Repair of the metal at valleys, dormers, ells and wall joints, where most leaks on additions and older houses begin.
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Flashing is the metal that seals each junction on a roof, including valleys, dormers, ells and walls. Older houses have many junctions from additions made over time, and each one is a place water can enter. A technician finds the failed junction, renews the flashing in a compatible metal and avoids sealant as a permanent repair.
Most roofs leak at their junctions, not in the middle of a slope. Flashing is the metal that closes those junctions: where one roof plane meets another, where a wall meets a roof, where a dormer or chimney rises through the covering and where a valley collects water from two slopes. A single modern roof has few of these junctions.
The valley's older houses are a collection of additions, dormers and ells, and every join between them is a flashing detail. Those joins are where the two roofs move differently with temperature and where snow and meltwater collect.
A technician works at each junction in turn rather than treating the leak as one event. Water is traced from the stain back to the junction where it enters, which is often some distance from the visible damage. The flashing is examined for corrosion, lift and missing laps, and the decision is made whether to repair the existing piece or replace it.
Do not climb onto the roof to reach a junction, and do not lean out of a window or stand on a porch roof to work on flashing. Do not seal a live leak in a way that traps water behind the metal, because the problem will be harder to find later. Keep clear of the chimney crown and the roof edge while work is in progress. A technician working on flashing uses fall protection and the correct access.
The technician starts from the stain or drip and works back toward the roof, checking the attic side for the water's path. Water often travels along a rafter before it shows, so the stain is a starting point rather than the entry. The junctions nearest the path are checked first, and the attic is inspected above and beside each one.
Each piece of flashing is checked for corrosion, splitting, lifting and missing laps. Step flashing along a wall should overlap each shingle or slate course, and counter-flashing should be set into the mortar so water sheds over the flashing. Where a lap is short or missing, water has a path under the metal, and the technician records it as the entry.
The flashing metal is compared with the gutters, the fasteners and the covering it meets. Where two dissimilar metals touch in the presence of water, the Park Service advises against the arrangement because of galvanic corrosion. Each mismatch is recorded and corrected in the same visit, so new flashing does not start a fresh corrosion problem.
Corroded or lifted flashing is renewed in a compatible metal and fixed with the correct fasteners, with laps set so water runs over each joint. Small splits can sometimes be repaired, but a piece that has corroded through is replaced. Sealant is not used as the repair itself, because it hardens, cracks and lets water in behind it.
After the work, the junction is checked for clean laps and sound fastenings, and the attic side is inspected for any sign of water. The findings record what was renewed, in which metal, and what should be watched at the next season, so later work can build on it.
On an older house, flashing fails most often at valleys, around chimneys, at dormers and where a rear ell meets the main roof. The joins between additions are the weak points, because the two roofs move differently and the metal ages at different rates.
A valley collects water from two slopes and carries it to the gutter, which makes it the busiest junction on the roof. A valley clogged with leaves or silted with grit holds water against the metal, and that water finds the smallest opening in the sheet.
Dormers and ells are a different problem. The step flashing where a lower roof meets a wall is made of short pieces, and each depends on the one beside it to keep water moving outward.
Step flashing is a series of short metal pieces, each lapping over the one below, set into the joint where a sloped roof meets a wall. Counter-flashing is the piece set into the wall or mortar that lies over the top of the step flashing, so water runs over the flashing rather than behind it.
The two work together. Step flashing sheds water down the slope, and counter-flashing keeps the wall side closed.
A technician checks the laps on each step and the depth of the counter-flashing in the mortar. Where the mortar has cracked or the counter-flashing has pulled out, the joint is repointed and the metal reset before the flashing is renewed.
Not as a permanent repair. Roofing mastic and sealant harden, crack and pull away from the metal over time, and they let water in behind them. The Park Service says they are not a viable repair, and a technician avoids them in a permanent junction.
A bead of sealant is often the first thing tried, and it can slow a leak for a season. Once the sealant hardens, the crack runs along the line where it meets the metal, and water finds the path.
The right repair is to renew the metal, set the laps correctly and fasten the flashing so water runs over each joint. That takes longer than sealant, but it removes the cause of the leak rather than hiding it.
