Recently I had a call from a customer that had just noticed a stain in his ceiling. He began to tell me a bought the home ten years ago brand new and that he was told he had a 30 year roof. He asked me if that had meant his roof would last 30 years? I told him that if the roof were installed correctly and if all surrounding conditions allowed for the roof to wear normally that chances are it would last fairly close to 30 years. By surrounding conditions I meant the home was not surrounded by trees and allowed to have debris build up. My customer expressed his concern and asked if I could help him with his problem? I gathered all his information and set and appointment to have a look and determine the cause.
When I arrived at my customer’s home I verified he had an architectural type laminate asphalt composition roof. It appeared to be a 30 year warranted roof. The home had a moderate pitch and was a hip and valley design. There weren’t any trees near the roof and the roof was clean and free of debris. I went and introduced myself to my customer and he invited me in to see the stain on the ceiling. My customer took me into the living room that had a vaulted ceiling. The stain was about two feet away from an interior wall, about eight feet in from an exterior wall and the stain ran horizontally. With the stain running horizontally this gave me a good starting point to look.
Since there is no attic in a vaulted ceiling I would have to look from the outside on the roof to determine the problem area. I got up on the roof and soon after looking in the area I had a real good idea as to the source of the problem. How the roof was designed allowed for water from an upper valley to be directed into one area over the lower roof. That in itself will create excessive wear on the asphalt shingles causing them to fail prematurely. There is also a gutter that is open on the end that directs water to flow in the same path as the valley. With the combination of excessive amounts of water from the valley and gutter the problem is pretty clear. The asphalt shingles have prematurely failed due to this excessive amount of water flow. This is not an asphalt shingle warranty issue but rather a design problem.
What can be done to correct the problem? There are not many options to prevent this type of shingle failure due to the design of the roof. Closing off the end of the gutter and properly installing a downspout will decrease the amount of water that will flow in the area. Had the gutter been correctly installed in the first place the problem may have been delayed another ten years. Ultimately that area of the roof would have failed before the expected life span.
When repairs are made to that area I would suggest the use of an ice & water membrane installed under the asphalt shingles. The shingles will still have excessive wear but any water that bypass the shingles will not wear through the ice & water membrane. The Pacific Northwest can and will push the limits of your roof. The experienced roofing contractor will have the knowledge and skill to prevent any premature shingle failure.
