Most flashing leaks can be fixed without a new roof. A roofer lifts the shingles around the problem spot, replaces the bent or rusted metal, and lays the shingles back. If the shingles around it are worn out, that changes the math. At The Red Shirt Guys, we check both before we tell you which one you need.
What is roof flashing, and why does it fail?
Flashing is the thin metal that seals the spots where your roof meets something else. Chimneys. Walls. Skylights. Vent pipes. Valleys where two slopes come together. Shingles shed water fine on an open run. These joints are where water gets in.
Flashing fails when the sealant behind it cracks, the nails back out, or it was put in wrong the first time.
Columbia doesn’t help. The city averages 45.24 inches of rain a year over 108.6 wet days (NOAA 1991-2020 normals). July’s average high is 92.7°F (same NOAA normals). Metal swells and shrinks through every one of those cycles. Sealant gives up first.
How do you know your flashing is leaking?
The stain usually tells you. A water spot on the ceiling near a chimney, an outside wall or a bathroom vent points straight at flashing. So does a damp patch in the attic around a pipe.
From the yard, look for metal that’s bent, lifted, rusty or smeared with roofing tar. Lots of tar means an old patch that didn’t hold. Stay off the roof. Binoculars from the driveway work fine. If a storm just came through, here’s how to tell if your roof has hail damage too.
Can flashing be repaired without replacing the roof?
Yes, most of the time. Flashing is its own part. A good roofer can pull the shingles around a chimney or wall, put in new metal, and weave the shingles back in. The rest of the roof never knows.
Two things push it the other way. Brittle shingles crack when you lift them. And if the roof is near the end of its life, you’d be fixing flashing on a roof that’s coming off soon anyway. That’s the same call we walk through in roof repair vs replacement. We’ll tell you straight which side your roof is on.
What does a proper flashing repair involve?
It starts with finding the real entry point. Water runs along rafters before it drips, so the stain and the leak aren’t always in the same place. Then the old metal comes out. Caulking over rusty flashing is the quick fix. It’s also why so many Midlands homes get the same leak twice.
The new work has to meet code. South Carolina builds to the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code, which adopts the 2021 IRC (UpCodes). Metal flashing must be corrosion resistant and at least 0.019 inch thick, which is No. 26 galvanized sheet (Section R903.2.1). Step flashing along a wall must be at least 4 inches tall and 4 inches wide (Section R905.2.8.3).
Any chimney wider than 30 inches needs a cricket (Section R903.2.2). That’s a small peaked ridge behind the chimney that splits water around it. Plenty of older Columbia chimneys don’t have one. Sometimes that’s the whole problem.
Who should fix flashing on a Columbia home?
A roofer, not a handyman with a tube of sealant. Done wrong, flashing leaks worse than before.
We’ve spent over twenty years on Midlands roofs, and we’re veteran-owned. Our residential roofing services cover chimney flashing, vent pipes and wall flashing, plus the shingles around them.
Frequently asked questions
Is roof flashing repair covered by insurance?
It depends on the cause. Flashing torn loose by wind or hail is storm damage a policy may review. Flashing that rusted out with age usually counts as wear. Your insurer makes that call, not your roofer.
Is caulk a real roof flashing repair?
No. Caulk buys you a season, maybe two. In Columbia’s heat it dries, shrinks and cracks. A lasting fix replaces the metal and laps the shingles over it the right way.
Does my chimney need a cricket?
If it’s wider than 30 inches across the slope, the code says yes (Section R903.2.2). Without one, water and leaves pile up behind the chimney and work their way in.
Should flashing be replaced with a new roof?
We replace it. Old metal under new shingles is the leak you’ll be calling about in a few years.
Ready to stop the leak?
Call The Red Shirt Guys at 803.243.3968. We’ll find where the water’s actually getting in and tell you whether it’s a flashing fix or something bigger. Or book a free roof estimate online.
Not sure what your roof needs?
Get a free, no-pressure roof inspection from The Red Shirt Guys.
Request a free inspectionor call 803-243-3968