Roof Pitch on Pool Cabana

12 years ago

Hi, I recently had three structural support posts replaced on my pool cabana. The cabana is about 16'x28'and it has a extremely low-pitched roof/flat roof. I've lived in the house for 10 years and never had a leak in the cabana. I now have a leaky roof and the leaking is occurring only on the side of the cabana where the support posts were replaced. I suspect the installation of the new posts somehow changed the pitch of the roof and caused the leaking. How can I prove my case? The contractor claims his recent work has nothing to do with the leaking. Before the posts were replaced I never had pooling water on the roof, now I do. The contractor is pointing to the buckling asphalt and saying it's just an old roof breaking down. I'm saying now that water is pooling on the roof (before it wasn't) of course the rolled asphalt is starting to buckle.

I plan to get 2-3 roofing estimates next week. I'm hoping the roofers can figure out what caused the leaking. Still, is there any way for me to determine the root cause of the leak myself?

Thanks for your help!

Deb

Comment (1)

GreenDesigns
12 years ago
What is the age of the roof? How long had the support posts been failing?

I'm betting what happened is that over time, the roof slowly settled downward where the posts were rotten, and as the roof had a slight elasticity, it stretched downward as well and maintained it's seal. Then when the posts were replaced, they were replaced with the original correct height posts, which moved the sagging portion of the roof upward abruptly, which caused a bit of a break in the asphalt. That is NOT the carpenter's "fault" It's a continuation of the structural repair itself. Replacing failing structural members often has a negative effect on other portions of a structure. In a home, the drywall would crack and the flooring might buckle. It's part of the process as a whole, not divorced from it.

I'm betting that the roofers find other structural issues that will need attention such as decking needing replacing and flashing needing to be replaced. A low pitch roof has a short life span as it is anyway, and it was probably due for replacement long before it began to leak.
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