Soil Pipe Flashing Repair
Soil Pipe Roof Repair
One of the more common leak repairs we diagnose is when the soil pipe flashing is leaking. This is the vertical pipe coming out of your roof. It is usually a PVC pipe but can also be made of cast iron or copper. Typically it is three or four inches in diameter. The purpose of this pipe is to vent your plumbing.
An indication that this is what is leaking is when the leak appears in the kitchen above or near the sink or in the bathroom.That is because the pipe is usually between the walls where the plumbing is located. The leak will usually show itself in the upstairs bathroom of a two story home but this is not the case 100% of the time. If you are seeing a leak in the downstairs bathroom on a two story home , don't forget to check the bathroom upstairs. If it is a roof leak you probably will see evidence upstairs as well. If not you may be experiencing a plumbing leak or fixture overflow. Of course if it only leaks when it rains; you know that is your roof.
There are several reasons this pipe flashing can leak. It could be to improper installation. This can sometimes takes years before it leaks. The other reason is the elastic seal around the pipe becomes brittle and cracks. This can be because the soil pipe got reused during the last roof replacement, a defective soil boot or the wrong boot for the pitch of the roof. The soil boot on the right is both improperly installed and has seal failure because of not being replaced during the last roof replacement.
The solution is to replace the soil pipe flashing boot. The existing shingles around the flashing need to be removed and the new flashing boot installed. We always use the aluminum flashing with the black elastomeric seal at the top. The mill finish is what's most commonly installed, but they are available in finished colors as well. We usually install a matching soil pipe flashing on roofs we replace.
There is a boot manufactured that is completely made of plastic and really should be avoided. These generally don't last as long as the aluminum boots and also tend to buckle due to heat after a few years.The reason that they are used at all is because they are less expensive.
Once the new boot is installed we replace the shingles around the repair. Depending on the age of the shingles we can sometimes reuse them for a perfect match. If that is not the case we will replace with shingles matching the color and style of the existing ones.
If you think you have a soil pipe flashing leak, or any kind of roof leak, give us a call for a free estimate.
614-792-6797
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