My $250 roof repair turned into a $4,000 mess

I had a small leak near the chimney back in March and thought I'd save some money by patching it myself with some roofing cement from my own store. It worked for about two months until we got that heavy April rain and water started pouring into my living room ceiling. Turns out I just masked the real problem and the rot spread behind the flashing. A real roofer had to tear off three sheets of plywood and replace the whole section. Anyone else learn the hard way that roof repairs are better left to the pros?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahclark4d ago

Did you see that This Old House segment where they showed how a tiny roof leak can rot out the whole decking underneath? I remembered that when my neighbor tried the same thing with silicone caulk on his skylight last summer. The caulk held for a bit but the water just went around it and rotted the wood behind the flashing. His $15 fix turned into a $2,000 job when the roofer had to pull off a whole sheet of plywood. What was your first sign that the patch wasn't working?

troy_ross4d agoMost Upvoted

Watched that water stain spread across the ceiling in about two weeks.