Maryland Roofing Services:
Replacing Leaking Ridge Vents

How to Get a Perfect Ridge Vent Repair
Or Replacement . . . Guaranteed!

by Bill Thomas Jr.

You've recently noticed water stains on the ceiling right over the hallway on the upper level of your home, so you call a roofing contractor to find and fix the roof leak.  In most homes, the center hallway is right below the ridge of the roof; so the first place we usually start looking for this type of leak is at the ridge vent.

You call a licensed contractor and he sends someone out to find and fix the problem; then 90 days later the roof starts leaking again, even more than before, and you're past the 90 day warranty period.

That's exactly what happened to our customer that owns the home is in this video -- and the worst part is, even after his "warranty" had expired, the contractor was "hands off" with the new problem.  If I were the contractor, I would have fixed it at no additional cost, done the customer "right", showed him with photos that it WAS done right, and then proceeded to do much more additional work in his neighborhood -- including all of the re-roofs in the near future.

I don't know what these other roofing contractors are thinking, but I see this kind of behavior all the time.  You see, most roofing companies just want the "big jobs" so they're not set up properly to do roof repair work.  It's just not in their business model, and they end up getting in trouble by overcharging for work they don't even want, and usually do it improperly.

Well, here's a big homeowner roofing tip: Only hire a roofing company that can prove they're an expert in roof repairs -- and preferrably someone who can supply before, during, and after roofing pictures to show you that the roof was done as contracted -- and properly.  This will completely eliminate roofing scams and just plain old "incompetent work".

By the way, the initial contractor that did the bad work in this video charged more than 2 times what we did for just smearing gook over the leak; and we replaced the ENTIRE metal ridge vent system, sealed some additional leaks with Geocel Tripolymer Sealant, cleaned and tightened the gutters, and performed some other helpful roofing maintenance.

So when it comes to hiring a good roof repair contractor, just say "no"  if they can't provide proof of expertise in repairs, and only hire an expert roofer that will provide before, during, and after pictures of your project.

 This home in Maryland needed some ridge vent repairs after another contractor "fixed" it wrong and it ended up leaking worse . . .

 The previous contractor had the opportunity to repair this leaky ridge vent correctly; however instead of reattaching the metal vent with roofing screws the "mechanic" just poured liquid tar over the area, causing an even bigger leak by forming a "funnel" around a nail that was already loose.

 Here's another direct leak into the attic; a poor attempt at caulking a nail head that should have been nailed flush in the first place.

 Another obvious "big leak" is caused by the obvious omission of rubber end plugs on all of the ridge vents (6 total on this house).

Probably 80% of all the metal ridge vents that we encounter are missing the rubber end plugs; usually just left off by the builder during construction.  The previous repair contractor left them off too . . . there's just no excuse for that.

 Sometimes contractors will just crush the ends instead of installing the plugs and doing it the "right way,"  putting your home at risk for wood rot and black mold growth.

 The old ridge vents were just too "gooped up" to recover, so we're replacing them with these new units; including new rubber end plugs.

 We'll be installing the new ridge vents with these self sealing screws, made just for this type of application.

 Here we are removing the old metal vents with a roofing stripper.

 Prior to installing the new metal ridge vents we always install a bead of Geocel Tripolymer Sealant to guard against "wind driven rain" entering your home and causing water damage.

 The new ridge vent system by Air-Vent is now properly installed and sealed, ready for years of service.

 The pressure of the screw causes the neoprene to compress and seal the ridge vent to the shingles and roof, protecting against water infiltration.

Homeowner Roofing Tip: If you own a home with a ridge vent and have not had it checked recently, be sure a professional roofing contractor looks it over for proper nail sealing and rubber end caps.