Who do I call about a roof leak?
A licensed roofing contractor, for a documented inspection that includes the attic. Not a handyman and not a general repair service, because the entry point is usually a flashing detail uphill of the stain. If a ceiling is bulging or water is near a light fitting, kill that circuit first. Ours is MHIC #111971 and the inspection is free.
What to do in the next hour
- If water is anywhere near a light fitting or a socket, switch that circuit off at the board. Water and wiring in a ceiling void is the only genuinely dangerous part of this.
- If the ceiling is bulging, clear the room and pierce it deliberately at the lowest point of the bulge, with a bucket underneath. A controlled hole is far less damage than the ceiling coming down on its own.
- Catch the water and move what matters. Wet insulation stops insulating; wet possessions do not recover.
- Photograph everything, with the date. If this becomes an insurance claim, what you photographed while it was happening is worth more than a description afterwards.
- Go into the attic with a torch, if it is safe. Look uphill from the stain for wet sheathing, a wet rafter, or a trail. Water travels along rafters and comes down where it can, often several feet from where it entered.
- Do not go on the roof in the rain. Nothing you can do up there in weather is worth the fall.
A stain that has not changed in months can wait for a proper look. A stain that grew after the last rain needs attention this week. Active dripping needs attention today, and an open roof after a storm needs a tarp the same day.
What actually causes a leaking roof
Roofs rarely fail in the middle of a plane. They fail where the plane stops, and that is where to look.
| Cause | What it looks like inside | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe boots, cracked or hardened | A stain in a bathroom or kitchen ceiling, worse in driving rain. | New boots. Rubber boots harden and split at around twelve years, long before the shingles fail. |
| Step or counter flashing at a chimney or wall | A stain along the line where a ceiling meets an outside wall. | The flashing remade, not sealed. It is the most common leak point on any roof with a chimney. |
| Valley | A stain some distance from the valley, because water runs along the deck. | Depends on whether the valley metal has failed or the shingles either side have. |
| Ice dam at the eave | Staining at the top of an outside wall, appearing in winter only. | Ice-and-water membrane at the eaves and, more importantly, fixing the attic ventilation and insulation that caused it. |
| Missing or lifted shingles after a storm | Fast, obvious, usually after a datable event. | An insurance question first, then a repair or a replacement depending on extent. |
| A skylight perimeter | Water at the top of the light shaft. | Almost always the flashing, sometimes the roof above it. Rarely the glass. |
| Not a roof leak at all | Staining that appears in cold weather with no rain. | Condensation from an unventilated attic, or a plumbing leak. Both look exactly like a roof leak from below. |
What it costs, and when a patch is the honest answer
A repair is the right answer when the damage is countable and localised, the roof is well inside its service life, the shingle can still be matched and the surrounding shingles are supple enough to lift without cracking. On a young roof, a leak is nearly always a detail rather than a failure: a boot at $65, a chimney re-flash at $600, a valley put right.
A replacement is the answer when several planes are involved, when the field has generally lost its seal rather than in spots, when the shingle is discontinued so any patch is permanently visible, or when the roof is old enough that money spent on it extends something already nearly finished. That is $600 to $900 per square, $19,000 to $31,000 on a typical 24-square Maryland house.
United Developers is a roof replacement and exterior restoration contractor. We do not sell repairs, and we will tell you plainly when a repair is what your roof needs — that answer is worth more to you than a replacement you did not need, and it costs us nothing to say. What we do is the free documented inspection that tells you which of the two you are looking at.
Water travels. It enters at a detail, runs along the underside of the deck or down a rafter, and appears wherever gravity lets it. A diagnosis that assumes the entry point is directly above the stain has skipped the only part of the job that finds the actual cause.
Ask instead: Did you go into the attic, and can you show me where the water trail starts?Sometimes true. It should still arrive after the inspection rather than instead of it, with photographs of several planes rather than a verdict. A leak on a twelve-year-old roof is usually a detail.
Ask instead: Show me the photographs of each slope, and tell me what you found in the attic.Roof leak questions
Who do you call for a possible roof leak?
A licensed roofing contractor, and ask specifically for an inspection that includes the attic where it is accessible. The reason is that water enters at a detail — a boot, a flashing, a valley — and then travels along the deck or a rafter before it appears inside, so the stain on the ceiling is rarely underneath the hole. An inspector who only looks at the roof surface above the stain is looking in the wrong place. In Maryland, check the contractor MHIC license before anyone gets on a ladder.
How serious is a roof leak?
Serious in one sense always: once water is inside the envelope the damage stops being about the roof and starts being about the deck, insulation, framing, drywall, wiring and eventually mould, which can begin within days in a Maryland summer. Urgency varies enormously though. A faint ring that has not changed in months can wait for a proper look. A stain that grew after the last rain needs attention this week. Active dripping needs attention today, and water near a light fitting means switching that circuit off first.
What causes a roof to leak?
Details, not the field. In rough order: cracked or hardened pipe boots, which harden at around twelve years and are a top-three cause; step and counter flashing at chimneys and wall intersections; valleys; ice dams at the eaves in winter; storm-lifted or missing shingles; and skylight perimeters. A meaningful proportion of suspected roof leaks turn out to be condensation from an unventilated attic or a plumbing leak, both of which look identical from below.
How much does it cost to fix a leaky roof?
It depends entirely on which of two things it is. On a roof well inside its service life a leak is nearly always a single detail: a plumbing vent boot is $65 on our published price book and a full chimney re-flash is $600. On a roof at the end of its life, spending money on a patch extends something nearly finished, and a full replacement is $600 to $900 per square, $19,000 to $31,000 on a typical Maryland house. The inspection is what tells you which situation you are in, and it costs nothing.
Does insurance cover a roof leak?
It depends on cause, not on consequence. A leak resulting from a sudden covered event — wind lifting shingles, hail, a limb through the roof — is generally covered, and the resulting interior water damage usually is too. A leak from age, wear, a boot that hardened over a decade, or maintenance that was deferred is excluded on every homeowner policy, because those are not sudden accidental losses. Coverage is your carrier determination. On an approved claim your deductible is typically your out-of-pocket cost.
Can I patch a roof leak myself?
Temporarily, and only from inside or from ground level. A tarp over an opening, correctly weighted and lapped so water runs over it rather than under, is a legitimate emergency measure and it is your duty to mitigate further damage. What does not work is sealant applied to the roof surface from above: it is a season or two of relief that makes the real repair harder because it all has to be cleaned off, and it obscures the evidence for an insurance claim. Never go on a wet or steep roof.
Where to go next
A leak is a symptom. These are the pages about what it is usually a symptom of.
Roof flashing and penetrations
Where leaks actually come from. Every flashing part named, and what fails in each.
Read the standard →ThesisWhy a roof fails at its details, not its field
Roofs rarely fail in the middle of a plane. They fail at edges, valleys, walls and penetrations.
Read the standard →ChimneyHow chimney flashing works and what it costs
Step, counter and apron flashing, crickets, common problems and the replacement rate.
Read the guide →StormWhat counts as storm damage to a roof
Wind, hail and leaks: what a carrier treats as sudden damage and what it treats as ordinary wear.
Read the standard →