Leak in rolled asphalt roof

[Donald]

So the picture here shows the pitch of the roof. It's far from a flat roof but just not quite the pitch needed for a shingle roof. Or maybe it is and the previous owner got cheap on this one roof section.

I have my doubts if water can go up from skylights to leak area given this pitch.

Was supposed to be warm weather today, but snow is still on the roof.

 

[PimTac]

It looks to be a 2/12 or 3/12 pitch.

Capillary action is a funny thing. I’ve seen it in action. It will surprise you. Snow building up on the upper end of the skylight doesn’t melt on the surface but the heat in your house melts it from below. The water has no clear path to drain.


A common issue with low pitched roofs is that the person putting the roof on uses the overlap as specified when it actually should be more. Flashing should be more as well.

You might have to brush the snow off to see what’s going on. Easier said than done.

 

[FordMan59]

Hard to tell from your picture what slope is on the roof but I built a small garage (12x20) in 1999 at the house I had in NC. If I recall correctly I built the roof on a 2.5/12 pitch and used fiberglass shingles on it. When I moved in 2010 there had never been any problems with leaks or water backing up. If there's enough money being made on the sale and you know how to put on shingles and are willing to do it yourself that might be the easiest and most effective way to fix the leak if it's not a large area. In 1999 I also re-roofed the house we living in. It was approximately 14 sq. if I recall correctly. I tore the old roof off and re-installed a new shingle roof by myself over a weekend and saved a few thousand dollars. I suggest if you're going to repair the existing roof to look closely for nails that have backed out and punched though the roll roofing. Nearly every time I've had a leak over the years it's been because a nail backed out through a shingle leaving a hole for water to get in.

 

[zzyzzx]

I'm adding this story to my long list of reasons to hate vaulted ceilings.