Leak above exterior door
#1
10-11-14, 06:41 AM
Leak above exterior door
Hi guys. I noticed a leak above my exterior door (on the inside of course) when it rained. The first time it happened I had leaves in my gutter, so I cleaned them out and thought all would be okay. It happened again today (it is raining) and the gutters are clear. i'm not sure with the rain heavier while I was sleeping and the gutters overflowed? But what else can I do in the meantime to check it out? Thanks
P.S. I'm attaching a pic to show the leak. It starts at the ceiling, where the ceiling and wall meet and drips down to the door header.
P.S. I'm attaching a pic to show the leak. It starts at the ceiling, where the ceiling and wall meet and drips down to the door header.
#4
10-11-14, 07:02 AM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
A picture of the inside is useless, need one outside.
Lack of shingle over hang, no storm and ice shield under the first few rows of shingles, shingles installed wrong, no drip edge, no Z moulding over the trim around the door, J moulding installed wrong, No window and door tape around the nailing fin if there is one.
Any of these can cause a leak like that.
But there all outside not inside.
Lack of shingle over hang, no storm and ice shield under the first few rows of shingles, shingles installed wrong, no drip edge, no Z moulding over the trim around the door, J moulding installed wrong, No window and door tape around the nailing fin if there is one.
Any of these can cause a leak like that.
But there all outside not inside.
#5
10-11-14, 07:32 AM
Sure. There seems to be an area of the roof, where water runs down like a "channel" or a river, which is directly above where I see the interior leak. You can see it in the pics I'm about to attach.
#7
10-11-14, 08:04 AM
Group Moderator
Hard to say, but sometimes roof leaks occur a long distance from where the water finally shows up inside.
If the roof has a visible dip where the water seems to like to run, I would suspect that the problem is higher up, like maybe where the dormer corner post is. The flashing around dormers like that is often poor... and vinyl siding isn't a real good counterflashing.
It looks like there is a real dip in the roof as you get closer to that corner post. I guess I would wonder if the leak has been occurring for quite a while if the roof there is sagging.
If the roof has a visible dip where the water seems to like to run, I would suspect that the problem is higher up, like maybe where the dormer corner post is. The flashing around dormers like that is often poor... and vinyl siding isn't a real good counterflashing.
It looks like there is a real dip in the roof as you get closer to that corner post. I guess I would wonder if the leak has been occurring for quite a while if the roof there is sagging.
#10
10-11-14, 09:42 AM
Group Moderator
I'd start by taking off the vinyl siding on the left side of the dormer (not pictured) and maybe the bottom piece of siding under the dormer window. You will then be able to see what sort of flashing there is where the shingles meet the wall. I suspect that's where the problem lies... either no step flashing on each course of shingles along the side of the dormer... or a poor corner flashing behind the vinyl corner post. Or maybe it's the front wall flashing under the window. But being right below the corner of the dormer would make me suspect the side flashing or the corner flashing.
#11
10-11-14, 11:34 AM
Since you have a decent overhang over the door, the leak is probably on the roof or dormer as X has pointed out. Have you been on the roof to see if the dip in the roof is solid or weak?
#12
10-11-14, 09:25 PM
No, once it dries out I'll get up there. I'm thinking of cutting some of the Sheetrock ceiling out to look up in there to see if I can see where the water is running.
#14
10-14-14, 04:21 PM
The dip in the roof feels soft when I step on it. I was on the roof and it looks like the roof was installed over old cedar shakes and step flashing is missing as XSleeper suggested. Is this a simple fix?
#15
10-14-14, 04:57 PM
Group Moderator
If you just want to stop the leak, that's not too tough... like i mentioned, you would remove the vinyl siding and then flash the existing shingles.
But if the roof is soft its probably getting quite rotten under there. that would involve tearing off ALL the shingles in order to make the needed repairs. Might be more than ypu want to tackle.
But if the roof is soft its probably getting quite rotten under there. that would involve tearing off ALL the shingles in order to make the needed repairs. Might be more than ypu want to tackle.
#16
10-15-14, 03:28 AM
Just to clarify, the shingles don't necessarily don't need to be removed from the entire roof - just the affected area plus a little so new shingles can be laced in after the rotten plywood is replaced. The new shingles probably won't be a perfect match to the old 
#17
10-15-14, 06:07 AM
Group Moderator
They should be able to weave in new step shingles without removing any shingles, by slipping the step shingle under the tabs... provided they aren't completely tarred down along the edges.
