By:Monte Leeper
Q. I am writing re: my flat roof leak. Please find enclosed pictures of inside and outside of my home. Since we bought this house in 1975, we have been having trouble with the flat portion of the roof. I have had the inside repaired, only to leak again. A couple of years ago, I had a new roof installed, mainly to fix the flat section. The roofers tarred the flat section. When I called them back a few months later, to tell them it's leaking again, they just put a heavier coating of tar on it. After that didn't work, they said there is nothing more they can do. I have called other leak finders, only to get no satisfaction. As you can see, the inside ceiling looks horrible. Outside, everything looks fine.
A. As I answer this question, I am listening to a weather report of yet another approaching "Nor'easter" rain storm. This is a good time of the year to find leaks, due to the snow and the rain. That probably is not too comforting to you in your frustration, but your problem can be solved. I looked at your pictures and saw what to me can only be described as a mess. Tar is not the answer, unless the roof is a built-up installation, composed of multiple layers of hot, applied tar and asphalt papers made for this purpose. It looks more like a layer of asphalt roof membrane that was coated (and that is a polite way of putting it) with roofing cement. That tar substance will only last through a few seasons before it splits. I also question whether the roof edges that join the house were "flashed" with membrane of metal and if the roof edges have been sealed and doubled back. I once found a leak that had already cost an owner about $20,000 to try to solve,just by looking above the area to the tops of windows on the upper floor. They had excavated and sealed all the foundation walls, tar applied special membranes, etc., only to discover that two pieces of metal covering the top of the windows above did the trick for less than $100. In your case, I would start above, examine the roof and wall openings, and work down the face of the house to each junction of dissimilar materials. Covering everything in tar is a mistake. To really solve your problem may now involve stripping the roof to examine the wood structure for staining, if all else fails, but try looking from the inside first, since the ceiling is down.
Good Luck!
