A leaky shingle can cause major damage to your home. Therefore, it is important to find the problem and rectify it as soon as you notice it. There are a few minor issues of roof leaks commonly found in homes that can be easily repaired. Here we have compiled a few tips that can help you patch a leaky shingle to avoid significant damage to your roof. However, we recommend that roof repairs should be done by professional roofers so that the problem gets fixed permanently because DIY repairs may sometimes are not long-lasting.
Asphalt shingles are the most popular roofing material used in homes. They are light-weight, attractive, durable, and competitively priced as compared to other roofing materials. While most of the shingles are manufactured with the latest technology-fire safety, weather and wind resistance, long-lasting performance, however, even the best of them can develop a problem over a period-of-time.
Once you have found the identified the roof leak, you should try to fix it as soon as possible because leaks usually get worse with time. The first typical sign of a leaky shingle is water stains on your ceiling.
Curled shingles, for instance, can be re-secured by brushing a coating of shingle cement or with an equivalent compound available in the market. You will have to apply a generous amount of roofing cement to the underside of the shingle to ensure that the corners and edges are secured and then press firmly to set.
Another way is to gently pry up the shingle and put a piece of flashing underneath and on top of the leaky hole on the shingle. You can also use the caulk to seal the flashing to the hole. However, if you notice some large holes or holes have caused structural damage to the roof than a professional roofing inspection is a must.
One of the simplest ways to fix a leaky shingle is to replace it. To remove a damaged shingle you will have to lift the edges of the surrounding shingles and carefully remove the nails for the shingle to slide out. Scrape away the residue cement and remove or level the protruding nails.
However, before attempting to replace a shingle you should try and round the back corners with a utility knife that will make it easier for you to slide the shingle under the one which is above that and also align it with shingles on either side. Once this is done, you need to lift the corners of the overlapping shingles and fasten the top with new replacement with galvanized roofing nails. Make sure that you secure the nails in each corner. Lastly, cover the nail heads with roofing cement and smoothen the overlapping shingle edges. Be careful while doing this to avoid getting hurt or else you can hire the services of a roofing contractor.
In case it is necessary to replace the entire row of shingles, or if you find that shingles are lifting off too easily from the roof, it may be time to call in a professional roofing contractor to inspect the situation. Please keep in mind that a spot repair may not extend the life of a roof that requires replacement.