Leak in newly repaired roof?

newhomeowner-2009

14 years ago

Last summer, right after buying a house, I had half of my roof resurfaced. The other half was not done because it was in considerably better condition. This was a typical gable roof, with the dividing line between repaired and not-repaired being the top of the triangle.

So.. we've been having a lot of rain lately. One night I go into the upstairs bathroom (second floor of two floors) and I see a tiny trickle of water coming down the side of the wall above the window. This is on the repaired side of the house.

That was the first and only time I saw that.

That was a few weeks ago. Today I noticed a stain in the ceiling tiles where I saw the trickle. I think it is new, but my wife says it was there already.

Anyway, the question is, is this definitely proof of a defective roof installation? I can't go into the attic to actually check the roof, as the roof was filled with blown-in insulation not long after the roof work was done.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Comments (5)

ron6519
14 years ago
Why can't you go into the attic. Blown in insulation is not a reasonable explanation.
How do you expect anyone to explain to you why your roof leaked if you can't even go up there and inspect it.
Ron
User
14 years ago
I do not understand why only half the roof was replaced. And, it sounds like the half that was replaced was not done well----sounds like(an educated guess) that some of the sheathing on the repaired side should have been replaced and was not. Or the underlayment was incorrectly installed. Or, the wind was blowing rain under the edges of the gable end and onto damaged sheathing. Or a roof vent is leaking.

Lots of reasons for the leak---someone has to make an eyes on inspection IN the attic.
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live_wire_oak
14 years ago
1. WHen you reroof, you do the whole roof.

2. Blown in insulation does NOT occupy the entire attic space, only 10-12" above the joists.

3. No one can tell you where something leaks without viewing the roof in person from both the inside and out.
newhomeowner-2009
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks very much for the responses. Guess I have a bit of a mess on my hands, and I'm trying to figure out my next step. Any thoughts on that appreciated. I hate the idea of having to sue the guy who did the work, but I guess that may be in the cards.

About the attic, the problem there is that the attic trap door is stuck, which I guess is probably from the insulation attached to the door itself.
newhomeowner-2009
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, but I have a regular house, not a mobile home.

I guess what I has me in a puzzle is this: though we've had a great deal of rain and snow since I repaired the roof last fall, there has only been this one incident. Granted, I may have not seen it before. Still, the total amount of water leaking was, maybe, about two tablespoons.

Since then I've been watching and see no water. I'm wondering whether such tiny and intermittent leaking is at all common. Mind you, I want to get this fixed, though at the moment I am totally strapped for cash.