Roof
Leakage by
Design
As we see in the above photographs, roof leaks are not always caused by
shingle deterioration, adverse weather conditions, or neglect. In some cases, roof
leaks are caused by the design and installation of the roof system itself. As
a result, leakage often occurs early in the life of the roof (the newly-constructed home
in the photograph above was only one year old).
The Top Photo shows a section of the home where the downward slope of the attached
garage connects with a vertical cheek wall from a grand front entry. (A CHEEK WALL
is any vertical wall connecting a lower roof slope to a higher roof slope).
The result is a very short cheek wall that holds water and is virtually
inaccessible for maintenance of the flashing.
The Bottom Photo shows a view of this same area from inside the attic. Water enters the
attic at the inaccessible cheek wall and works it way down along the flashing to the eave.
If this leak is left uncorrected, the water damaged
sheathing and wooden framing members will begin to rot due to a wood destroying fungus
(wood rot) that grows in and quickly decays the wood. If water damaged wood is not
completely removed, termites and other wood destroying
insects often zero in on rotting wood as a source of food or to nest. The result is
a potentially expensive repair due the fact that structural components may need
replacement.
click on image above to
enlarge
The digital photo above was taken by a
Guardian® home inspector during a pre-purchase home
inspection.
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