roof leaking 5 ft. below exhaust vent

mayhem69 · 04-01-2011, 04:52 PM

I had a sunroom addition put on about 6 yrs. ago. Maybe a yr. after the ceiling was leaking approx. 5 ft. below the exhaust fan that is there. So i decided to put a butt load of roof patch around it. It helped, we only got some water after ALOT of rain.
Now i am fed up with it and i want the builder to fix it. Well, he came over the other day, lifted all the shingles around it, supposedly repaired it.
Well today we hardly had ANY rain and it is leaking at the same spot, i have pine bead board in the ceiling also.
He stated it couldn't be leaking from the vent, he put some kind of adhesive or something around it, plus new shingles.
I really don't think he knows what he is doing, this is the same guy that did it before. This time i want it fixed and not paying him a dime. I pd. him $130 cash to fix HIS OWN SCREWUP just a few days ago. He stated the aluminum wasn't right or something along that line.
Any advice on this situation please!

**kwikfishron** · 04-01-2011, 05:12 PM

What you should have done is called him the first time it leaked 5 years ago.

Most of these kind of fixes are very simple and “never” require “a butt load of roof patch”.

That said and not even getting into your contractor issues today, I’m sure all you want is to stop the leak and there are plenty of people here that can assist you with that.

All you need to do is post a picture or two of the vent, standing far enough back so we can see the area around and above it.

mayhem69 · 04-01-2011, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwikfishron

What you should have done is called him the first time it leaked 5 years ago.

Most of these kind of fixes are very simple and “never” require “a butt load of roof patch”.

That said and not even getting into your contractor issues today, I’m sure all you want is to stop the leak and there are plenty of people here that can assist you with that.

All you need to do is post a picture or two of the vent, standing far enough back so we can see the area around and above it.

yes, i know i should of called him, but you know how we think we can do things ourselves sometimes.
Anyway, here are the pics., it is a real big roof.

**kwikfishron** · 04-01-2011, 06:16 PM

That’s definitely not installed correctly and having a valley pouring into it doesn’t help anything.

If you could move the vent over a bay or two I would.

If the guy that installed it is who your beating with a stick to come back, forget it, just write him off.

Get an experienced roofer in there to fix this simple issue.

It may or may not be DIY, don’t know your skill level.

Did I say move the vent?

mayhem69 · 04-01-2011, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwikfishron

That’s definitely not installed correctly and having a valley pouring into it doesn’t help anything.

If you could move the vent over a bay or two I would.

If the guy that installed it is who your beating with a stick to come back, forget it, just write him off.

Get an experienced roofer in there to fix this simple issue.

It may or may not be DIY, don’t know your skill level.

Did I say move the vent?

Moving the vent is out of the question. The whole inside of that sunroom is pine beadboard. What do you see with the vent that it's not installed correctly?
Also, this guy is going to have to make it right, he has done tons of work for us. I just pd. him $130 to fix this with my shingles. When he comes to fix this again he is not getting pd. anyway, though he does not know it yet.
What do you recommend to fix this besides moving the vent, cause that is not gonna happen.

**kwikfishron** · 04-01-2011, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayhem69

What do you recommend to fix this besides moving the vent, cause that is not gonna happen.

Get an experienced roofer in there to fix this simple issue.

**kwikfishron** · 04-01-2011, 08:39 PM

I’m no roofer, I’m just the siding guy.

Although I do know about drainage planes, water management, and I can think like a raindrop.

Obviously your guy can’t.

I’m sure he built you a beautiful sunroom but if he can’t see the obvious than you should find someone that can.

handy man88 · 04-01-2011, 09:59 PM

I'm no roofer, but I see several issues with this set up (nevermind it being located right where a valley dumps into it, as someone said).

* That vent needs to be replaced as it is rusting out. Water could be coming into the location on the side where the vent meets the flashing where there is rust. When it is replaced, have the roofer install ice and water shield over the flashing.

* The bottom part of the flashing needs to be exposed OVER the shingles. That way, as water flows down the roof, it will direct on top of the flashing which is ABOVE the shingles. The set up that you have right now will direct water UNDER the shingles.

* If you cannot move the vent, have a roofer install these angled flow diverters/channels to see if that helps.

mayhem69 · 04-02-2011, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handy man88

I'm no roofer, but I see several issues with this set up (nevermind it being located right where a valley dumps into it, as someone said).

* That vent needs to be replaced as it is rusting out. Water could be coming into the location on the side where the vent meets the flashing where there is rust. When it is replaced, have the roofer install ice and water shield over the flashing.

* The bottom part of the flashing needs to be exposed OVER the shingles. That way, as water flows down the roof, it will direct on top of the flashing which is ABOVE the shingles. The set up that you have right now will direct water UNDER the shingles.

* If you cannot move the vent, have a roofer install these angled flow diverters/channels to see if that helps.

Well, it's definitely not leaking from rusting out, it has been leaking at the same spot in my sunroom since new. This is a very good unit, a panasonic, which is top of the line. So you are saying the shingles around the fan are all wrong?

ThatDaveGuy · 04-02-2011, 07:38 AM

I think they're saying the vent lip should look this way:

The "downhill" lip should be on top of the shingle so water flows from upper shingle ~> vent lip ~> lower shingle. The way yours is funnels water under the edge of the lower shingles. Looks nice, doesn't work.

handy man88 · 04-02-2011, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayhem69

Well, it's definitely not leaking from rusting out, it has been leaking at the same spot in my sunroom since new. This is a very good unit, a panasonic, which is top of the line. So you are saying the shingles around the fan are all wrong?

Yes, the shingles are all wrong. See pic above on how it should look.

In any regard, I think you should replace it as it is starting to rust.

Is there any way you can access the attic area directly under the roof?

mayhem69 · 04-02-2011, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handy man88

Yes, the shingles are all wrong. See pic above on how it should look.

In any regard, I think you should replace it as it is starting to rust.

Is there any way you can access the attic area directly under the roof?

There is no attic area under that roof, it is just my sunroom, i am not replacing that unit, that exterior rust has to be from the roof patch i smeared all over.

handy man88 · 04-02-2011, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayhem69

.....i am not replacing that unit, that exterior rust has to be from the roof patch i smeared all over.

That is your prerogative, but looking at the 2nd and 4th picture, it's clearly rust. There is no roof patch that comes in the color of rust....only black or clear.

seeyou · 04-02-2011, 04:24 PM

Mayhem -

What's the slope of that roof?

I've had some trouble with similar units leaking on 4/12 and lower slopes.

But, it's not installed correctly as previously noted. The flange on the front of it needs to lap over the shingles, not under.

I'm pretty sure that's a Broan/Nutone vent jack. It may have been re-branded as Panasonic.

Here's the installation instructions:

http://www.broan.com/ImageLibrary/br...s/99041929.pdf

**kwikfishron** · 04-02-2011, 04:40 PM

Don’t you install the vent to the felt in the same fashion with the lower part of the flange over the felt with the felt over the top of the flange?

I would think is papered properly and roofed as shown it still shouldn’t leak into the house. The water should run between the roofing and felt.