Do roof vents leak?

[BigE]

I have 2 of the whirly bird roof vents on my house. They're only 3 years old. We had a very heavy rain this weekend that literally lasted all day. I found that I was getting water through my fairly new roof so I went in the attic to check it out. I found the insulation under each vent was very damp as well as contained a few leaves. Are these things prone to leaking in a heavy rain? Or could they both have been installed improperly?

Roof and vents are three years old with no signs of leakage in that time.

 

[paranoid56]

in our last heavy rain mine never leaked. cant say i have ever seen mine leak.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I would think leakage like that is bad. I can see a small amount of mist during heavy rain or during high winds or some fine snow with swirling winds, but that should be about it.

 

[foamer01]

I have three pot vents and one did leak and stained my ceiling. The roofer who checked it out said it was installed correctly however they will leak from time to time. I have a ridge vent in the same roof so he removed that pot vent and shingled over it. No more leaks.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Enough "weather" of the wrong kind, from the wrong direction can overcome most vent designs. We experience ALLOT of high wind, and get water and snow in places it shouldn't be, like the attic. Weve had as much as 4" of snow in the attic.

In the big buildings, I dont park anything that cant get wet under turbine vents because there is always water under them after a good thunderstorm, or snow storm.

 

[chops101]

Just bought a house 12 years old.
We get deluged with water at times, mine have leaked at some point in the past by evidence in the attic. I had my roofer remove, apply sheathing-bitumin and then 'S' tile over. They are gone.

It depends on where you live and how much water you are willing to accept over time.

 

[wayne55]

A long blowing rain, together with the rain hitting the roof and splattering through the screen under the vent cover can make it inside. And usually there are 3 screws holding the cover on. Even though I had silicon caulked the screw heads, I still had water get in under the caulk and run down one of the screws once.

 

[BigE]

It sounds like I just need to get rid of them. I had the roofers install a ridge vent. When they asked about the whirly bird vents, I told them to just replace them. Had I known at the time that it was counterproductive to the ridge vent, I would have had them cover them over. I still have a few packs of shingles so I'll just remove the vents, plug the holes with sheeting and support blocking and then patch in the shingles.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[67carl]

It sounds like I just need to get rid of them. I had the roofers install a ridge vent. When they asked about the whirly bird vents, I told them to just replace them. Had I known at the time that it was counterproductive to the ridge vent, I would have had them cover them over. I still have a few packs of shingles so I'll just remove the vents, plug the holes with sheeting and support blocking and then patch in the shingles.

Thanks for the help everyone.

In the meantime try covering them up. I think they even sell a heavy duty plastic bag you can pull over it and tie it off at the base. If you don't get any more water then you know thats it. If you do get water then you know it's leaking where it meets the roof.

 

[kbs2244]

I doubt the rain is coming in through the spinnig ball.
the motion will spin it to the outside.
I would check the roof around it for a bad install.
Nails are give away.
Water will leak down along the shank.