Signs of water stains running down walls or extending across ceilings is probably a sign of a roof leak. Roof leaks are often caused by small holes, missing shingles, or gaps in metal flashing around vent pipes. While fixes for the leaks are pretty easy, it’s the tracking of the leak that can turn out to be a headache.

Not being able to locate the source of a leak can cause tremendous damage to your home’s interior–drywall, lighting, flooring, furniture, the list goes on. In this guide, our East Bay roofing contractors discuss a few simple tips for locating roof leaks quickly and easily.

1. Try to notice the leak as it occurs

Easier said than done, we know, but making an effort to track a leak as it occurs will save you a lot of time and frustration. Tracing a leak back to its original source using stains left behind on walls and ceilings can be very tricky and may not tell you the whole story. Try to spot the leak the next time it rains or snows and see if you can notice it.

2. Take precaution

Alternatively, if you aren’t sure that you’re dealing with a roof leak, head to the attic with a flashlight and use a garden hose to wet the roof to create a human-made leak. Then, closely examine the rafters and roof decking in the attic above the spot where you created the wet spot.

3. Follow it up

Follow any existing wet spots or water stains through the roof decking or up the rafters to reach the highest point. Take measurements from the roof peak to the leak’s highest point, and over from the gable end to the source of leak.

4. Head over to the roof and keep looking

Once the roof has dried off, go there and transfer the measurements you took to the roof. Closely examine your house’s roofing to find out the exact location of the leak. In the off chance you are unable to find out, keep on looking higher up on the roof as there’s always a chance of water running down the shingles before coming down in the attic deckers.

Contact Us for East Bay Roof Leak Detection and Roof Leak Repair

Identifying the location of a roof leak isn’t always as easy as it sounds, and if you’re still unable to find the leak’s source, it’s time to call in the pros. The team at Century Roof Tile are Bay Area roofing contractors that can make your life a little (or a lot) easier. We provide the most advanced infrared/thermal imaging roof leak detection and roof leak repair services to fix the problem once and for all. To say good riddance to your roof leak(s), call (888) 233-7548 or contact us online.

With meteorologists predicting one of the strongest El Niño seasons in history, Bay Area roofing contractors recommend preparing for the worst. El Niño is likely to bring heavy rain and powerful winds, both of which will damage roofing throughout the Bay Area and beyond. If you’ve been ignoring home maintenance or if you haven’t had your roof inspected for some time it is a good idea to check for problems before heavy storms arrive this winter.

Understanding El Niño

El Niño is a phenomenon that occurs when the surface water in the eastern Pacific Ocean is significantly warmer than normal. This leads to heavier than normal rainfall in the western part of the United States, including the Bay Area. In many cases, this precipitation comes with damaging winds and can cause mudslides and flooding in areas that are not well equipped to handle heavy flows of storm water.

Getting Ready for the Rain

In anticipation of winter storms, prudent Bay Area residents are already preparing their homes. If you live in this area, now is the time to clean your gutters and repair any problems with your roofing system. If you have been living with small leaks through the past 4 very dry years you won’t want to ignore them any longer, as your problems may compound themselves with strong winds and rain.

Although you may be able to make some repairs on your own, most roof repairs should be left to the experts who know the best ways to patch a leak or when more than a small patch is necessary for the long term health of your roofing system and home that it protects. Call a roof leak repair Bay Area company to make sure any leaks are fixed properly. In addition to professional experience and training, some roofers have useful tools that would be prohibitively expensive to a home owner such as thermal leak detection using infrared technology.

Take Advantage of Local Roofing Contractors Experience and Advanced Tools to Detect and Repair Leaks

The Century Roof and Solar team has the experience, knowledge, and tools to prepare your home or commercial property for the approaching winter storms. Call us at (888) 233-7548 or contact us online to get the help you need to protect your property and prevent damaging mildew, mold and decay from infiltrating your roof.

Green roofs and solar roofs constitute two exciting roofing options for environmentally conscious building and homeowners. But which option is better for you, given your budget, your building’s structure and aesthetic, and your long term plans with respect to the property? Here are some things to consider:

Advantages of Green Roofs

Green roofs, which consist of a waterproofing barrier, a medium for plants to grow in, and the living plants themselves, are excellent insulators. Buildings with green roofs need less energy for heating in the winter and for cooling in the summer.

