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Roofing - Oven Range Vent
Expert: Brad Zacharia - 11/3/2009
Question
Hi Brad,
I'm the same person who was asking you about possible vent leak and the shingles being positioned right up to the vent (it wouldn't let me ask another follow up). There have been two developments today.
(1) After a good frost and melting this morning, I went up into the attic and noticed that there was more dampness in the same area, but even higher up this time. The dampness was a good 10-12 inches above where the vent was located, which is too high for it to be the vent. I now suspect that there is a leak near the ridge that was running down the rafter near that vent. You were right that the leaves blocking the vent couldn't have caused a leak! From a visual inspection of the shingles near the ridge, I can't see any possible source of a leak. So, I've called a roofer to come out and look at the whole area and see if they can find the problem.
(2) Even though I don't think the leak was caused by the vent, I went ahead and trimmed the shingles on all my vents to give some "open space" for debris to wash down the sides in the future. I have attached a picture of one of the vents I repaired; you're looking down the slope of the roof.
Recall that the shingles had butted up directly to the vents with no space. I trimmed back the shingle from the vent a quarter inch or so and made sure the water could channel down the sides. I put a bead of caulk under the layer of shingles I trimmed above the vent and sealed it to the flashing, so water, ice or snow couldn't back up under it (I made a bit of a mess with it, but that shouldn't hurt). So, water should run down over the shingles, hit the vent, and run to the sides of the vent's flashing with no problem. It can't run up under the top shingle, because it's sealed down, and there's flashing under there anyway.
So, with the roofer coming to solve the leak problem, my question for you (hopefully the last one!): Do you think my trimming of the shingles above the vents, and sealing down the top layer, was an OK move? I figured it would prevent debris and let the water run more smoothly down the vent flashing. I thought this was better than depending on caulk, but I also always worry about doing anything wrong up there, so I thought I'd check to see what you think.
FYI: this is the kind of vent I have
http://stpaulroofing.com/Product_Logos/Roofing_Materials/Roof-Vents-Venting/Gaf-...
Again, thank you very much for your patience with all my questions.
Answer
The caulking probably won't cause a problem.
So now you've determined that the leak is above the vent. Are you sure it's a leak and not a moisture problem? Is it leaking ONLY when it rains? If it is definitely a leak then you have to have a hole somewhere for it to be coming in. An overnight frost and melting is not a lot of water especially if you are high on the roof.
Brad
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