Ask a roofer where roofs leak and you'll get one answer: at the transitions. Chimneys, walls, valleys, skylights, and vents are where most leaks begin — and where a proper flashing repair ends them for good.
Ask a roofer where roofs leak and you'll get one answer: at the transitions. Chimneys, walls, valleys, skylights, and vents are where most leaks begin — and where a proper flashing repair ends them for good.
Flashing is the metalwork that seals every place the roof changes direction or meets something else: step flashing along walls, counter flashing at chimneys, valley metal where slopes meet, and boots around every pipe. When any of it fails, water has a direct path inside.
Repairs range from resealing and refastening sound flashing to full rebuilds with new step and counter flashing cut and layered correctly. Around Salem, sun-baked sealant and wind-driven rain are the two biggest flashing killers — both fixable when caught before the decking below rots.
Flashing problems show up in predictable places:
Flashing joints depend on sealant, and sealant has the shortest lifespan of anything on the roof — especially under the Willamette Valley sun. A roof can have a decade of shingle life left and still leak at a five-year-old flashing joint.
It's also the most mis-repaired part of any roof: smearing caulk over failed flashing is the classic handyman fix, and it fails within a season. Proper repair rebuilds the metal layers so water sheds mechanically, not chemically.
Every transition is checked — chimney, walls, valleys, vents, skylights.
Reseal vs. rebuild is priced with the tradeoffs shown.
Failed sections are replaced with properly layered metalwork.
Joints are finished with materials rated for the exposure.
The repair is checked watertight before sign-off.
Almost always because the fix was sealant over failed flashing. Caulk ages in a few seasons; properly layered step and counter flashing sheds water by design. The permanent fix rebuilds the metal, not the goo.
Yes — flashing repairs are standalone work. Shingles immediately around the repair are carefully lifted and relaid, and the rest of the roof is untouched.
Quality metal flashing lasts as long as the roof itself. What fails early is the sealant at joints — which is why periodic inspection of transitions matters even on younger roofs.
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