Green roofs attract birds and butterflies. On larger buildings the flat roofs may be used as public parks, which are wonderful additions to city life.

Advantages of Solar Roofs

In the Bay Area, solar roofs are becoming increasingly popular, which means consumers can now obtain better technology for cheaper.
Solar roofs are less expensive to install and maintain than green roofs. After a solar roof is installed, it requires little maintenance. A green roof, by contrast, requires roof leak repair and the corresponding investment of time and/or money.

Solar roof owners generally do not have to worry about leaking and mold, like green roofs owners often do. On the other hand, a properly installed green roof will reduce the likelihood that you will need a roof leak repair in the future.

Still having trouble weighing the pros and cons of solar roofing?

A little research can go a long way to ensure the utility and profitability of your solar investment. Encourage open communication with your solar provider, and call our experienced, reputable Bay Area solar solution team at (888) 233-7548 today for a free consultation.
Connect with the Century Roof and Solar team to explore your options and compare and contrast solutions.

Bad Bay Area Weather This Week May Bring New Roof Leaks. Here’s how to track them down.

Whether you’re searching for a new roof leak to repair because a tenant found a dark spot on the ceiling; or you need a roofing contractor to assess and fix storm damage to your shingles or skylights, you need to take action quickly.

When leaks go unnoticed (or un-repaired), they can lead to mold and mildew damage and create structural problems that can render the building susceptible to indoor air pollution. Such problems can sicken people and lead to problems renting properties or even lawsuits.

Here are critical tips to locate potential roof leaks.

Start with the obvious. Do you see a water stain in the attic? Look on the roof area right above the attic. Rule out the obvious and likely problem areas first.

Use all your senses to find diverse signs of leaks. Hunt for water spots, bad smells, mold spots, areas of discoloration, or areas that have been damaged by leaks in the past.

Search these common problem spots: flashing, shingles, gutter areas, places near downspouts, areas around gaskets and air vents.

Don’t assume that the leak is right above the damaged or wet spot. Trouble spots can be far removed from the actual source of water penetration. For instance, maybe a leak that originated near the chimney has manifested a damp patch 15 feet away, above your child’s bedroom.

Use water to aid the search. Work with a partner, who can spray the roof with water, while you look for places where leaks emerge. Or just wait for a wet rainy day to find trouble spots.

Avoid trying to diagnosis your roof’s condition all by yourself. Even if you catch and repair a few leaks yourself, odds are that you might miss one or two trouble spots. If you miss these, your home could still become beset by mold, mildew and damage.

Get help from your Bay Area roofing contractors!

Call the Bay Area roofing repair specialists at Century Roof & Solar for assistance with your project now! Give us a call at (510) 780-9489.

Image via Flickr

Leaky roofs can devastate Bay Area businesses and homes.

Not only can a roof leak degrade the structural integrity of your roof — wearing always tiles and potentially causing the breakdown of wood — but it can also allow the growth of mold, which can destroy your indoor air quality and make people inside sick.

Here’s a quick run-down about how to find and deal with a leak.

Search for signs. Running water may show you where the leak is. If not, look under shingles and other potentially suspicious areas. You should see telltale signs, such as water staining or wood that has been rotten out. Go up in your attic, and use a flashlight to look for mold, marks, or water stains. If you can examine your home from a distance (e.g. look down on it from a hill), scan for signs of damage or discoloration near vents, chimneys, and tubes.

Spray for leaks. Here’s a somewhat “old school” method. Get up on the roof and spray it with a hose in a strategic fashion. You’ll need a helper for this method. The other person should go down below and looks for signs of leaks after you spray. Be sure to focus on one area at a time, so you can isolate any leaks you uncover.

Fix the leaks. Even fixing exceedingly “minor,” localized leaks can cause a fair amount of challenges — more than most homeowners expect. The do-it-yourself (DIY) process can be expensive and dangerous, too. Rather than risk a poor diagnosis — or getting injured while on a ladder looking for or attending to a leak — connect with the Century Roof & Solar team today for professional roof repair.

