Roof repair
Roof repair in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound
Water is showing up somewhere it should not be. Our job is to find out exactly where it is entering, fix that, and tell you honestly whether the rest of the roof still has service life.
- Leak diagnosis that traces water to its actual entry point
- Small repairs quoted as repairs, not as the first step toward a replacement
- Flashing, valley, penetration, storm damage and emergency leak work
Our approach
A leak is a symptom. We look for the cause.
A ceiling stain almost never appears directly beneath the hole. Water travels along rafters, sheathing seams and insulation before it becomes visible inside the house. So the first thing we do is establish where the water is actually entering the roofing assembly, rather than patching the nearest suspicious-looking spot.
Once we know the entry point, the real question follows: is this a local failure on an otherwise sound roof, or is it one visible symptom of a roof that has reached the end of its life? Those two situations call for completely different responses, and confusing them is how homeowners end up paying for a replacement they did not need — or patching a roof that should have been replaced two winters ago.
We are direct about which one you are looking at. Because nobody here works on commission, there is no financial reason for us to steer you toward the larger job.
Flashing, chimney and skylight repair
Most of the roof leaks we repair in this region are not in the open field of the roof at all. They occur where the roofing meets something else: a chimney, a wall, a skylight curb, a dormer cheek, a plumbing vent. These transitions rely on metal flashing installed in the correct sequence with the roofing material, and they are where shortcuts from previous work show up first.
Repairing flashing properly usually means removing the surrounding roofing, correcting the underlying detail, and reinstalling. It costs more than smearing sealant across the joint, and it is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that fails the following autumn.
Emergency and active leaks
If water is coming into the building right now, call rather than emailing. We will talk through what you can do immediately to limit interior damage, and get someone out to stop the water. Temporary protection first, permanent repair once the roof is dry enough to work on properly.
When we tell you not to repair
Sometimes the honest answer is that repair is throwing money at a roof that will keep failing. Widespread granule loss, brittle and delaminating underlayment, multiple simultaneous leak paths, or a roof already carrying layers past what the structure should hold — in those cases we say so, show you what we are looking at, and explain what replacement would involve. You are still free to repair for now, and we will do the repair, with realistic expectations attached.
Common causes
What actually fails on Northwest roofs
Nine months of rain, heavy shade, moss and wind-driven water find every weakness in a roofing system. These are the failures we see most often.
Flashing failures
Penetrations and pipe boots
Wind and storm damage
Aging materials in a wet climate
Valleys and drainage paths
Previous poor repairs
Related
If the repair conversation turns into something bigger
Repair is the starting point, not the only option. These pages cover what comes next.
Not sure whether you need a repair or a replacement?
That is exactly the question we answer. Send us the details and we will tell you what the roof actually needs — including when the answer is that it needs very little.