Ceiling leak

[aaronmn]

With the melting snow finally here in MN, my garage roof sprung a leak. Two stalls. Heat in cement floor, kept at about 40 degrees all winter. Insulated 2x4 walls and sheetrocked. Sheetrock ceiling, insulated ceiling. Roof has three vents on the East side. One of the vents may have been covered with snow, which is why it may now be leaking as the humidity froze and is now melting. However, the vents did look a bit suspect. The first is one on my garage, no sealant. The second is one from my house with sealant. Is the garage vent done correctly? All three look like this.

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[CNGsaves]

TOO LITTLE Info . . . .
. . .
. . . . . . . Are those "downhill" or "uphill" pictures ??

Need MORE pics showing a larger area of the roof, and what kind of vent.

Just because one vent had globs of tar showing does not mean it is done right.

Is the shingle stuck down with tar in the 1st picture ??

For me, both look done incorrectly as the flashing should OVERlap the downhill shingle so water runs down onto the shingle. There should be tar underneath ALL of those surfaces so water can't go anywhere. Thus, everything should be stuck down tight.

My bet is you got "quick & dirty" half-*** job and very little tar was used, and also done improperly.

Post up more pics, including underside of roof inside where you might be able to see water stains as it runs down. THAT will tell you likely source of the leak, if you can get up into attic for investigation.

 

[aaronmn]

I will do that as soon as I get home. Those pictures are from the top side.

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[jc5205]

There should be flashing,

 

[CNGsaves]

Honestly the 2nd picture (since that is topside or uphill part) really is evidence that installer didn't know what the hell they were doing.

That glob of sealant doesn't do ****. All of that should be UNDER the shingle on the entire perimeter so that shingle is stuck down and no water can penetrate . . . . whether that be melting snow piled up, or driving rain.

Hopefully you have spare shingles or can get a bundle that matches color well. I would just plan on cutting both of those out and Doing It Right. You will need tar paper (or better Ice & Water Dam), shingles, nails, and bucket of tar.

 

[CNGsaves]

Forgot to add when you Re-Do this . . .
. . . .
. . . . good practice to leave an INCH of exposed flashing around the body of vent.

This gives water a place to go to easily run downhill on the steel next to body of vent. Also, give a place for trash to be washed down, rather than piling up.

See attached pictures of example "Turtle passive vents" that may be what you have. First one looks installed half-way right, but I doubt there is tar on underside of vent flashing. If done properly, there would be tar oozing from hole where the nail went through. Also, there should be more exposed steel flashing next to body of vent.

2nd one is newer style that could possibly let water in . . IF . . . giant pile of snow was there constantly melting, re-freezing and melting (ie I don't like those side louvers for that reason).

3rd PIC is marked up to show you where big WIDE Smear of TAR should be on UNDERside of vent steel perimeter so that where ever you nail through it goes through the tar. Also, ALWAYS nail out near edge of flashing so there's plenty of undisturbed tar underneath to seal.

When done properly, the tar will ooze up and out hole as you nail at perimeter of flashing, and everything will be sealed up. There should be no need to put tar on top of flashing.

For shingles themselves, you would also heavily smear a wide line of tar on all the UNDERside edges that sit down on steel of the vent flashing. That sticks the shingle down and seals water from "wicking" up where it doesn't belong, or that driving rain can get through . . . or . . in your case melting snow.

 

[aaronmn]

You are awesome. Pictures below.

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[aaronmn]

The vent is top looking down.

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[oldmxracer]

I did roofing for years and never used any tar around them and never had leaks.

From Your picture looks like one more row of shingles should be on top of the metal the third one down.

 

[KnurledNut]

Can you get in the attic to try to pinpoint the leak?
As oldmxracer mentioned, the vent should be covered with one more course of shingles, on the lower half.
If its shingled correctly, you dont need sealant. Sometimes that actually traps water.
In this situation, I would check for other potential leak points, eliminate those, and then pull the vent up and shingle it right. You might wanna dab sealant on the nail heads on the bottom of the vent.

To answer your question in a nutshell, no, its not installed correctly.

 

[aaronmn]

I have no access to the attic currently - appreciate all of the help.

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[aaronmn]

One more photo of the ice around the vent

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[CNGsaves]

OP . . . your roof doesn't look that steep. Thus, all the more reason to fix it right.

What's happening . . . . Snow & Ice is piled up there are melting/freezing and able to migrate to gaps THAT WERE NOT SEALED WITH TAR, so it is dripping through the opening cut in roof for vent.

Best solution is wait until warm weather, tear it out and do it right with Tar. Whole gallon of tar is only $9 or $10 so why would you ever skimp and do a half-*** job ?? Be sure to cut shingles so there is 1" gap around body of vent for water to easily run down. Most importantly is the wide smear of tar on UNDERside of all perimeter edges (both the vent and shingles) . . . . . believe me, Do It Right and you won't have any leaks problems with that roof penetration in future.

Use Kiltz or Zinser stain block paint for that ceiling stain. Couple coats and you'll never see that brown spot again. Good luck.

 

[CNGsaves]

OP . . . . post up more pictures of the BOTTOM view that shows how that was done.

Also post up wider view that shows the entire vent.

May or may not need another "row of shingles" on the vent, but can't tell for sure from just the one PIC you've put on GJ.

While you're up on roof with dry vent (ie the one with all snow melted off), see if edges of shingles are stuck down with tar or not. I'll bet $2 there is no tar.

 

[DCarr2]

if you have no way to spray popcorn, I recomend a little bit of caulk to 'fix' the damage, and oil base primer to cover the stain, then top coat with paint of your choosing..

In the future and as a reminder, any DRIPPING water from any ceiling should be immediately poked with a screw driver to let out the water!