DIY for a Leaky Roof

Finding the Leak

• 1

  Walk through your attic, from one corner toward the back. Look for water drips, stains, soft spots or condensation, all of which are indicators of a leak.

• 2

  Mark the leak spots that you find with a washable crayon or piece of chalk. Continue until you have identified all the leak spots.

• 3

  Go back to the leak spots and press a stiff wire through the point and out through the roof.

• 4

  Go onto the rooftop and find the wire markers. Inspect the condition of the roof in that area for missing shingles, rotting wood, curled shingles or loose shingle nails.

Repairing the Leak

• 5

  Remove broken, curled or cracked shingles. Press a pry bar under the edge of the shingle to loosen it from the roof. Pull away the broken shingle and scrape away the cement with a putty knife. Place a new shingle in the slot and line it up with the shingles that are currently in place. Use roofing nails to attach the new shingle to the roof. Use a putty knife to cover the nails with a thin layer of roofing cement to hold them in place.

• 6

  Replace missing or broken shingle nails. Remove bent nails with pliers or a pry bar and hammer new nails into place. Use a putty knife to cover the nails with a thin layer of roofing cement.

• 7

  Repair interior leaks with a self-sticking roof patch, which can be purchased from a hardware or home-improvement store. Press the patch into the leak until it cannot go any further. Seal it in place using a putty knife and wall paste or a caulking gun. Patches will not seal if the area is heavily saturated with water, so wait until the next day to apply the patch. During a rainstorm, drive a nail into the leak from the inside of the house, so that the water follows the nail and drops straight down at that point. Place a bucket underneath the nail to catch the water. Towel-dry the area once the rain has stopped and apply the patch.