The number of junctions, the metal and its condition, the height and access, any mortar or brickwork to reset and wood damage found beneath all move the price. The price is confirmed on site and explained and approved before work starts, and no figure is given.
A single chimney flashing on a one-storey roof is a different job from a valley and a dormer on a three-floor building. Access for each junction, the staging to reach it and the protection of walls and porches all add to the scope.
Hidden damage changes the scope more often than anything else. Rot beneath a flashing is found only when the metal is lifted, and it may need sistering or replacement.
It depends on the scope. Ordinary repairs may not need a permit, but the building official decides what counts as an ordinary repair, and replacing a larger section of roof does need one in Springfield.
The state's table on contractor credentials treats minor roof repairs as needing a permit depending on size, and it is guidance rather than a rule that answers every case. Replacing a valley or a chimney flashing is commonly a small job, but a repair that reaches into the structure or covering may be treated differently.
The technician raises the question at the assessment and confirms the position with the Springfield Building Division before work begins. In a local historic district, the Historical Commission also reviews exterior work, and the owner should ask whether a certificate of non-applicability applies.
Used where a brick chimney or a wall rises through the roof plane. This is one of the most common leak points on pre-1940 houses, because the chimney is set in mortar and the metal is often original, corroded or pulled away. The technician checks the step flashing along the sides, the counter-flashing in the mortar and the crown at the top. Renewal is usually the right repair, because old metal cannot be sealed back into shape.
Used where two roof planes meet and collect water between them. A valley carries a large flow, and a worn or undersized valley fails quickly. The technician checks the metal along its full length, the laps at the ends and the shingles or slates that feed into it. Where the valley is open metal, the sheet and its fasteners are renewed together.
Used where a dormer, a bay or a rear ell joins the main roof. These are joins where the two roofs differ in age and pitch and where the most movement happens. The technician checks the step and apron flashing and the transitions at the wall, and considers whether an earlier repair changed the junction. Renewing the whole junction is often more effective than patching one side.
Springfield's pre-1940 blocks are full of additions, and each addition brings new junctions with the original roof. On the older blocks of the South End, Six Corners and Old Hill, the technician checks the older junctions closely, since they were often made with materials that no longer match.
In Indian Orchard, a former mill town, the buildings can be large and their junctions long. Valleys on large roofs carry more water, and step flashing along long walls has more places for water to run behind it.
The city's Victorian houses in McKnight, built between 1870 and 1900, often carry slate-era details. Flashing there has to match the metal family used elsewhere on the building, and the Historical Commission's review applies to exterior changes in the local district.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Repair of chimney flashing, counter-flashing and crown where brick chimneys meet the roof on Springfield homes.
Leak tracing and repair at eaves, valleys, chimney flashing and wall joints on Springfield's older roofs.
Skylight installation and leak repair for Springfield roofs, focused on curb flashing, seals and snowmelt that backs up uphill.
Standing seam and other metal coverings, with snow guards planned for the places where sliding snow would do harm.
Repair is usually the first choice for a slate roof.
Water often runs down the chimney's brick or along the flashing and appears in the ceiling beside it. The entry is usually at the step flashing or counter-flashing on one side, or at the crown at the top. The technician checks the attic side and the chimney flashing before deciding where the leak starts.
Sometimes. A small split can be repaired, and a lifted lap can be reset and fixed. A piece that has corroded through or lost its shape is replaced, because the metal cannot be restored. The technician says which applies to each junction, so the owner knows what is being done and why.
Where two dissimilar metals touch in the presence of water, one corrodes faster. That is galvanic corrosion, and the Park Service advises using one metal family across flashing and gutters. The technician records any mismatch and corrects it at the same visit where possible.
It is not a permanent fix, and it can make a later repair harder by trapping water behind the metal. The safer step is to note where the water appears, take photographs from the ground or inside, and call a technician. The technician can make the junction safe and explain what a sealant would and would not do.
You can look for lifted metal, rust or staining at the junctions, and for water running down walls below the chimney, dormer or ell after rain. Those signs can be seen without climbing. A technician confirms what they mean and checks the junction from the correct position.
It can, particularly when the metal is renewed in a different finish from the old. The technician explains the appearance of the new metal and tries to match its color and profile where practical. In a local historic district, the Historical Commission's review may apply to visible changes at the junction.