How Do I Patch a Leaky Shingle?

Discovering water damage and water stains in your home is very alarming. After all, these damages are indicators of a leaky roof. To keep the damage to a minimum, it’s crucial to find the causation and origination of the leak. And when the culprit is a damaged shingle, you’ll want to know how to patch a leaky shingle.

Common Causes of Leaks

Roofing contractors in Kettering, Ohio are no strangers to sudden leaks occurring from seemingly nowhere. Home and business owners in Kettering, Ohio are used to brutal thunderstorms, wind storms, and hail storms. These harsh storms are either directly or indirectly the reason leaks spring up in your home or business.

For your knowledge, we’ve listed a few red flags that bring about roof leaks:

• Missing or damaged shingles: The most common roofing material, asphalt shingles, will usually stand up to the worst of what Mother Nature has to offer. However, that does not mean your roof is immune to bad weather. When your shingle roof incurs enough damage, shingles will go missing or get damaged. And when this happens, water will easily leak into your property.

• Damaged flashing: Flashing covers the most vulnerable parts of your home, usually the chimney and along the eaves. When your flashing gets damaged enough, be sure to replace it with additional flashing or sealants.

• Gaps in the flashing or shingles: When enough time passes, gaps will form around old shingles and flashing. Therefore, you must do regular roof maintenance to keep your rooftop in top shape. 

Finding the Origin of The Leak

To keep damage repairs low, you’ll need to identify the origin of the leak. The first thing to do is to enter the attic. Once you’re there, scan the area for any sort of water stains or damage. It should point you to the right area when you’ve found water damage in the attic.

When you’re still unable to locate the exact location of the leak, have someone else safely climb atop your roof. Use an outdoor hose to spray water around the suspected area. After a few minutes, the water from the hose should leak through the origin point, and you’ll know where it’s at. It’s important to mark the location of the leak because when a professional comes around it will be of great help.

At this point, if you’re still unable to find the location of the leak, then you’ll want to call a reliable roofing company in Kettering, Ohio. An experienced contractor should have no problem locating the source of the leak.

How to TEMPORARILY Patch the Leaky Shingle

Once you’ve located the origin of the leak, it’s more than possible to temporarily fix the problem until help arrives. In this case, we’ve narrowed the causation to a leaky shingle. Of course, the long-term solution would be to replace all damaged shingles and underlayment. But right now, the goal is to mitigate the damage until a professional will do some shingle leak repairs. 

To avoid future storm damage repairs from this leak, it’s highly recommended to use some sort of sealant or tarp until help arrives. 

Any actual roof repair should be handled by a professional, therefore you’ll want to lift any roofing nails, hold the shingle down, spread the sealant, and flatten the shingle out again. For more protection, cover the affected area with a tarp.

Why Choose Van Martin?

In need of roof leak repair in Kettering, Ohio? Don’t worry, we at Van Martin Roofing have you covered. Our experts will be able to locate, diagnose, and repair your leak with ease. Furthermore, we work directly with our customers to provide them with a repair plan that addresses all of their concerns and needs. 

Van Martin is a company that cares about its surrounding communities. To show this, we want to give back through our “On The House” program. On The House gives one homeowner per quarter a completely free roof replacement. We understand that not everyone will be able to afford a roof replacement in Dayton, Ohio, so we encourage you to apply for our On The House Program.

Van Martin has but one goal in mind: assist all home and business owners in making the best decisions with their roofing and related systems. We service all residential, commercial, and industrial roofing systems. With our quality workmanship, superior craftsmanship, and attentive customer service, no job is too big or small for us. Give us a call today to set up your roof evaluation!