Storm damage leaks
Leaks appearing after wind or hail
Fascia carries the gutter and closes the ends of the rafters; soffit closes the underside of the overhang and usually carries the intake ventilation. Both rot from behind, fed by an overflowing gutter or a missing drip edge, so by the time paint is peeling the timber underneath has often gone. Replacing them is straightforward, but doing it without fixing the water that caused the rot means doing it again — and blocked soffit vents are a common hidden cause of attic condensation.
Iowa County 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 Iowa 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.
Almost always water from above — an overflowing gutter, a missing or badly set drip edge, or shingles that stop short of the edge. The timber is a symptom; replacing it without fixing the water just resets the clock.
Considerably. Soffit vents are the intake half of attic ventilation. Block them — with insulation pushed into the eaves, or with solid replacement boards — and the roof space stops breathing, which shows up as condensation and shortened shingle life.
Leaks appearing after wind or hail
The secondary barrier under the covering
Concrete and clay tile
Cedar shake roofs
Rubber flat roofing
What repairs actually cost here
You will get a straight answer on whether Iowa County needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.
Call (706) 696-1888