address that dripping first. I will report back. Thanks.

Also, noticed that from inside the attic I could see out through where the eave is located. So it looks like this is the ventilation. Opening at the eaves, and on the sides of the house perpendicular to the eave opening I mentioned, there are openings in the brick to allow air flow. Now I didn't do any calculations on these as I was hoping that the original builders in 1957 did it right.:whistling2:

*edit*: swamp cooler float was set too high and water was dripping over the side of the pan. This has probably been dripping constantly for a few months, not good I know, but it is fixed now.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

With everthing being so coated with the roofing cement, anything I would tell you would only be a guess.

Swamp Cooler? 
I presume some sort of dehumidifier or air-conditionaing unit, but am probably terribly mistaken.

Each of the pipe stacks should have a sheet metal storm collar above the location where the pipe inserts into the base flashing material. I do not for sure see that, but in one of the photos, it looks like the shape protruding out of the plastering of roofing cement.

The "Swamp Cooler" legs need to be applied on top of some sort of roof walk way padding to diffuse the potentially harmful vibrations being created, which can crack the asphalt shingles.

In 1957, they were not even considering proper ventilation when constructing a house. 

*Wrong, the first documents portending the necessity of internal moisture release via attic and crawl space ventilation originates from between 1937, (crawl spaces) and 1942, (attic ventilation).*

Change the flexible rubber soil stack boot flashing to a lead version and fold down the upper flanges into the inner diameter of the soil stack cylindrical shaped pipe protruding from the roof.

Ed



P.S. Quit drinking Beer on the top of your roof. It's dangerous.


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## FatAugie (Aug 2, 2007)

Swamp coolers are common in low humidity areas of the country (AZ, TX, NM, etc.). It is essentially a squirrel cage fan with has four pads that get soaked with water. The water evaporates and cools the air. Cheap air conditioning. I lived in Jerome for a few years, so I'm familiar with them.

I'm no roofer, but here's one thought. Are their pads that the cooler is sitting on? Or is it just sitting right on the shingles? Weight + vibration sitting directly on shingles is not good. There's no way it will last 30 years.

Also, why is there water running out of your bottom pan? Isn't the float working properly? Or do you have a leak in the pan itself letting the water run down the leg?

UPDATE: OK, upon reexamination of the photo, the water line and electric line are poking through the roof, correct? Is that a copper or steel line for the water line or plastic? Either way, the vibration from the unit will make it hard to seal that for the long term. I would think of another way to route the water to the unit.

Venting your attic would help keep the house cooler, especially with no insulation. If you're in Tuscon, that attic must be hot enough to boil water at noon in the summer.

Good luck

Tony


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Thanks everyone. I will be replacing the cheap rubber boot flashing with the so called lead version. 

The swap cooler float was set too high and water was simply dripping over one edge. The shingles in that area were soaked and have had this drip probably for a few months constantly. I am going to put some kind of pads under the feet to help with the vibration. It is supposed to dry out here over the next few days and so I thought I would finish the repairs, then take a hose up there and soak the area to see if the fix help. I am not sure if this is a great way to test, maybe you have a better idea? Thank you again gentlemen.

ps- no beer on the roof! bah hiss


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## Docfletcher (Aug 1, 2007)

I am curious.. How did you compute you $3000 savings on the roof? I mean after all it was only 11sq. Is that correct. I have 16sq and if I were to do the whole thing myself I think I could only eck out about a $2000 savings. I would like very much to increase my savings.:yes:


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Well, I had to replace quite a bit of the duct work that runs from the swamp cooler, so I am figuring that into my savings. You surely do not have those issues. Another part of my savings was the ability to borrow tools for free. :thumbup:


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## Docfletcher (Aug 1, 2007)

Quite true. Such issues I do not have. I hope you are able to put your roof issues to bed soon.:yes:


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## robb_ (Aug 6, 2007)

Thanks. I will likely test out my repairs in the next day or so.


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## roofboy (Jan 18, 2007)

Hello,

The reason that he might have saved more than you is the region that he live in as opposed to your region. Different areas of the country charge different rates. I live in Alaska so getting some materials will cost more. Dumpster fees sound about right. 500 to 600 to drop, fill, and dump. I work at a large roofing company so we add to the invoice accordingly to cover labor, material, and any overhead(vehicles,office,yard).
Again, different areas = different pricing.


Keith


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