I have a hole in my roof. Actually, I have 2 or 3. These aren't small holes. I can easily put my arm through them. Obviously, I need a new roof, and sheathing at least in some spots. However, I am not insured, and have absolutely no way to pay for a roofer to do the work. My roof is too steep for me to even think about working on it myself. About 12 years ago, I had the roof re-nailed due to excessive wind lifting most of the shingles. The roofers tied themselves off. The slope is 13" / 12". It is very steep.

The roof supports (rafters) are 12" apart. I can only think of 2 ways that will temporarily solve my problem. The first is to reach through the hole, and, using some sort of waterproof sealant/glue, stick a piece of angle iron above (uphill of) the hole, forming a dam, or barrier, that would channel the run-off to either side of the hole.

The second way is to cut the sheathing from inside so that I can fill the hole with a painted board that would be flush with the sheathing. (The painted boards would fit between the rafters, flush with their vertical face, and be braced from underneath.) I would seal all possible edges with a silicon sealant, hoping to block water entry, and, again, channel run-off around the patch.

I am fully aware that what I propose is not a long term solution, but There is no way I can afford to have it done right, and I need to try to prevent as much further damage as possible.

Opinions? Suggestions?

Shingles work not because they actually "seal" the roof, they are over lapped with the roof pitch so water flows on the outside. You would want to do something that would repeat that pattern - meaning over lapping shingles/board. So if you could slide something up underneath the top of the hole shingles like a stiff sheet of plastic (more like ¼ inch plexi kind of thing) or primed ¼ exterior grade plywood or aluminum sheeting (sheet metal – not steel which would rust) which is wide enough to over lap a few columns (peak to gutter) of shingle on either side of the hole while being under a course (Side to side).

Depending on the side and shape of the hole and how much maneuvering room you have, you MIGHT be able to lay in replacement shingles, sliding them up under the top (above the hole) layer of shingles and sliding them under the next, and so on and so forth.

Most (not all) Asphalt Shingles if left in the sun for a few hours have a bit of give which will allow you to extend your arm to do the work (which at one point or another would be a feel only job). Most asphalt shingles loose that give after a few years baking in the sun and the older the more brittle they are. A putty knife would be used on the lower edge of the last course (above the hole) of singles just to loosen their adhesive attaching them to the next course, then you can slide another single/plexi/ply up underneath. Don’t want to pull them too far apart or you might end up with a bigger hole to “fix”.

You would have to use a construction adhesive, preferably in a squeeze tube or caulk gun (what ever would work) squeezing out adhesive under the course of shingle above the hole, slide you piece of what ever into place, then pump out adhesive around the hole and if possible along the bottom edge of the repair piece (plexi, shingle, primed exterior grade ¼ plywood)

If replacing with asphalt shingles there is a black adhesive out there for that – if it’s plastic then you might make certain that the adhesive you use will bind plastic to tar/asphalt - same thing would apply if you use sheet metal, plywood – what ever.

This is, of course just a temporary fix – ultimately you need to replace the sheathing and shingles. This last is not added for your sake, but for the sake of anyone else who reads this thinking it a great way to fix their holy roof

Um, Let me add that if you can do it in two parts - setting in a lower segment that covers the hole 1/4 to 1/2 of the way on the lower end, and another piece that over laps the lower piece by a few (4+) inches that means instead of having to figure out how to get one huge patch through you only have to worry about 2 patches - Which most likely could be near to the diameter of the hole with more of a length than a width.

If you can do it in three pieces fine, as long as you continue the overlap.

Cheers

You really can't do a roof patch from the inside. You have to be able to see what you are doing and you can't do that if you are working through a hole. You have potential of creating a much worse mess for yourself.

Have you tried talking to your neighbors? A 13/12 roof is not as bad as you think... my parents house was 12/12 and I climbed on it, so did my mom... never my dad though because he'd get dizzy. You need roof jacks. A lot of people have these or know someone who does. These are the things that allow you to install some scaffold/ladders on the roof so that you can work a bit more safely.

If you must do it from the inside, go to Home Depot and ask if they have any self sticking bitumin roofing. Usually this stuff is torch down but I can just see that... DG burns down his house I've seen the mastic type used before but not sure if they carry it at Home Depot. If you were able to reach through and throw some of that over the hole, that would be a good bet. They will also have roofers tar at Home depot... get some of that and reach through the hole, trowl it around the hole and then throw the sticky back bitumin over it. Or if you can't do that then take the roof tar and smooth off the area around the hole and put some heavy tar paper under the area from the inside. I would throw some roof tar on the felt before sticking it in there if you can.

The sheathing doesn't have to be fixed so just leave it be until you can do it right. You'll want to be able to see your patch in case there are other leaks so just leave it as open as possible.

Don't you know any illegal Poles?

quote:

Don't you know any illegal Poles?

Ami,

I know this is a serious thread but that was good! Its all about timing.


Dorian,

Roofing cement should bandaid the holes.

E-how suggests:

Poke or drill a hole in your ceiling to let the water through. This technique prevents the water from spreading across the top of the ceiling to other areas; it prevents the ceiling from becoming saturated, eliminating the chance of collapse and often the need for replacement; and it allows you to collect water from below using the string-and-bucket method. (I think this method should be used if water has collected in your attic)

I already have a 5 gallon stock pot, a 3 gallon stock pot, and several 2 gallon stock pots all over just below the leaks. (Have I ever mentioned that I used to make my living as a cook?) But it would be nice to be able to leave the house and not worry if it starts to rain.

DG, this is no time to be making soup! Actually your problem is that one of the holes isn't big enough.

Did you know you can buy things that clip over the ridge of the roof, and that attach to ladders? So if you make one hole bigger, you can exit it and push a ladder (with the hooks ) over the ridge and then using that ladder repair your roof. You wouldn't use a full-length ladder. Ours is 14 feet only. Our pitch is 12:12. In the process of finding what was out there, I came across the devices I mentioned above at Irly Bird Building Supplies. It wasn't quite what I wanted. But it might suit you.

So here is a photo of the type of thing I made as a model so I could get a whitesmith to make it for ours. The 'footprint' is large so it will not damage the rest of the roof, which is in good condition. The purpose of our roof ladder is for cleaning our chimney and in case of chimney fire.

MODEL

Thank you all for the ideas. I am going to use David's idea of flashing, coupled with Ami's bitumin roofing and roofer's tar. I don't know why I didn't think of flashing when I thought of the angle iron dam.

Going up on the roof myself is not an option.