What to do if the roof leaks, the elimination of roof leaks

With the arrival of the first autumn rains or the beginning of the spring thaws, many homeowners face a very unpleasant and serious problem - the roof is flowing. Leaks in the roof may occur regardless of the roofing material and roof structure. If you do not notice the defect in time and do not repair the hole, the water that penetrates into the room can spoil the decoration of the walls, floor and ceiling, as well as damage furniture and household appliances. In this situation, the main thing is to quickly navigate and correctly draw up a plan of action. Since it is not easy to quickly resolve issues in emergency cases, we will tell you what to do when the roof leaks.

Causes leakage

Understand that the roof flows quite simply, because the water flowing down the slope, seeps through the ceiling of the upper floor, leaves wet marks and dirty stains. However, often the landlord simply does not know what to do in this situation to minimize the damage. The most common causes of leakage in the roof are considered:

• Mechanical damage to the roof. The most common cause of leakage through the roof is mechanical damage to the roofing material from falling branches, stones, or due to wear of the coating.
• Impairment of tightness in the junction points of the roof to vertical surfaces. Places where the roofing material is adjacent to a pipe, wall or other elements provide waterproofing more difficult, so there may be a leak.
• Violation of the roof mounting technology. If the roof is made with violations of technology, then it will be felt at the first heavy rain, to eliminate this defect is the most difficult.

Important! Determining why the roof is leaking is the first task that needs to be done to eliminate the leakage. However, it just sometimes turns out to be the most difficult, since visually assessing where water comes from is problematic.

Procedure for owners of private houses

If the roof leaks in the country or in a private house, the elimination of leaks falls on the shoulders of homeowners. Only the homeowner should maintain the performance of all systems, so it is not worth postponing the solution of this issue. To minimize the consequences of the accident, you must do the following:

1. First you need to take care of maintaining the finish of the upper floor. Under the strong streams flowing from the ceiling, you need to substitute basins. Furniture, household appliances, electronics are removed from the premises, the electricity is switched off whenever possible to avoid a short circuit.
2. Then you need to observe the safety technique, climb onto the roof and visually assess its condition.
3. If it was possible to find damage during visual inspection, for example, mechanical damage to the roofing material, then this area should be covered with remnants of roofing material or metal profile or a temporary patch should be made.
4. For more thorough repairs, you must invite a team of professional roofers or try to do it yourself.

Consider that it is rather difficult to repair the roof during winter, so it is important to carry out regular autumn inspection and preventive roofing in the country or in a private house.

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Procedure for owners of apartment buildings

When a roof flows in an apartment building, the upper floors suffer the most from water leaks. It would seem that in this situation it is much easier to understand, because the elimination of roof leaks falls on the shoulders of the management company and the contracting organization. However, often apartment owners become hostages of circumstances, being unable to find levers of influence on these not always bona fide offices. If the roof leaks, do the following:

1. First you need to find out which management company serves the apartment building, report the leakage to the control room and send a written statement about the problems with the roof.
2. You need to record the effects of leaks that caused damage to your property, using video or photofixation.
3. When wizards of the management company come together to climb onto the roof, inspect the damage and determine the scale of the work.
4. If a peaceful solution to compensate for damage caused to your things during a leakage could not be achieved, you should file a claim with the court.

Note, if the roof flows in an apartment building, the damage can be quite serious. It is advisable to warn neighbors and act together to make utilities work efficiently and efficiently.

Prevention

The best remedy that prevents leakage is regular preventive maintenance of the roof. Seasonal inspection and repair of the roof in the country or in a private house allows you to minimize damage in case of accidents and to quickly detect minor defects in the warm season. For this you need:

• Twice a year to inspect the condition of the roofing material, add sealant at the points of contiguity of the roof to the vertical surfaces.
• Timely clean the roof of snow and various debris that can damage the roof covering.
• Inspect and clean the drainage system to avoid blockages and water stagnation.
• Eliminate minor defects using inexpensive spot repair, which you can do with your own hands.

Important! The main symptom is that a small amount of moisture seeps through the roof, which has not yet resulted in a large-scale leak - mold and fungus on the rafter frame of the structure. If you notice a dark patina on the wood, start looking for defects on the surface of the roof covering through which the roof flows.

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