[SEE ALSO: Bay Area Thermal Leak Detection: The New Science of Roof Repair]

Thermal Imaging Roof Leak Detection

Our roof leak detection service will quickly and easily located the source of the leak so the area can be repaired in a timely fashion. Let us relieve your stress and anxiety about the leak and protect your greatest investment. Contact us today at (888) 233-7548 or fill out our online contact form located here on our website.

Emergency roofing repair tip #1: When in doubt, get out of there!

If your roof or home’s structure has been seriously compromised, do not stay inside. Get out of your home as quickly as possible and arrange temporary housing. Grab emergency supplies, and go. Don’t worry about overreacting. The worst that will happen is that the water damage will get slightly worse while you’re gone, and you’ll be out a few hundred dollars for lodging. The worst that will happen if you under-react is… well, literally the worst that can happen!

Emergency roofing repair tip #2: Document, by any means possible.

For insurance purposes – and for repair purposes – strive to document what’s gone wrong, if you could do so safely. Take videos of the damage or snap pictures: pictorial/video evidence contains more information. But even if you just run around your property with a notebook and sketch out where you see the damage, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Emergency roofing repair tip #3: Staunch the immediate damage, if you can do so safely.

For instance: You might lay down towels, buckets, and other materials to absorb/collect leak water. Likewise, you might want to shutdown your electrical systems, so that they don’t short circuit and cause a fire. Avoid doing this work at night or during the heart of the storm, if possible, and make sure you have an assistant working with you, so you don’t get trapped alone in the building.

Emergency roofing repair tip #4: Get help with the project: this is not the time or place to exercise your “do-it-yourself” skills.

If you’re dealing with a subtle, contained issue, like a small leak consider the DIY approach. But if your structure has been compromised in a serious way – or if you have a large area of problematic shingles letting in too much water for your bucket. Odds are, you lack the training, knowledge, tools, and products to get the job done safely and effectively. Call the team at Century Roof & Solar now for help with your Bay Area emergency roofing repair. Our team is licensed, bonded, and well-versed in how to deal with an array of scary and complex roof-related disasters. Call us (510) 780-9489 for a free evaluation to get help now.

Whether you expect monsoon-like thunderstorms to drench your home, condominium, or business, or you expect relatively light rainfall but worry because you live in an older home, you want a systematic way to check your roof for leaks before all the action begins.

The biggest challenge is finding the spot or spots that are leaking.

This is because the information you get from the leak itself (where the water is dripping) may tell you very little about where the actual problem spot is. For instance, water might penetrate through your roof at one location, run down for several feet or longer, and “leak” through a second location. Where you spot the damage – where the insulation is wet, shingles are rotting, etc. – is the distall (far) problem. You want to find the proximal problem (the root cause).

Grab a flashlight and a helper, and let’s get going.

You might want to do this leak hunting during a rainy day, since that’s when the leaks will be most active. If not, you can actually jerry-rig “fake rain” by spraying a hose on your roof. Head up into your attic (or the room right below the roof) and scour the sealing and other areas for water, damp spots, spots that “don’t look right,” or spots where the paint is blistering. Places where moisture can accumulate include gutters, shingles, gaskets, flashing, rubber seals around vents and pipes, and ridge caps.

Once you identify all the leaks (or possible leaks), wait until the rain stops (or turn off the water). Once things have dried off, go up on the roof while a helper stays in the room below. Turn on the water and use trial and error (communicating with your helper via a cell phone or a walky-talky) to identify the proximal location based on when the distill areas activate, when you spray water on the roof. Don’t flood potentially problematic areas, or you will have a harder time locating the proximal problem area.

If this all sounds too complicated, convoluted, or time consuming, you might be right. It might be a lot easier to connect with the Bay Area’s leader in lightweight roof systems, Century Roof and Solar.

For over a decade and a half, our Bay Area roofing contractors have helped East Bay residents and business owners solve their roofing problems permanently and affordably. Learn more about the solutions we can provide for you at www.centuryrooftile.com, or schedule a consultation with our Diamond-certified company by calling us at 888-233-7548.