Roof flashing repair in Skaneateles: chimneys, valleys and side walls

Half of Skaneateles village housing stood by 1938, and 73.0 percent of village units are detached houses. Older detached houses commonly have a masonry chimney and at least one place where a roof meets a taller wall. Both are flashing joints.

State code wants flashing where a roof meets a wall, where the slope or direction changes, and around every opening. On a side wall it asks for step or continuous flashing, four inches up and four across, aimed to finish on the roof or in the gutter.

Ask the roofer to show you each joint and tell you the flashing type. A proposal that says only seal the chimney is thin. Ask it to name the flashing type and what else it will rework.

Where two roof planes meet in an inward corner, water from both runs into one line. The code says valley linings go on before the shingles, and that an open valley lined with metal must be at least 24 inches wide.

A house that has gained an ell or a wing can have more valleys than its original plan. If your stain sits under one, tell the roofer. Ask whether the valley is open or closed and how it was lined. You do not need the details. You need the answers on the proposal. Take a photo of your valley from the ground, and mark which slope feeds it.

If the valley looks fine and the stain follows cold nights, our article on where roofs actually leak shows what else to check.

Housing from 2000 onward makes up 11.2 percent of the town's homes. Roofs can carry skylights, plumbing vent boots and fan hoods, so ask the roofer to list each one. All of them cut through the roof.

The code sets no size for vent pipe flashing. It says to follow the shingle maker's instructions. So ask which instructions the roofer used. For a skylight, ask who made the flashing kit and whether it was installed to match. If a stain sits beside one, point to it by name when you call, then see the Skaneateles diagnosis page if timing says attic air.