Drip. Drip. Drip. It is pouring rain outside, and you hear that dreaded sound coming from somewhere inside your home. Grabbing the mop bucket to place under the leak will save you from a mess but drying the floor and putting the bucket close by for the next rainstorm is not where you need to stop. Leaving a leaking roof untouched can be detrimental to your health, home, and investment.   

• Sometimes you may not notice dripping water, but will see bubbling drywall or plaster, or simply a change in the color of the paint. 
• If you find a drip and have retrieved something to catch water, your next step should be to try and find where the leak is. Open the attic door, and with a flashlight, look around for the dripping water or wet areas. 
• Do not be tempted to place something to catch the water in the attic. The container can become too full and heavy, and come crashing through the ceiling. 

• While a downpour or thunderstorm is not the time to go outside, once it is safe to do so, go outside and look up the roof’s slope from the area where the leaking was.
  — If it is not obvious, you may have to wait to create your own “rainstorm” with a water hose or call a pro to locate the problem. 

• If the leak is on a flat area of the roof, secure a tarp over the leak to stop more water from coming in.  Sometimes the leaks are around a vent or chimney, and those can be tricky, so you may not be able to make a temporary fix until the roofer arrives.

• Whether you DIY the roof repair or call a roofing contractor, the attic will need to be dried out. 
  — Use a dehumidifier to absorb the moisture in the air coupled with a large fan to dry the area.
  — Inspect surrounding insulation and make certain it is completely dry before you put it back in place. If it has become compacted, it will need to be replaced with new insulation. 

• Leaving a leaky roof with a temporary patch, or worse, doing nothing at all can cause expensive and dangerous problems.
  — Mold and mildew can grow not only on the roof, but inside the attic, and possible down to the ceiling and walls.
  — Wood under the shingles and on the roof, joists can rot, causing an expensive replacement.
  — Drywall and plaster are not meant to be wet, and the moisture can cause them to become weak. No one wants collapsing ceilings or walls.
  — Water can get into the home’s wiring, causing copper wires to degrade, and in turn causing an electrical short or even a fire. 

As soon as a leak is discovered, repairing it yourself is fine if done correctly.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how easy it can be for a pro to stop a small leak, and the price of the repair will not be very high.  However, the cost of a professional making a repair to a leaking roof cannot compare with keeping your home’s largest and most important structure safe and sound as well as keeping your family safe and healthy. 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Photo credit: remedy roofing

Winter can be harsh on a roof, between the cold wind, rain, and snow and ice in some areas.  While on your Spring maintenance check, you should look carefully at your home’s roof, and see how it fared the season, and whether you have a DIY patch job to do, or a major roof repair that needs professional attention.  Keep the following in mind while you’re doing your inspection: 

• Cracked, curling or buckled shingles are an obvious problem. These should be replaced or repaired as soon as possible to prevent water damage and mold infestation. 
• Are your shingles dirty? Look in the gutters for tiny bits of the shingle granules.  If you find a lot of them, and not many are left on the shingles themselves, it may be time to re-shingle the roof. 
• Check around chimneys, vents, skylights, and anything else that is installed on the roof for any cracks or tears in the flashing beneath the shingles that could be allowing water to leak in. 
• Inspect carefully where tree branches could come in contact with the roof, to make sure they haven’t caused any damage from Winter winds. 
• Now would be a good time to check the eaves and gutters.  Make sure the wood is in good shape, and that gutters are clean and not loose. 
• If you think you may have especially bad soft spots in your roof, call a professional to climb up for a more thorough inspection.  

When you’re looking for roof damage, a great place to look is on the underside, and that requires an interior inspection. 

• Get into the attic and look for dark spots or obvious places where water has run.  Pay close attention if your attic smells musty and look for mold or mildew.  If you see any daylight shining through where it shouldn’t be, you need to check the corresponding area on the roof and get that repaired. 
• Check every inch of the top floor interior ceiling plaster or drywall for discoloration, crumbling, cracking or bubbling. 
• Don’t forget closets, cabinets, storage areas, and even wallpaper.  Use a very bright flashlight to help you see these hard-to-see places. 

Roofing materials can vary from asphalt shingles to stamped tin, and each one has a different way to inspect and repair.  Scott Yancey, real estate instructor and host of the television show Flipping Vegas, offers these tips for inspecting all kinds of roofing.  Your roof is the most important aspect of your home’s construction, and maintaining it is important to prevent costly repairs or replacement or expensive interior damage.   

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Photo credit: regionalroofing.net