The signs you need roof repair are water stains or drips inside, missing, cracked or curling shingles, slipped or broken tiles, lifted flashing, heavy granule loss in the gutters, damp wood or daylight in the attic, and any sag in the roofline. Some of these mean call today; others can wait for a scheduled inspection. To have a roofer look, call NEMA Roofing at 866-631-3366.
Call today: signs that need immediate roofing leak repair
- Water dripping or running inside, or a ceiling that bulges with trapped water.
- Water near light fixtures, outlets or the electrical panel. Switch off that circuit if you can do it safely.
- A sagging section of roof or ceiling. It can mean wet, weakened decking or framing.
- An opening after a storm or a fallen branch: missing sections, exposed underlayment or deck.
Protect what is below, catch the water and keep people away from a sagging ceiling. Our emergency roof repair service is the right call for these.
Book an inspection soon: signs of damage that is not leaking yet
These do not flood a room today, but each one is an opening or a weak spot that the next rain will find.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| A brown ring or stain on the ceiling that is dry now | Water got in during the last rain; the source is often uphill of the stain, at flashing or a pipe boot |
| Missing shingles, or tabs lying in the yard | Broken seals from wind; neighboring shingles may be loose too |
| Curling, cupping or cracked shingles | Shingles drying out with age and heat, or poor attic ventilation |
| Slipped, cracked or broken tiles | The underlayment below is now taking the water the tile used to shed |
| Lifted or rusted metal at chimneys, walls, skylights or valleys | Flashing failure, a frequent source of leaks |
| Cracked rubber collars around plumbing vents | Pipe boots that have dried out; a common leak at a single spot |
| Blisters, splits or standing water on a flat roof | Membrane damage or poor drainage |
| Peeling paint or damp patches on eaves and fascia | Water getting behind the gutter or drip edge |
What the attic tells you
If you can get into the attic safely, take a flashlight on a dry day and look at the underside of the roof deck. Warning signs are daylight around pipes or along the ridge, dark or stained sheathing, water trails on rafters, damp or flattened insulation, rusted nail tips and a musty smell. An attic that is very hot or damp can also point to blocked vents, which ages shingles from below.
Slow signs: wear that calls for a plan, not a panic
- Granules in the gutters. A few after a new roof is normal; a steady supply and bare, dark patches on the shingles mean the roof is aging.
- Moss, algae or debris piles that hold moisture against the roof.
- Repairs that keep coming back at the same spot, which usually means the cause was never fixed.
- Rising cooling bills are rarely caused by the roof covering alone, but poor attic ventilation or insulation shows up this way, and a roofer can check the vents while inspecting.
When several slow signs show up together, it is time to weigh repair against replacement rather than patching piece by piece.
What to do before you call
- Photograph every sign, inside and out (from the ground), with the date.
- Write down whether it leaks in any rain, only when the rain is wind-driven, or a day later.
- Do not walk on the roof, especially tile or a wet surface.
- Check your homeowner’s policy if storm damage is involved, before any permanent repair.
If you want to look over the roof first, work through our roof inspection checklist. To see what happens after you call, read the roof repair process, step by step, and before you sign anything, how to choose a roofing contractor.
Roof repair near you
NEMA Roofing has five locations, in Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Downey, and crews that cover all of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, out to the Inland Empire towns listed on our San Bernardino County page. See what our roof repair service covers, and call 866-631-3366 when you spot any of these signs.
