A brown ring on the ceiling after a hard rain is one of the more stressful things to find in a house. The first instinct is to look straight up and assume the hole is right there. Usually it isn’t. Water gets in at one spot, runs along the decking or a rafter and drops onto the ceiling somewhere else, sometimes several feet away.
Here’s how to narrow it down, and what to do in the meantime.
First, the night it happens
- Put a bucket under the drip and move anything valuable out of the way
- If the ceiling is bulging with water, poke a small hole in the center of the bulge with a screwdriver so it drains into the bucket instead of bringing down a section of drywall
- Turn off ceiling lights or fans in that spot if water is near the fixture
- Take photos of the stain and the water, with the date
- Stay off the roof until it’s dry and daylight
If water is coming in steadily, the roof needs to be covered. We handle that with emergency roof tarping, often the same day.
Where roof leaks usually start
Most leaks don’t come through the middle of a field of shingles. They start at the places where the roof is interrupted.
- Pipe boots. The rubber collars around plumbing vent pipes crack after years in the Texas sun. This is one of the most common leaks we fix.
- Flashing. Metal around chimneys, along walls and in valleys can loosen, rust or lose its sealant.
- Roof vents. Box vents and turbines can be dented by hail or have their seals fail.
- Missing or damaged shingles. Wind and hail open gaps that let rain reach the underlayment.
- Valleys. Where two roof planes meet, water concentrates and any weakness shows up first.
- Clogged gutters. Water backs up under the edge of the roof and comes in at the wall or soffit.
Tracing it from the attic
Once it’s safe, take a flashlight into the attic during the day. Start at the stain on the ceiling and look up. Then follow any wet trail uphill along the decking and rafters. Water marks, darker wood and wet insulation usually lead back toward the entry point. Pipes and vents passing through the roof are good places to check first.
A tip: if you can safely get into the attic while it’s still raining, you can often see the drip itself. Mark the spot with tape so a roofer can find it from inside.
Leaks that aren’t the roof
Not every ceiling stain is a roof leak. AC condensate lines in the attic can clog and overflow. Bathroom exhaust fans that vent into the attic instead of outside can drip condensation. Plumbing lines can leak too. If the stain shows up when it hasn’t rained, look at those first.
Repair or bigger problem?
A single cracked pipe boot or a few missing shingles is usually a straightforward roof repair. Leaks in several spots, or a roof that keeps leaking in new places after repairs, often means the roof is near the end of its life. Our guide on how long a roof lasts in North Texas covers the signs.
If the leak showed up right after a storm, the cause may be storm damage that’s covered by insurance. Take photos and have it looked at before you file. We explain the process in how a roof insurance claim works in Texas.
Get it found and fixed
Water that sits in the decking and insulation causes rot and mold, so it’s worth acting quickly. Call (972) 569-7012 and we’ll find the source, fix it and show you photos of what we did.
Matthew Martin
Matthew Martin is the founder of Spade Design and part of the Fate Roofing Group team, where he runs the website and online marketing. He writes these guides with the crew so homeowners in Fate, Rockwall and Heath can get straight answers about storms, insurance and roof care before they ever pick up the phone.