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Roof Leak Frustrations

My name is Tom Lopatosky. I’m the President of LOPCO Contracting (www.LopcoContracting.com) & I’m honored to have the opportunity to talk to you about home improvement on a monthly basis. I love answering your questions! Please send them to tom@LopcoContracting.com or call 401-270-2664. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this column!

Recently, we had a client that reached out to me, who was extraordinarily frustrated over a situation they were having with a leak.

At one point over the past several months, we had done a repair around a pipe that was penetrating through their roof. is repair was beyond necessary, as the sealant around this particular pipe had worn away and was clearly taking in water. We repaired the issue stemming from around the pipe and assumed all was okay until we received a frantic call that the leak had either returned or had never quite stopped. It was obvious to me at this point that there was more than one point of entry.

A er revisiting the roof, we discovered quite a number of possibilities from where the leak “might” be coming in and o ered a ‘next step’ plan, as well as the ultimate recommendation of solving the problem once and for all and installing a new roof entirely (for sure a he y price tag, but worth the investment if it was able to happen).

Chasing leaks is not an easy task. We always start with the most obvious entry point in accordance with where the exit point of the leak is being observed, and then proceed from there. At some point, the process can de nitely seem like shooting a basketball blindly.

When it comes to diagnosing leaks, there are only (2) sure re ways of conclusively neutralizing the situation:

1) Re-roo ng entirely - essentially ripping the band-aid o – assuming that your roof is installed properly, this should absolutely x any leak that is stemming from a roof area.

2) Opening up ceilings, walls, etc. from down below and pinpointing the exact point of penetration from the inside out.

Short of these two xes, tracking down leaks is a methodical exercise that may take quite some time to positively nail down. is is due to a variety of factors. One such factor is that many times, multiple leaks can be occurring from different parts of your roof, but because of the way that gravity functions in-line with the way your home is constructed, they all exit from the same place. is is why in instances where one knows there is a place where a leak is coming from and this area is xed, the leak still shows its face. As one might imagine, this is the point in time where head games might be played…

Was this speci c leak point xed correctly? If the leak was xed correctly, how many other places are things leaking from?

Do I need a new roof? ese are all very valid questions. As one searches for solutions, ultimately there are very few choices in terms of paths to venture down.

You can either keep experimenting down the path of logic, hoping that pay dirt is hit and the leak is discovered and can be xed.

Or you can go the “drastic” route and either re-roof entirely or pinpoint things by taking areas apart from the inside and tracking the leaking area(s) down.

When it comes to nuisance leaks, no matter which path is ultimately taken, something certainly has to be done. For not only can leaks be annoying to one’s psyche, but if they are not found and neutralized, they can lead to much bigger challenges down the road (rot, mold, etc.)!

About Tom Lopatosky

Tom Lopatosky has run his own carpentry and painting business in Providence since 1995; LOPCO Contracting – the “Personable, Particular Professionals” – specializes in carpentry and exterior & interior painting. Recently LOPCO Contracting was named ‘RI’s Finest Painting Contracting Company’ by ShopInRI Magazine. In 2013, Tom was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA) and a “40 Under 40” award winner by Providence Business News. He is a member of both the PDCA and RIBA (Rhode Island Builders Association). Tom has weekly ‘Home Improvement Tips’ that air on the radio on 630 WPRO AM (during the weekday morning news) and on television on WPRI 12 (during the Saturday morning news.