Purchased the 1930's home, 10 years ago. Home is about 94 years old now The home inspection done 10 years ago states," roof deck is boards, BUT notice NO ROOFING nails. Joists are 2x6... apx 24" oc, with Venticle supports." Now, I have a leak, and it caused a bedroom ceiling to collapse. in the day time there is no visible light coming through the roof deck at all as viewed from the inside. four roofers have been here, all licensed, no one can find any nails? no one can find the source of the leak? How are the asphalt shingles installed? How can the leak be located. My thought is to wait for it to rain and when I know it's entering the house to go into the attic with a flashlight and spray paint can and tag it.
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Do you have attic access?– HuesmannCommented Aug 31 at 13:29
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This is not likely a DIY issue. You need to call a roofing professional. No visible nails may be the result of using nails shorter than the thickness of the deck boards.– RMDmanCommented Aug 31 at 13:37
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31930s boards were probably more thicker than today's board of the same size. If used 1 inch nails which will go though todays boards, they would missed going though your boards by 1/32 or 1/16 inch. A water leak should leave stains on the wood, nails or not. Water can travel quite a distance before falling down to the ceiling. Looking right above the ceiling damage might miss the leak by 10 or more feet.– crip659Commented Aug 31 at 14:34
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1 Answer
What appears to be a roof leak may be a leak around the edge of the roof, or coming in another way; water can travel a considerable distance before actually dripping onto and through the ceiling. I second @RMDman's suggestion that unless you have already found the exact place where water is entering, you should probably call in a professional who knows what to look for and how best to remediate it.
In my case, what I thought was a roof leak turned out to be inadequate flashing and damaged siding where a low roof met the adjacent wall. And a friend's house, what she thought was a leak around the chimney turned out to be a hole where a family of raccoons head taken up residence. Don't assume this is going to be simple and cheap.
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1Agreed with the answer, and I would add that in old houses, prime suspects for roof leaks are chimney flashing and vent pipe in boots. Neither DIY– CheeryCommented Aug 31 at 16:52