§ 01.05Roof leak diagnostics — TX + OH
Find the leak. Then fix the leak.
The leak shows where water exits, not where it enters. We trace from the ceiling stain back to the entry — pipe boot, kickout, dead valley. Or not the roof at all. We won't sell a tear-off when a $200 boot fixes it.
Six places it is not the field shingle.
When a roof leaks, the field of the shingle is the last place we look — not the first. These six places are the actual answer on most calls. The diagnostic tells us which one. The fix matches the diagnosis, not the upsell.
- 01
Pipe-boot rot
The rubber gasket around a plumbing vent pipe sun-rots in 8–12 years. Cheap fix. Common cause. The shingles around it look perfect — the boot is the whole problem.
- 02
Missing kickout flashing
Where the roof meets a sidewall, a small piece called a kickout should divert water away from the wall. Builders skip it constantly. Without it, water runs down behind the siding for years before anything visible shows up.
- 03
Dead-valley ponding
Where two roof planes meet at a low slope, leaves and debris dam water back until it sits long enough to find a way through. The shingle is intact — it was never designed to hold standing water for hours.
- 04
Chimney crown crack
The concrete cap on top of a chimney cracks from freeze-thaw. Water pours straight down inside the chimney chase to wherever it finds an exit — often the ceiling six feet from the chimney itself.
- 05
Skylight-curb separation
The glass sits in a wood curb sealed with butyl tape. The seal hardens and shrinks. Water tracks the inside of the curb, exits a foot or two from the skylight, lands on the ceiling, and reads like a roof leak.
- 06
Not the roof at all
AC condensate-line drip, a plumbing leak in the wall, attic condensation in cold weather, or a failed window seal that ran horizontally before it dropped. Same ceiling stain. Different repair. Different price.
§ 12Continue the manual — related to this page
§ 01.07Roofing
Roof repair
Smallest fix that holds. Named band. Named warranty.
We name the cheapest fix before the expensive one. Lead-collared pipe boots (no EPDM in DFW heat). Written scope inside 48 hours. We say so when the right answer is replace, not repair.
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§ 01.06Roofing
Roof inspection
A second opinion you can audit.
Seven-checkpoint walk, photos with the report, severity 1–5 on each finding, plain-language scope. Written PDF inside 24 hours. We won't turn the report into a sales call.
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§ 01.04Roofing
Storm-damage roof
Tarp first. Photo second. Walk the roof with the adjuster.
Same-day tarping if water is moving. Drone photo of every elevation. Soft-metal scale shots. We stand on the roof beside the adjuster — not in the parking lot afterward. 24/7 storm line.
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§ 04.01Programs
Insurance claims
Your storm. Your scope. Your carrier's check.
Fifteen years on the carrier side. Documented loss, written scope, adjuster meeting on-site. Out-of-pocket: deductible only.
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§ 03.09Remodeling
Mold remediation
Find the leak first. The mold is downstream.
Source-first remediation: moisture meter on every suspect surface, 6-mil poly under HEPA negative pressure, substrate cut twelve inches past the colony per IICRC S520, in-house rebuild. No fog-and-spray.
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§ 06Reach the dispatch desk
Run the diagnostic. Then decide the scope.
A senior estimator on the roof and in the attic. Moisture meter on the rafters. Thermal imaging when the path is not visible. Water-trace test if the leak is intermittent. Written report inside 48 hours. The fee credits to the repair if the repair follows.
(214) 578-9961