 Md
Roof Repair Gaithersburg-Laytonsville
Maryland: Missing shingles, bad pipe
collars, leaky metal ridge vents, rake trim
missing . . . you name it, this house has got
it! No problem, we'll fix 'em right
up! |
First, no
rubber end plugs. That's almost
standard. The builder just never
installs them, so we carry hundreds of metal
ridge vent end plugs on the truck. Just
the way it is, folks . . . |
. . . and
the next thing, if you have metal ridge vents,
and they are five years old or more, then you
are going to have leaks. This is what
happens: the builder's roofing contractor
nails the vents on with a pneumatic roof
nailer (which isn't the best thing to do) and
they slowly work their way out -- causing
leaks. It wouldn't be so bad, except the
ridge vent has a "gutter" that directs all of
the water towards the nail holes . . . making
sure all of the water goes into the
attic. Nice! |
Of course,
there's the flashing diverter on the heater
exhaust. Some call it the "umbrella"
flashing. Just beneath that is a big gap
-- so big you can see light in the attic --
and the job of this flashing is to divert
water away from that. So if it's not
caulked, or caulked poorly, water enters the
house. We seal all of these with Geocel
Tripolymer Sealant; no exceptions!
Geocel will last longer than this roof
will. It's the highest quality . . . the
best! |
Here's one
of those roofing nails I was talking about
earlier. We will remove this one since
it's on a seam, and prone to leak . . . and
replace it with a stainless steel screw . . .
AFTER we seal between the two sections of
ridge vent. Problem solved! |
See, this is
normal. We'll remove this nail too,
install a screw, and seal it. |
If your pipe
collars are seven years old, chances are
they're leaking like this one. While
we're doing all this other stuff, it's a good
time to replace them with upgraded aluminum /
neoprene pipe collars. |
Here is
another pipe collar that's leaking. The
problem with leaky pipe collars is you don't
know that they're leaking until they get bad
enough to pour water right on the drywall
ceiling of your bathroom. Until then
they are just keeping your insulation wet
enough to grow a good crop of mold in your
attic! Get pipe
collars replaced every seven years or so
. . . |
Yep, there's
another one of those leaky metal ridge vent
nails . . . |
. . . and
even a few more of 'em. Betcha that the
vent doesn't have an end plug in it either . .
. |
|
During and After
Pictures
OK,
we're getting started on fixing the pipe
collars, ridge vent, and other roof
leaks.
|
Here's
another one of those leaky roofing nails . .
. |
So we'll fix
these nails -- forever -- by replacing them
with stainless steel screws that will not back
out . . . or leak . . . and will keep the
metal ridge vent firmly attached to the roof
in those high winds. |
The screws
are 1-5/8 inches long and will keep your ridge
vent on in those high winds! Plus,
they're easy to seal with Geocel Tripolymer
Sealant and will help keep the rain out of
your attic! |
Yes, Geocel
is the best. It's so good, it will
outlast the roof. If you go to Home
Depot and get roofing cement in a caulk tube,
it will last about one or two years . . .
maybe. |
Here's what
a properly attached, plugged, and sealed metal
ridge vent repair looks likd from the
roof. |
The neoprene
/ aluminum pipe collars outlast the plastic
type by a longshot and are the only type that
we use. |
In our
Maryland Roofing Service area, we get a lot of
wind driven rain . . . and that bead of Geocel
you see above prevents high pressure winds
from blowing rain past the slick
flashing. Some of the "old timers" say
it isn't necessary, but we KNOW it is good
insurance. Anything to keep the weather
out of your house is a good thing. |
This is what
a professionally installed pipe collar looks
like when it's done. The replacement
shingles around the vent are also sealed down
with Geocel. |
Pipe collar
#2 is completed . . . |
. . . and
pipe collar #3. Of course on this one we
needed to cut the upside down "trap" off the
vent pipe . . . and then reinstall it . . . no
problem of course. These are often used
on Radon Pump Systems to keep rainwater out of
the air pump. |
Say goodbye
to the old, leaky, plastic pipe collar
units. Good riddance . . . |
Sometimes
we'll find that custom aluminum rake covers
have been blown off. No need calling a
"siding guy" that may charge you
an-arm-and-a-leg for this custom work -- we
are equipped with a fancy sheet metal brake
that can handle the job while we're there . .
. and at a great price! |
Yes, the
custom aluminum rake covering is beautiful
again . . . |
|
. . .
and we use a slightly larger nail with
greater holding power so the wind is less
likely to pull the new rake
covering off again.
OK, so that's it. Another Md Roof
Repair completed; and it's on to the next
one! Thanks for stopping by . . .
|
