Is That Ceiling Stain a Roof Leak? How to Tell Before You Call
Water rarely comes in directly above the stain. Here is how we trace a leak to where it really starts, and what you can check from the ground first.
A brown ring on the ceiling is one of the most common reasons people call us. The stain tells you water got in. It doesn’t tell you where. On most roofs the entry point is several feet away, uphill from the stain.
Why the stain is in the wrong place
Water that gets past the shingles lands on the decking, then runs along it, along rafters, or along a pipe until it finds a low spot to drip from. By the time it shows up on drywall it may have travelled across half a room.
What you can check from the ground
- Look for missing, lifted or creased shingles above the stained room.
- Check the rubber collars around the vent pipes. Cracked ones are a frequent cause.
- Look at the flashing where the roof meets a wall or chimney.
- Note whether the stain grows after every rain or only in wind-driven storms.
We inspect before we quote. No number gets attached to your roof until someone has been on it.
What we do on an inspection
We get on the roof and into the attic where access allows, photograph the problem areas, and check the systems around them: flashing, pipe boots, vents and ventilation. You see the photos and get a plain-English explanation of what they mean.
If water is coming in right now
Move furniture and electronics away from the drip, catch it in a bucket, take photos for your insurer and stay off the roof. We can tarp within 24 hours so the damage stops while we work out the real fix.
