roof leak question

[steve2470]

My homeowner's association/condo is doing the 30 year roof replacement schedule for my building. Everything has been wonderful so far, save for the BANG BANG BANG at times, but I'm so grateful they're doing it.

AFAICT, they are not finished with the roof yet. It looks to my untrained eye like they have done all the prep work and need to lay the Spanish-style tiles down. I'm on the second/top floor.

Yesterday we had one of our typical summer Florida monsoon rains. After a few minutes of hard rain, I heard DRIP DRIP DRIP loudly on the top of my bathroom area ceiling (popcorn blown ? not sure of the correct term). For whatever reason, the water had come into the building through a hole in the roof and was dripping on the top of my ceiling.

After a few minutes (thank god), the hard rain stopped and the dripping on my ceiling stopped. There is no leakage from my ceiling and there is no visible damage to my ceiling. I got on the horn right away and notified the HOA management company of the problem. I faithfully pay my HOA dues, so I expect the roof work to be done correctly. Since it was a Saturday yesterday, no one was in the office. Hopefully on Monday the problem will be attended to. And...it will probably pour again today.

Any advice ? I'm sorry I don't have more information. Thanks in advance !

Steve

[beachbum bob]

1. roofing contractors should always make reasonable effort

to keep roof work water tight during construction. Having said that, its practically impossible to make it 100% water tight against monsoon downpours. I hope you will take pictures if any sign of damage that occurs....obviously the ceiling insulation is wet and that would need to be looked at as wet insulation and roof/attic cavity = mold problems. If your HOA is responsible for all exterior work and such work results in some type of damage, I would think they will need to make good on it. Definitely will need to have some one look into the issue with ceiling insulation

[steve2470]

2. yes I will make sure they thoroughly inspect

The rain we had yesterday, quite honestly, was nothing out of the norm for Florida. In June, it rains hard for maybe 15 minutes to an hour, and it's all over. About a tenth of an inch or so comes down at a time. It's just the way it is here in Florida, and the roof people should know this.

When I was outside, I noticed the metal vents in the roof, so maybe the water came down one of those. Will the mold problem start immediately, or does it take some time to manifest ?

[KG]

3. the 'tar paper' layer that goes under the tiles should be water tight on its own

[steve2470]

5. ah....sigh

I really hope this is an easy thing to fix, and not something chronic. I was really quite surprised when I heard the water dripping. They are using a white colored tar paper ? They haven't stacked the tiles on the roof yet.

[RKP5637]

7. Yes, that's what I was thinking too. Tile roofs leak by nature, that's how they work, and the

underlay is the waterproofing. When I had mine recently redone they used a silver colored underlay that was like a thick rubber mat. That way when the tiles are attached it seals around the mounts, then, water runs down the waterproofing and out the weep holes at the bottom strip, often aluminum. If, the underlay is fully in place and the roof is leaking that IMO is a serious problem for the future.

[steve2470]

8. oh no

At any rate, I"ll hope for the best and push the HOA to make everything right again.

[beachbum bob]

4. with no heavy rain or wind possibly

but a heavy downpour is nearly impossible....either way if ceiling insulation is wet, the HOA will have to address it....florida heat and wet insulation will lead to mold. Takes time for mold to develop...if insulation is soaked, it needs to be addressed...easily checked

[steve2470]

6. yes, I will follow up

Thanks so much for your time !

[MiniMe]

9. It's good that you let them know, but water moves to the lowest point

So apparently your bathroom ceiling is the lowest point. But they have to figure out where the leak actually is. Good luck, I hope they can find it.

[steve2470]

10. thanks for that reminder ! nt

[John801]

11. my own experience

Hi Steve,

Did you hear back from HOA? I had a similar situation a few months ago, but after a lot of fighting, I was told to get it fixed myself..

I really hope this doesn't happen in your case, but if it does, I'd surely just go ahead and get different quotes for the job (I used this site: www.sidingcontractors.us. They also have a roofing section).

Did you talk to others that live the same place you do?

[steve2470]

12. they are supposed to look at it today

I haven't talked to anyone else.