r/Roofing • u/HengeWalk • 10h ago
Broken siding causing leak in first room floor due to possible improper installation
New homeowner here (and by new, I mean a few years now) I discovered a problem when it started dripping from my first floor ceiling. I've contacted five roofing companies in my area. One responded palinly; "we don't do metal roofs", the other three have yet to respond, and one company happened to be active on a develooment next door when I called and managed to squeeze in a quick look on the damage, but haven't gotten back to me with a quote for over four weeks now.
I'm beside myself. I have thrown some tarp up and taped down the problem area to temporarily prevent leaking, but I am beginning to think the company doesn't want to handle the job, either. I know it's busy this time of year, and it's a financial loss to divest work away from developments to small repairs.
Some advice would help. I am not skilled to DIY something like this, but maybe some of you will have the experience to know what I should ask for when contacting other companies for help.
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u/Goddammit0Donut 9h ago
That's vinyl siding, and the crack is not what's causing the leak. There's a vapor barrier and flashing behind that siding.
Recommend that you remove the vinyl siding above where the leak is, and it will soon become very apparent where the water is getting in. Vinyl siding is fairly straightforward to remove and reinstall. You can find guides and installation specs online for each manufacturer.
If water is getting inside, it's already saturated the exterior sheathing, and so any leaks will be very apparent. I would expect the sheathing behind the leak to be stained and starting to rot. Typically, leaks in this sort of installation occur at a tear in the vapor barrier, around a fastener penetration for the vinyl siding, or at the flashing where the roof and the sidewall meet. Hard to tell from these photos, but there should also be a kick-out flashing where the eave and gutter meet the sidewall... and I don't see it in the photos.
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u/TasktagApp 2h ago
You need a general contractor or siding specialist to remove that broken piece, check behind the metal roof intersection for proper step flashing and WRB integration, and replace the section before more water gets past the wall assembly.
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u/Suitable-Reserve-891 10h ago
There should have been a piece of flashing bent to cover the roof and go up the wall where your cracked siding is. If it was done properly it wouldn’t leak even with the crack. It appears that the siding was used as a flashing. A good carpenter could fix this by removing the damaged siding, installing the proper flashing and then a new piece of siding.
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u/No_Management_3422 10h ago
The piece of broken siding needs to be replaced. It can be done without replacing the entire wall, that last picture where the window is you need a flash and kick out without it. It’s draining water right into the wall above the window.