Syracuse roof leak or attic?
The ceiling stain that grew after a clear, cold night
In Syracuse or a nearby Onondaga County town, you may have a brown mark on the ceiling, a porch roof that keeps leaking, or a drip beside the chimney, and nobody has said why. Tell us where it is and when it shows. We book a diagnostic visit with an independent roofer, who finds the way in and writes the repair up as a proposal you read before work starts.
Asking where the water gets in commits you to nothing.
What we do
We help you find where the water really gets in and book a diagnostic visit with an independent roofer, who puts the fix in a written proposal.
Our word before the ladder goes up
- You owe nothing for asking, and you can walk away.
- The visit looks for the way in before any roof talk.
- You see the repair proposal in writing before work starts.
- The $100 credit follows the rules on our Terms page.
The roofer you hire answers for their own work and contract.
Signed Roofing Pros Syracuse, (315) 640-3590
What this word covers
The attic
Your attic is the first place to look
A cold morning shows you what a warm house does to a cold roof. These are the parts to check, in the order the air meets them.
Check the ceiling before the roof. Light boxes, wire holes, the attic hatch and pipe chases all pass room air upward. Ask for those gaps to be sealed first, because the Department of Energy guide calls sealing at the ceiling plane the best chance to limit condensation in extreme cold.
Next, find out where your bath fan ends. It should vent outdoors, not into the attic. Keep indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent in the heating season, the range most sources recommend.
If the vents are low, Onondaga County sits in Climate Zone 5, so code allows the smaller 1/300 ratio only with 40 to 50 percent of the vent area in the upper vents. Ask the roofer how your attic splits.
The attic in section
What happens in your attic on a cold morning
Follow the warm air up from the room, through the ceiling and onto the cold roof boards. Each labelled part is something you can ask about.
- 1
Room air
Warm, humid room air is the source: the more of it reaches the attic, the more water the roof boards collect.
- 2
Ceiling gaps
Light boxes, wire holes, the hatch and pipe chases pass that air upward, and sealing them comes before adding vents.
- 3
Bath fan
A bath fan should vent outdoors; one that ends inside the attic puts the steam of every shower up there.
- 4
Cold roof boards
The roof boards are the coldest surface in the attic, so they collect water before anything else does.
- 5
Frost and drip
Frost on a cold morning turns to drips when the attic warms, and the drips can land on your ceiling.
- 6
Soffit vent
Soffit vents let outside air in at the low edge, and insulation must not block them.
- 7
Baffle gap
A baffle keeps a clear channel open from the soffit vent up under the roof boards.
- 8
Upper vents
Upper vents let the air out; the smaller 1/300 ratio needs 40 to 50 percent of vent area up here.
The timing
A stain that shows up on a dry morning
You noticed it after a cold, clear night, and the roof was dry. Find the line in the strip that sounds like yours, then read on.
It may not be the roof. When it is not, reshingling will not stop the stain. Warm air from your kitchen and bath leaks up through the ceiling and meets the cold underside of the roof boards. It leaves water there, and the water drips onto your ceiling as the attic warms.
That is one of three ways in. A porch or addition roof that is too flat for its shingles is the second, and a joint where the roof is cut through is the third. New shingles do not fix the first. They fix the other two only if the porch roof or the joint is rebuilt with them. So tell us when your stain shows, and the visit can start with the right question.
Own a two-family? Tell us which unit sits under the stain and which has the bath fan, because both households share one attic. Just bought, and the seller painted over a mark? Tell us where it was.
Questions
Questions people ask before a visit
Can a ceiling stain show up when it has not rained?
Yes. Warm house air that reaches the cold roof boards leaves water there, and the water can drip after a cold night with no rain. A pipe or bathroom above the ceiling can also cause a stain, so call a plumber too if the stain sits under one. Note the date and the weather each time, and tell us.
Why does my porch roof leak again after every repair?
A roof flatter than 2:12 cannot carry shingles under the state code, so patching the shingles does not change the slope. The roofer should tell you the pitch and name a product made for it.
Will the visit tell me about the whole house?
No. It is about the water: where it gets in and what repair stops it. You get a written proposal for that work.
Do I need more attic vents?
Not before the air leaks are sealed. Gaps in the ceiling feed the attic with warm air, and extra vents do not stop that supply. Ask the roofer to start with the ceiling.
What should I do before anyone comes?
