Flow Down The Roof

This valley shoots rain in a flume during our frequently heavy downpours.

Flow down the roof.

Look for potential entry points like roof vents valleys loose nails and mark the area with chalk so you can examine the exterior of your roof after it quits raining. Penetrations can include plumbing and roof vents chimneys dormers or anything else that projects through the roof. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. They can be several feet above the leak or to the right or left of it.

An example for a steep sloped roof is 8 12. Place a piece of standard metal drip edge onto a table or between a pair of sawhorses. Bring a 20 foot sewer auger onto the roof. If the slope of the roof is reduced a point will be reached at which pressure on the windward slope becomes zero.

Look for damp spots on the underside of your roof. Insert the head into the vent opening and feed it down until you encounter resistance. This is worst when there is a door or a window below and water can seep behind the trim. Kick out flashing is critical where a roof edge meets a sidewall.

This means that the rise of the slope goes up or down 8 inches for every 12 inches. Crank the handle to work the head through the obstruction. The metal roof forms a valley where one roof meets another. Numerous people have tried ideas but none have worked.

Follow the water uphill till the wood is no longer wet. If it is reduced further the flow boundary will at first be sucked down and will continue to flow along the slope and a change from pressure to suction will occur. If you have attic access the easiest way to track down a leak is to go up there with a flashlight and look for the evidence. To put it in perspective the angle of this slope would be around 30 degrees.

Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. Also look for a thin stream of water flowing down one of the rafters. Drip edge is available at hardware stores and it is made. You might not notice it for years but eventually rot will destroy sheathing and framing.