One of the things that we seem to have developed a reputation for over the years is being able to diagnose leak sources stemming from seldom thought of places which moisture can be penetrating one’s home from.
When it comes to figuring out from where uninvited water may be entering the home, there are seemingly endless possibilities.
What many moons ago may have been a leak source which took a bit longer to identify, over time (with experience) the most challenging of leaks have become a bit quicker for us to pinpoint.
Leaks have been known to drive even the most level-headed of homeowners to turn into a puddled mess of frustration, particularly when the leaks are coming from places that are not quite obvious.
In working to determine the origin of a leak, clearly it is always best to start with the places that may make the most sense.
Examples of this are the overall condition of the roof or if there is an issue with what we refer to as a “penetration” (i.e., the area where the chimney meets the roof, the area where a sewer venting pipe comes out of the roof, etc.).
Sometimes however, the leak comes from an area that is very easy to be overlooked.
A perfect example of this is the way the roof drip edge flashing on your home may be laid or the way that its trim is wrapped in aluminum along its peaks.
At first glance, when searching for potential ways that water is coming in from, incorrectly installed flashing or aluminum wrapping is easy to miss, especially if it is higher up off the ground.
Flashing or aluminum wrapping around the trim on peaks should always be installed with the top portion of the flashing or aluminum overlapping the piece underneath it (not with the bottom overlapping the top).
The reason for this is that if rain is hitting the flashing or the aluminum capping with the top piece overlapping the bottom piece, the rain will easily shed off to the ground.
If the bottom piece is overlapping the top piece, this could lead to some significant problems.
When the bottom piece of flashing or aluminum is laying over the top piece, it will actually serve as a highway of sorts for water to be fed directly into the home, as it effectively catches the rain as it is falling and railroads it into whatever area it may be that the flashing or aluminum capping is attempting to protect.
Depending upon how the home is constructed, some places where the water may be being fed into (often unbeknownst to the homeowner) are behind the siding of the home, into a soffit, or into the attic.
Perhaps one of the worst situations is when the flashing or aluminum capping is incorrectly installed and water is being steered into the home, but it is also being guided in such a manner that it may not be discovered for a long time to come (if not ever!).
A specific example of this is when the water is coming in the incorrectly installed aluminum trim toward the top of a home, as it enters, getting guided toward and then trapped in between the back side of vinyl siding on the home and the sheathing of the home itself, and then gradually working its way down and exiting at the bottom edge of the vinyl siding, but in the process slowly rotting out the sheathing the vinyl siding is attached to and creating a breeding ground for mold that develops over the course of several years.
Scary stuff!!
If you are curious if the flashing or aluminum peak trim capping on your home is installed properly, feel free to reach out to our office and we can set up some time to have a conversation with you and review what to look for in a bit more depth.
For it is annoying enough to have to chase a leak when you actually know it is occurring, it is a whole other level of pain however when damage from an unknown leak is found after the water that had been being let in has such a tremendous head start before even being recognized!
