Thread: Does this look right?

My neighbor moved into a home and had additions added to it. Long story short they had the roof leak at one corner and some serious ice daming. I'm a student inspector and haven't done my roofing module yet but wanted some feed back from you guys on these pictures. The Roofers didn't use ice shield for one but check out this roof. It has a big valley in the middle. Never seen that before.

Not sure the people who built that roof have ever seen "snow", and I believe by your locaton you have. That roof, in my opinoin is worse than a flat roof. And we all know that all flat roofs leak or will leak.

The flashing is installed wrong. It should not be visible and no nails should be driven through at the bend or on the roof sheathing side. I think I see nail heads at the crease. It should leak just fine!

I'd be telling the client to be sure to inquire whether or not these additions were under the auspices of of the building department/building code.

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

Not sure the people who built that roof have ever seen "snow", and I believe by your locaton you have. That roof, in my opinoin is worse than a flat roof. And we all know that all flat roofs leak or will leak.

The flashing is installed wrong. It should not be visible and no nails should be driven through at the bend or on the roof sheathing side. I think I see nail heads at the crease. It should leak just fine!

The third photo is where the leaking occurred. There was a tremendous amount of ice buildup and naturally all the water just pulled in the valley. I just had to share these photos. Crazy some of the things you see.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

I'd be telling the client to be sure to inquire whether or not these additions were under the auspices of of the building department/building code.

Raymond I would not be surprised. You know the kind of snow we get. The lady was just in tears when telling me about it.

i bet that roof does not leak when it rains. and if that's the case my first guess is that the ice dam builds up near that hip and just gets under there. I always tried to stay at least 10 inches from the valley with any nails.
I would try some heat strip to keep that tiny valley open so it can always drain before i rip it all up.
very tough job , but it looks good except for that piece of loose flashing. just a crap design

Additions to houses are often done incorrectly, even when a permit is obtained. I've seen several additions with the roof such as that. The roof will require a lot more maintenance than normal. Severe leaking is a real problem, but in most cases, it can be made rain tight.

Tell that lady to call Mike Holmes. That's right in his area, perfect. A large input of cash will be needed.

That roof is a disaster. The ridge cap in pic 3 is right in the way of the flow. Built-in drains won't work, they'd be plugged with leaves all the time. Raising the low slope section to the height of the two ridges will eliminate the valley and the narrow gutter, but that calls for engineering, I think.

Thanks for the reply guys! I'll be sure to inform her!!