Roof leak detection
Finding where the water actually gets in
Most roof emergencies begin as something cheap that nobody looked at — a split boot, a blocked valley, a lifted cap. An annual check of the penetrations, flashing, valleys and gutters catches those while they are still minor, which is the entire argument for maintenance: the failures that cause expensive damage are visible long before they leak, just not from the ground.
Janesville has a winter long enough and cold enough that ice damming, not storm damage, is the dominant cause of roof leaks. The mechanism is heat loss rather than weather: warm air escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof, the meltwater runs down and refreezes over the cold overhang, and the resulting ridge of ice backs water up beneath the shingle courses until it finds a way in. The roof itself is usually in perfect condition. Repeated through a Rock County winter, freeze-thaw also works every flashing joint progressively looser, and spring brings hail and straight-line wind on top. The reason this matters is that fixing an ice dam leak by working on the shingles does not work — the problem is insulation and ventilation, and that is a different job.
Janesville has a population of about 63,575, and the housing stock here sets the pattern for what fails first on a roof.
The penetrations are worth watching from year eight or so, because boots and sealant fail long before the covering does. On a roof under five years old an annual visit rarely finds much.
Mostly the cheap failures that become expensive — a split boot that soaks decking for a winter, a blocked valley that backs water under the courses. The repair is minor; the damage from leaving it is not.
Finding where the water actually gets in
Water around a roof window
The metal at the roof edge
Cedar shake roofs
Crown, cap and masonry
Vinyl, fiber cement and wood
You will get a straight answer on whether Janesville needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.
Call (706) 696-1888