Leave the stain unpainted, take a dated photo, and write down when it shows. Check where the bath fan vents, and see where each downspout ends. Those answers save time on the visit.
The seller painted over a stain. Does that matter?
Paint can hide a mark for a while, and a stain that was covered can return. Tell us where it was, and ask the seller when it was last painted. The visit starts with the attic and the joint nearest that spot.
A roofer already quoted a whole roof. What should I ask?
If you already have a full-roof quote for one stain, send us the stain details; the diagnostic visit starts from where the water gets in. Covering the whole roof again does not fix the air leak at the ceiling, and it does not fix a joint unless the joint is rebuilt with it. Ask which of the three ways in the work addresses.
Who does the roof work?
An independent roofer, under their own contract with you. We book the visit and tell you what to ask, and the roofer sets the price for their own work.
The stain clock
When did the stain show up?
The timing is the best clue you have. Find the line that sounds like yours. Check the one thing under it. Ask the roofer the question beside it.
Only in or after rain
A stain that shows only in or just after rain points to a way in through the roof: a joint, a low-slope section or water with nowhere to go. It is the one timing that does point at the roof itself.
Check first
Next rain, note whether the stain sits under a chimney, a wall, a vent or a porch.Ask
Flashing
Which joint or roof section is above this spot?After a cold, clear night
A stain that appears or grows after a cold, clear night probably did not come through the roof covering. Warm house air may have reached the cold roof boards, left water there, and the water ran down to your ceiling as it warmed. The roofer checks the attic to see whether that is what happened.
Check first
After a cold morning, if you can reach the hatch safely, look from the hatch opening for frost or dark patches on the roof boards, and do not step off the joists.Ask
Attic
Where is the warm house air getting into the attic?When snow melts
A stain that shows when snow melts can come from heat escaping into the attic or from water with nowhere to go at the roof edge. The visit tells you which one you have.
Check first
Note whether the stain sits near an outside wall and whether the gutter below it runs clear.Ask
Drainage
Is this escaping heat, or water with nowhere to go?Same spot after every repair
The same spot after every repair can mean the roof above it is too flat for what is on it. Shingles are allowed only at 2:12 or steeper, so a flatter porch roof needs a different product.
Check first
Ask the roofer for the pitch as a number. Do not climb up to check; a photo from the yard, level with the roof edge, helps.Ask
Low-slope
Is this roof steep enough to carry shingles at all?No pattern you can see
If none of these fits, the diagnostic visit is the next step. It finds the way in before anyone names a repair, so you are not guessing between four causes.
Check first
Write down the room, the date and the weather each time the stain changes.Ask
Leak diagnosis
What did you find, and what does the proposal cover?
The flat roof
The porch roof that has been fixed three times
If the same spot has dripped after every repair, the repair may not be the problem.
Shingles shed water, and they only work above a certain slope. New York's residential code lets asphalt shingles go only on slopes of 2:12 or steeper, with a double layer of underlayment from 2:12 up to 4:12.
Houses that have stood for decades may have had a porch, back kitchen or addition added along the way. A roof that flat needs a membrane made for low slopes, not another round of patches. Stay off the roof and ask the roofer for the pitch, as a number, before anyone talks about a repair.
The slope ladder
How flat is the roof over the stain?
Slope decides what a roof is allowed to wear. Compare your porch or addition roof with the three rungs, then use the last row to find out where yours sits.
- 1
Under 2:12
Shingles are not allowed on a roof this flat; it needs a membrane product made for low slopes.
- 2
2:12 to 4:12
Shingles are allowed here only with a double layer of underlayment beneath them.
- 3
4:12 and steeper
At this pitch the double underlayment rule no longer applies to shingles.
- 4
Your porch roof
Ask the roofer to write the pitch into the proposal as a number. Do not climb up to measure.
The joints
The joints that drip after rain
Every opening in a roof is a joint, and a drip that only comes in rain can start at any of them.
The code asks for flashing where a roof meets a wall, around chimneys, skylights and vents, and wherever the roof changes direction. Those rules describe how the pieces are built and overlapped, so a joint is judged by its construction, not by its age.
Siding can hide a bad wall joint for years, because vinyl or brick veneer does not peel the way old paint does. If your drip sits beside a wall, a chimney or a vent, point the roofer to that spot and ask how it is flashed.
