Leaking Roof

Gentlemen/Ladies,

Just wondering if anyone would indulge a DIY'er trying to fix a roof leak in my house. So I've got a slanted roof, regular black shingles (I'm unsure of the correct nomenclature). Anyway, I noticed a dripping noise coming from my daughters' room a few months ago and lo and behold it was coming from the roof.

I went in the attic and noticed two soaked wooden planks above my daughters room. When I went outside I didn't notice any visible or overt damage to the roof in the area above the soaked planks.

Next, I got out my ladder and got at eye level with the incline of the roof and found a few tiles curled up so I purchased several caulk gun compatible tubes of roofing tar and went around the roof sealing down loose tiles and tiles that had curled up (there were a few, not many). I went top to bottom w/the the roofing tar and a few tile widths to the left and right of the leak location as well. So I basically tried glue down any loose tiles for what I thought was a healthy distance around the leak.

We got the first slow and steady rain we've had in months last night and I heard that dreadful DRIP, DRIP noise again in my daughter's room. I went back in the roof and sure enough those same planks are soaked again (pictures below).

So I'm a bit stumped. I've got a few questions about the leak if you guys don't mind:


Is it possible the leak is coming from damage to the roof directly above the leak itself or could it be coming from another area and traveling down behind the shingles until for whatever reason it decides to leak here?

Would it better to focus more closely on the location of the soaked plank and maybe pull a few shingles off or back and look for any damage beneath them?

I didn't notice any overt damage to tiles or missing tiles in this section from the roof. Is there something else I would need to look for that's not as visible?


Any help would be greatly apreciated!

Thank you

 

By "tiles" I assume you are referring to shingles. Rarely do curling shingles cause leaks unless they are really bad. More often it's a nail pop, poor flashing or an entirely missing shingle.

As for the location of the leak you just have to get up on the roof and look. The source could be anywhere at that height or above as water can seep/wick for some distance on the tar paper or on top of planks before becoming visible below.

 

What's the general condition of the roof? Age? Tar paper/roofing felt under the shingles? What goes on at the ridge? Ridge vent? Any broken, loose or damaged shingles above the leak area? Rain was not wind driven?

 

Welcome to the forums! .... A pic or two of the roof would be helpful.

 

Curled shingles is never a good thing.
One of the signs of a roof needing replacement. Caulkings not going to do a thing to stop it from leaking.