A Roof That Keeps Water Out
Your roof should protect your home from the elements, but a builder’s negligence can leave your home vulnerable. To save money, builders will often use cheap materials and/or hire unqualified subcontractors to install them. As a result, essential elements to the proper function of a home’s roof may be insufficient, incompetently installed, or missing altogether. Some signs of bad installation are a sagging roof, nails popping out, and damaged or missing shingles. These defects will allow precipitation to intrude into the home. A properly ventilated roof should allow hot air and moisture to flow out of the home. If there are insufficient soffits and exhaust vents, the roof won’t be able to breathe. This can trap hot air in the attic, causing the shingles to overheat and necessitating an early roof replacement. In addition, flashing should seal the gaps where the roof meets structures like chimneys and vents. When it is missing or improperly installed, water can seep right into the house. On flat or low-pitch roofs, a suitable roof membrane must be properly installed to keep water out. Roof leaks can lead to damaged insulation, mold in the attic, and rotting of structural wood. A sound roof is an essential part of a home’s building envelope, its protective barrier. When that barrier is compromised, the entire rest of the home will be too, and vital parts of the interior will quickly degrade. Repairing the cumulative damage of a defective roof is often costly and invasive, and you should not be left shouldering that financial burden. It is not normal for water to leak into your attic when it rains or snows; a well-built roof should be waterproof, and if yours isn’t, your builder has dropped the ball.
