Signs Your Roof Leaked After a Storm
The afternoon storms that roll across Putnam County from June into September are loud, fast and wet, and a tropical system can push rain sideways under shingles that have held for years. Sometimes the roof does not shrug it off, and the first sign shows up days later in a spot you would not think to look. Here is what JM Roofing LLC checks after a storm, what you can check yourself, and what to leave alone.
Start inside: ceilings, closets and can lights
Water takes the easiest path down, and that path is rarely straight below the hole. Walk every room and look up. A fresh leak shows as a tan or brown ring on the ceiling, often with a darker edge, and it may be damp to the touch. A new ring around an old one means the leak is active again.
Check the closets; a stain there can sit for months. Check around every can light. Water running along the top of the drywall finds that hole and drips at the trim ring. If a can light has water in it, turn off that circuit at the breaker and leave it off until it is looked at.
Up in the attic: wet insulation and dark decking
If you can get into the attic safely, do it in daylight with a flashlight and stay on the joists or a walk board. Look for daylight through the deck, which means a hole. Look for dark stains on the underside of the plywood and follow them uphill, because that is where the water came in.
Blown-in insulation that is matted, clumped or darker than the rest around it has been wet. Wet insulation holds water against the drywall below it, so a wet patch in the attic is usually the ceiling stain you will see next week.
Rusty nail tips across a wide area of the deck point to condensation rather than a leak; more on that below.
Outside from the ground: granules, tabs and dents
Granules in the gutter. Shingles shed a few granules all their life, but hail or a hard storm strips them off in a wash. A pile of sand-colored grit at the downspouts where there was none before is the roof losing its top layer.
Lifted or missing tabs. Stand back and look at each slope against the sky. Tabs that lifted and did not seal back down show as a shadow line across the slope. Creased tabs, folded back by wind and laid flat again, are the ones people miss, and they leak.
Dented soft metals. Hail leaves marks on the things softer than shingles: gutters, downspouts, aluminum drip edge, turtle vents and the flashing around pipe boots. Dents there are the easiest proof of hail, so photograph them before anyone cleans up.
On an older metal roof: screws that backed out
Metal roofs from the 1990s and 2000s in our area are mostly exposed fastener panels, screwed straight through the panel with a rubber washer under each screw head. Those washers age in the Florida sun, the screws work loose as the panels expand and contract, and a tropical storm loading the panels with wind finishes the job.
From the ground, look along the screw lines with binoculars. A backed-out screw sits proud of the panel, often with a rust bloom around it, and a failed washer shows a dark ring. Each one is a small hole, and the leak below may not show for a while because the water runs down the panel rib before it drops.
A few screws is a roof repair. A whole field of them going is a conversation about a re-screw with oversized fasteners, or a new metal roof with a standing seam profile that puts no screws through the panel at all.
Valleys, debris and where water piles up
A valley carries more water in a storm than anywhere else on the roof, and it is where debris collects. A valley packed with pine straw and oak leaves dams the water, and the water backs up under the shingles on either side. A mound of debris, or shingles at the valley edge that look lifted or torn, is a leak spot, and the leak can show up inside a long way from the valley.
The same goes for the uphill side of a chimney or skylight and the wall where a lower roof meets a second story.
Leak or condensation: the Florida attic question
Not every wet attic is a leak. If the air conditioning ducts are sweating, the soffit vents are painted shut, or a bathroom fan dumps into the attic instead of outside, moisture builds up, condenses on the underside of the deck at night, and drips.
The tell is the pattern. A leak is local: one spot, one path uphill to a point on the deck, worse after rain. Condensation is spread out: general dampness across the deck, rusty nail tips everywhere, and just as bad after a dry week as after a storm. When it is not obvious, that is what a roof leak detection visit is for, because the fix for the two is completely different.
What not to do
Do not get on a wet roof. Do not get on a metal roof at all; a panel with a little pollen on it will put you on the ground. Do not pull shingles up to look under them; you will break the seal on good ones. Do not spray sealant or foam at a leak; it traps water and makes the real repair harder. Do not let anyone who knocked on your door after the storm climb your roof without a Florida license number you have checked. And do not throw the debris away before you photograph it; a shingle in the yard with its nails torn through is evidence.
When to call
Call when there is water inside, even a small stain, because it means water has already crossed the deck, the insulation and the drywall. Call when you can see missing or creased tabs, backed-out screws or lifted panels, because the next storm is coming and the roof is open. And call before the insurance adjuster comes out, so the roof has been looked at by someone who will be there when the scope is written. Our post on what to expect from a roof insurance claim in Florida explains that part.
If nothing is wet and nothing looks wrong, a roof inspection after a big storm still catches the leak you did not find. Juan will tell you when a roof is fine, and he will tell you when it is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
A big hole shows within hours. A lifted tab or a failed screw washer lets in a little water each storm, and that can soak through the deck and the insulation for weeks before a ring appears on the drywall. That is why checking the attic and the gutters right after a storm catches problems the ceiling has not reported yet.
No. Every asphalt shingle sheds some granules over its life. What matters is a sudden change: a pile of grit at the downspout after a storm where there was none before, especially with dented gutters or vents next to it. That pattern points to hail or wind scouring the surface, and it is worth having the roof looked at while the evidence is fresh.
Yes, especially an older exposed fastener roof. The rubber washers under the screws dry out and crack in the sun, and the screws back out as the panels move with heat. Each one becomes a small hole. From the ground it looks fine; up close the screw heads sit proud. A re-screw or a move to a standing seam panel, which has no exposed screws in the field, are the two paths.
A leak is local and follows the weather: one wet spot, a stain you can trace uphill to a point on the deck, worse after rain. Condensation is general: damp across the underside of the deck, rusty nail tips in every direction, and present even after a dry spell. If it is not clear, a leak detection visit sorts it out before anyone patches a roof that is not leaking.
We will look before you guess
If any of this sounds like your house, call JM Roofing at (386) 559-2169 or reach Tania through the contact page. We will get on the roof, photograph what we find, and tell you plainly what it needs, with financing options if it turns out to be the bigger job.