 Townhouse
Roof Repair Gaithersburg, Md: This
roof was leaking in many places mostly due to
shoddy workmanship provided by a roofer who
the homeowner "couldn't find anywhere".
Sorry folks, it happens. Most Md roofing
repairs we correct are a result of someone
doing something wrong . . . or poorly. |
The wall
flashings were done poorly; especially where
they integrated with the siding and
shingles. |
Here's the
first of several big leaks. The top
floor ceiling in this Maryland Townhouse was
just littered with water stains . . . |
Geocel
Tripolymer Sealant was used here to correct
the siding leak. |
As we
disassemble the step flashing we will be
discovering the roofing problem. |
Townhouse
chimney chases often leak because there are so
many possible points of entry; some of which
occur way above the roofing surface (siding,
flu vent flashing, chimney crown flashing,
etc.) |
Often, the
builder flashes around the chimney box
incorrectly. |
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This leak
above the siding corner post was a big
one. Water was flowing just fine off of
the chimney crown flashing (like it's supposed
to); but it was funneled directly into the
corner post and into the upstairs
bedroom. |
To make
matters worse, the siding crew never covered
the holdes they made for the pump jacks -- the
scaffolding erected during the building
phase. |
Also, during
the reroofing process, many of the pneumatic
nails were blown completely through the
shingles, causing problems. |
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In addition,
the nails were placed improperly; causing the
new roofing shingles to be more prone to
"blowoffs", and voiding the manufacturer's
roof warranty. |
Here's a
hole that the roofing company left . . .
causing a big, huge leak. Not good,
folks; but we see this stuff all of the
time. It's one reason we offer these
pictures. |
We're
removing siding to discover (hopefully) where
the side wall water leak originates. |
Oops!
There's one big siding leak right in the
corner . . . |
And a gaping
hole that would never have been found if we
didn't start disassembling things. The
worst part, I think, is that the guy who
originally covered this up KNEW that it would
leak . . . big time! Wow. |
New
stepflashing integrated with new shingles will
solve the roof leak. |
|
We decided
to solve the siding problem "once and for all"
by installing a permanent prepainted piece of
wood trim. |
Now all the
wall leaks have been fixed. |
And we have
closed the gaping hole with trim, flashing,
and OSI QUAD caulking (siding sealant). |
OK, here's
where the siding guy made a big mistake . . .
it forces the water to run off under the
aluminum trim . . . not good! About the
best we can do here is try to seal the edge
with Geocel Tripolymer Sealant. It
should work OK. |
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The chimney
flashing was also done incorrectly, so we are
weaving step flashing into the shingles, as
required. Remember, this area was
covered by siding and no one would have known
it wasn't done right unless the siding was
removed . . . |
OK, now the
roofing around the cricket is leakproof. |
. . . and we
are done. I guess the moral of the story
here is how valuable it can be to ask for
pictures of the work; before, during and
after. How many blatant acts of shoddy
workmanship did we see here . . . ten or
more? Yes, I know, it's amazing. |