The joint map
Six places a roof is cut through
Every opening in a roof is a joint that needs flashing. When a drip shows only after rain, the stain is often under one of these six.
- 1
Chimney
Code calls for flashing where a roof meets a chimney, and a wide chimney needs a cricket on its uphill side.
Is there a cricket behind this chimney?
- 2
Wall line
Where a roof meets a wall, flashing runs in steps or one piece, and a kick-out turns water into the gutter.
Is there a kick-out where this wall meets the roof edge?
- 3
Vent pipe boot
The code sets no size for vent pipe flashing; it follows the shingle maker's printed instructions.
Which instructions did you follow for this pipe?
- 4
Fan hood
A bath fan hood is a hole in the roof, so it needs flashing all the way around, like any opening.
Does this fan hood have its own flashing?
- 5
Skylight
A skylight is a roof opening, and the code asks for flashing around the whole of it.
How is this skylight flashed on its uphill side?
- 6
Valley
Valley lining goes on before the shingles, and an open metal valley must be at least 24 inches wide.
Is this valley open or closed, and what lines it?
The water path
When the water arrives but cannot leave
Water leaving a roof still has a route to follow, and a stain can start where that route stops short.
Gutters should slope toward the downspouts by at least 1/16 inch per foot, and downspouts should end at least 5 feet from the foundation. Walk the line after the next rain and note the first spot where the water stops moving.
Gutters can freeze in cold climates, and the Department of Energy lists carrying water away at grade level as one alternative. That is a choice made house by house, so ask the roofer what suits yours.
The water path
Where the roof water goes after it leaves the shingles
Water that leaves the roof still has a route to follow. Trace it from the edge to the ground, and note the first place it stops short.
- 1
Roof edge
A roof that does not slope to its edges needs a drain at each low point.
- 2
Gutter
A gutter should slope toward its downspout by at least 1/16 inch for every foot of run.
- 3
Downspout
A downspout should end at least 5 feet from the foundation.
- 4
Ground
Where the downspout ends is where the water goes next, so look at that spot after rain.
- 5
Foundation side
Water that pools beside a wall is a drainage problem, even when it first looks like a roof problem.
The five visits
Five visits, by what you are seeing
Each service below starts from a stain, not from a product. Choose the one nearest yours, or choose diagnosis if none fits.
Roof leak diagnosis is for a stain you cannot place. Low-slope roofing covers the flat porch or addition, flashing covers the joints, and drainage covers the water path. Attic ventilation is for the stain that shows on cold mornings. Every one of them starts with the diagnostic visit.
Roof Leak Diagnosis
Trace the stain to its source first.
Low-Slope Roofing
Ask for the pitch before anyone patches again.
Roof Flashing Repair
Name the joint nearest the drip.
Gutters and Drainage
Follow the water from edge to ground.
Attic Ventilation
Seal the ceiling before adding any vents.
The order
Three steps, in a fixed order
You can follow this order yourself, with or without us.
First, someone finds the way in. Second, the repair for that one thing is written up. Third, the cause is dealt with so the stain stays gone. Skipping the first step is how a house ends up with repair after repair and the same stain.
Tell us what you see, and the first step is booked for you.
- 01
Find out where it gets in
An independent roofer visits to find the way in. You get the answer before anyone talks about a covering.
- 02
Repair that one thing
The roofer sets out the specific repair. The written proposal covers the work they would do. You read it before work starts.
- 03
Deal with the cause
Air sealing, venting or drainage comes after. Then the stain is less likely to return next winter.
The proposal
What the written proposal should say
After the visit you hold words on paper, and what they say decides whether you agree.
A good proposal names where the water gets in, the repair for that spot and the cause that fed it: the air leak, the vent split or the downspout. If it names only a covering, ask what that covering does for your stain.
The roofer sets the price, and it moves with things you can see: how much roof the work touches, how steep and how high it is, how many joints and openings are involved, and what sits behind the wall or ceiling. Ask for each of those in plain words before you sign anything.
The towns
Syracuse and fifteen places nearby
Your town changes the first question to ask, because the houses and the local offices differ.
Syracuse is the one city in Onondaga County. Liverpool, East Syracuse and Solvay are villages inside towns, while Clay, Cicero and Salina are towns. Choose yours in the list to see what we know about its housing and where to ask locally. The areas page sets all sixteen side by side.
Send the stain details and find out where it gets in.