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So on the roof the other day, and put my foot near a clean out vent. There was noticeable give in the roof surrounding the vent. It felt like it was just being held by the shingles and whatever felt material shingles are stapled to. I assume there is a leak and the osb underneath has rotted.

I did shoot an email to a friendly roofer to just quickly request a quote, but I wanted to know how difficult the process is.

Here is what I assume happens and please add to/correct me if its wrong. Shingles come up, the felt comes up, and the OSB that is rotted is removed from support to support (I assume the whole sheet is tossed). Whatever is causing the vent to leak is fixed via flashing cement, maybe a poorly shot nail etc redone, and then OSB replaced, felt, shingles and done.

I like to think its something I could accomplish, but my main concern is time. Usually when there's a house project to look into, I have time to hit forums, google, and complete a task at my leisure. In this case I am not so sure lol. So would love someone with some experience in the area maybe give me a run down of what a pro contractor might do for this. Thank you :).

Added some pics. The video that I can’t upload helps more. But basically I can see the osb totally collapsed, and ripped through the radiant barrier as well. I don’t really smell mold or mildew and it looks like the piece of wood that extends basically to the cinder block and runs horizontal(don’t know what it’s called), has gotten a little wet too.

I’m assuming it’s leaking but I don’t see any water inside because the clean outs run through the cinder block? So water isn’t hitting the drywall ceiling?

enter image description here

Here is a slightly better pic. I drew an arrow to that horizontal board that shows some signs of being wet, but the circle is where there is now a chunk of OSB missing. enter image description here

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  • Any chance of getting into the attic and check on the wood to see how bad it is.
    – crip659
    Apr 24, 2022 at 19:46
  • @crip659 just did. It actually looks bad. I’ll edit the post and add them.
    – MZawg
    Apr 24, 2022 at 20:16
  • @crip659 yikes I just realized how poor that image is, let me try to brighten it up lol. Basically there’s a 8 inch wide hole to the left of that clean out vent pipe.
    – MZawg
    Apr 24, 2022 at 20:20

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You actually summed the job up pretty well... but nothing goes that smoothly. You're on a roof and working at an angle so if you're not use to doing that, the job will take a lot longer. They probably wouldn't replace the entire 4'x8' sheet of roof decking but only replace the amount needed to fix the problem but going rafter to rafter for support and maybe adding a few nailers. So you're talking some cutting with a circular saw. They might decide to replace the vent instead of straightening it out after removing it to replace wood. Then wet/dry patch and shingles.

A pro would have this done in a day and would have all the stuff he/she needs to get the job done. Plus, they would have tarps in case the weather decided not to cooperate. A DIY'er would probably take a few days determining what actually needs to be done and the working conditions,ie., if it's hot out.

As far as what a pro might charge, you'd have to check the local market.

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  • Thanks for the response. I’ll have the roofer come do a quote and see what they say. It all sounds pretty straight forward, but like you said, I can’t think of a single project or repair that didn’t have some sort of hiccup or googling need. Thanks again.
    – MZawg
    Apr 24, 2022 at 18:48
  • @MZawg I've repaired several punctures in my roof from falling branches, and will concur that you've got the right procedure. If you're comfortable working on the roof and have the tools necessary, and a helper on the ground (very helpful), you can do this yourself. I've even pulled up the asphalt shingles & reused them (you'll need to be very careful and have a tube of roofing tar handy for sealing it up). You'll want a full, dry day to do the work if it's your first time. Oh, yeah, you'll want a tarp to cover it up over night. Just go ahead and plan on that... :)
    – FreeMan
    Apr 25, 2022 at 15:41
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    @FreeMan I think it’ll come down to warranty as well. The builder told me to kick rocks but the roofing company put the roof on just 6 years ago, so I want to see what they say. Usually just 2 years for the warranty but I have a feeling this has been happening since day one. The home was built in 2016. Not sure how long water intrusion would take to where osb would collapse under its own weight. Also don’t know how much stronger a piece of osb with radiant barrier on it is as well. Point I’m trying to make to them is I don’t think it was weather or user error related.
    – MZawg
    Apr 25, 2022 at 15:45
  • Absolutely make a warranty claim if you can, @MZawg. If not, you can DIY, if you're comfortable with power tools and a roof and figuring it out as you go. I doubt the radiant barrier is adding any structural integrity at all - that's not its job...
    – FreeMan
    Apr 25, 2022 at 16:01
  • @FreeMan gotcha. And the mods probably going to nab me for asking another question inside a comment thread: but would you reckon the cleanouts either run so close to the block or possibly even vertically through the block that the leakage wasn’t noticed via ceiling or the wall drywall because it’s exiting down the interior of the block?
    – MZawg
    Apr 25, 2022 at 16:04

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