Roof repair · Los Angeles County
Roof repair in Los Angeles, fixed on a dry day
Flashing, valleys, pipe boots, slipped tiles and lifted shingles, fixed on a dry day and checked after the first rain.
Water rarely gets in through the middle of a roof. It finds the places where the covering stops and something else begins: a chimney, a wall, a vent pipe, the valley where two slopes meet. Those are the places we repair. We fix them on a dry day, and every repair is checked after the first rain.
What we repair
- Flashing. The metal that seals the roof to a chimney, a wall or a skylight. On older stucco chimneys the step and counter flashing is often the first thing to let go.
- Valleys. Leaves and granules collect where two slopes meet. The water slows down there, and in time the metal or felt underneath wears through.
- Pipe boots and vents. The rubber collar around a plumbing vent often cracks in the sun years before the roof around it is old.
- Slipped and cracked tiles. Wind moves them, and so does a foot in the wrong place. Tile roofs: see tile roof repair and relays.
- Lifted and missing shingles. A fall Santa Ana can catch the edge of an old shingle and fold it back, and the next rain runs under it.
- Flat roof seams and drains. Open laps and blisters, or a scupper that backs up. Flat roofs: see flat roof repair and coatings.
Signs a repair shouldn't wait for spring
- A ceiling stain that is bigger after each storm
- Water along the top of a window frame, or at a light fixture
- Pieces of tile or shingle in the yard after a windy night
- Granules piling up where the downspouts empty
- A damp smell in the attic or in a top-floor closet
On the day of the repair
We open up only as much of the roof as the repair needs. New flashing goes in under the covering above it and over the covering below it, so water runs across the metal and off the roof. A cracked pipe boot is cut out and a new one goes on. Slipped tiles go back where they belong, and shingles that won't lie flat again are replaced.
While we work, the plants are tarped and the pool is covered. Every evening we sweep for nails with a magnet.
Checked after the first rain
Once the first real storm has passed we call, and if you want, come and look at the ceiling. If the same place leaks during the first winter, we come back with no new bill.
Every repair also comes with 10 years on our workmanship.
What moves the cost of a roof repair
- What has failed, and how far the water has traveled under the covering
- The covering itself: clay tile, concrete tile, composition shingle or a flat roof
- Wet or soft boards under the covering that have to come out
- How steep and how high the roof is, and how easy it is to reach
Questions about roof repair
Can it be repaired, or does the whole roof need replacing?
We tell you on the roof. If the shingles or tiles have life left in them and the boards underneath are sound, a repair is the job. If not, the quote says so, and a new roof goes on in the dry months.
Somebody else repaired it and it's leaking again. Will you look at it?
Yes. We find out why the last repair didn't hold before we put anything on top of it. After that it gets the same first-rain visit as every repair we do.
Can you repair it while it's raining?
We can stop the water. In the rain, the first roof leak repair visit is a cover or a temporary seal that keeps the room dry tonight. The lasting repair comes once the roof has dried out.
The first-rain visit
A roof repair isn't finished until it has rained on it.
Dry months
Rain coming?
Book the free roof check while the schedule is open. We ring you within a few hours to pick a day, and your quote in writing follows within 48 hours of the check.
Wet months
Water in?
Call now and a roofer comes out the same day to stop it. Put a bucket under the drip while you wait.