Roof Leak Detection Co. Inc.

07/09/2025

I have been doing Tile Roof Evaluations for 34 years and I have inspected roofs for the purchase of homes, condominiums, commercial buildings and damage analysis from both wind and hail. In my 34 years of doing thousands of inspections I have never seen a mechanically attached tile roof where 25% of the tiles were either damaged or displaced by wind or hail. I have seen where the total home was displaced, however, unless the home was wiped off its foundation, I’ve never seen 25% displacement of tiles. I get asked in every deposition that I give (how many tiles were damaged?) I will give an answer and the immediate follow up question is how many tiles are on this roof. The attorney will then show me a report from the opposing expert that states that only 1 or 2% of the tiles are damaged. My answer usually goes as follows! Well sir/madam there are 5000 tiles installed on the roof and I do not believe the repairability should be based on the total number of tiles damaged or a percentage. If that were the case, then no damaged roofs would ever meet the 25% threshold based on my experience. I then go on to explain the 1 or 2% of damaged tiles would equate to 50 to 100 repairs to the underlayment and many more if you removed tiles around the damaged tiles. When the underlayment is installed, the membrane is installed from the eave to the ridge or hip, so water always sheds over the seams and not into the seams. I do not know any competent contractor that would ever install a sloped roof with backlap seams and all manufacturers and building code requirements prohibit the installation of the underlayment in that manner. Usually, this answer gets an eye roll and a look of confusion. So, I make it a little easier for them to understand! I tell them that if you have a tire on your car and it gets a nail puncture, the damage from the nail would encompass less than .00001% of the total tire area and you would most likely patch the tire and not have a great concern about the future performance of the tire. I then go further to say, what if you had twenty-five nail punctures in your tire? The total damaged area of the tire would still be less than 1%! Would anyone drive around on a tire with 25+ patches? Your home is the biggest purchase most everyone makes in their life and your roof protects all the contents in your home, is it fair to say that your roof is repairable because 25% of the tiles were not damaged? In my opinion NO, it has to do with future performance as well and for those firms who always use the 25% rule to deny roof replacement, perhaps I can sell you some of my nail damaged tires!

03/24/2022

Someone actually said this was a “bump in the roof” caused by a installation defect🤦‍♂️ I said, you know they had 130 mph winds at the property in Marco Island during Hurricane Irma right? His reply “nope, installation problem”. You can’t make this stuff up, SMH!

11/12/2021

Hail stones are not perfectly round as you can see. Jagged hail can tear roof membranes and create openings allowing moisture into the roofing system.

04/03/2021

08/26/2020

Read This Before You Shrink Wrap Your Roof!

Recently I have seen a trend following severe weather events, whether the damage is from hail, wind or extreme amounts of rain--as will occur in Texas and Louisiana this week-- where contractors are applying shrink wrap to roofs, apparently to stop water from entering the building.
When you have a leaky roof, its costly to repair and annoying to say the least! The shrink wrap can certainly provide temporary relief from the immediate problem of water enter the structure. However, every novel idea has its problems as well!

Before you allow anyone to shrink wrap your roof I have a few suggestions:

Make certain that you take plenty of photographs of any damage that may exist. These photographs are essential to justify the installation of the shrink wrap. If you expect your insurance carrier to pay for the cost of the shrink wrap covering, then its fair to show them why it was needed.

If a contractor in Texas guarantees that the insurance company will PAY for the shrink wrap, they could be violating Texas insurance laws. Furthermore, ask to look at the photographs of damage. If the contractor doesn’t provide you with any photographs clearly illustrating the suspected damage, then more likely than not they are shrink wrapping your roof for no good reason. You could be out thousands of dollars for something you didn’t need.

With a historic rain event as the one in Texas and Louisiana this week, water can find numerous ways to enter a structure. Many times, it is not from a failed roofing system but rather a mechanical component on the roof such as an AC unit, grease trap, vent pipe etc. These components could be the reason water entered the building. I have been performing roof moisture surveys (leak detection) for 28 years and many of the leaks I find are not from the roofing system at all, but rather some mechanical component on the roof. It is always recommended to have someone evaluate your roof who has nothing to gain by what they find!

Make certain that the contractor you select to install the shrink wrap is someone who has a long record of working in your area. After a storm event, you will inevitably have a plethora of storm chasers in your area offering their services. Many of these companies prey upon the desperation of the consumer in need. As ridiculous as this may sound, Texas has no licensing requirements for roofing contractors so you can’t simply file a complaint against their license.
As we have witnessed through news coverage, catastrophic events can bring out the best in people. Unfortunately, it can also bring out the worst from unscrupulous people as well. The old age adage of “if its too good to be true it probably is” still rings true today.

03/16/2019

I have a lot of reasons for loving my job, but the Office Views are the best part of my day!

10/21/2018

This is not something I see everyday while inspecting a roof!

04/03/2018

Rental Equipment Companies are the worst. Always late, faulty and unsafe equipment. Problem solved, got my own!

12/12/2017

Me: this is wind uplift damage. Electrical Engineer sent out to inspect the roof: no it’s not. Me: did they install it this way?. Engineer: More likely that it's faulty installation. Me: did you cut the roof to confirm that? Engineer: no, but I'm sure it wasn't caused by 100mph winds. Me: let’s take the confusion out of this and cut the roof to confirm they used enough glue to adhere the ISO Board. Engineer: I'm not familiar with that material. Me: but your the guy they sent out here to evaluate the roof, don’t you think you should know these things? Engineer: this conversation is over!