Roof Flashing and Chimney Leak Repair in Little Rock, AR

Signs the leak is flashing, not shingles

Location is the biggest clue. Flashing leaks show up near the things that pass through or meet the roof.

• A stain on the ceiling or wall right beside the chimney, often on the fireplace wall itself.
• A ring on a bathroom or kitchen ceiling directly under a vent pipe.
• Water running down the inside of a skylight shaft, or stained drywall around it.
• A damp streak on an interior wall below the spot where a lower roof meets a second-story wall.
• Rust streaks on the shingles below a chimney or a metal vent.
• Gaps, cracked caulk or lifted metal you can spot with binoculars from the yard.

Flashing leaks also follow the weather. A chimney that leaks only when rain blows from one direction usually points to metal that is loose or lapped the wrong way.

That said, a water stain on the ceiling can come from plumbing or attic condensation too, so the roofer checks the attic before deciding the flashing is to blame.

Chimney flashing: step, counter and cricket repairs

A flashed chimney has layers that work together. When one fails, water gets behind the others.

Step flashing

Step flashing is a series of L-shaped pieces woven in with each course of shingles along the sides of the chimney. Each piece overlaps the one below, so water steps down and out. A single long strip against the brick, common on old repairs, funnels water into the joint.

Counter flashing

Counter flashing covers the top edge of the step flashing. Done right, it is set into a groove cut in a mortar joint and bent down over the steps. On many older chimneys it is simply glued to the face of the brick with caulk, which dries out and lets go after a few summers.

Roofers call that groove a reglet. Surface-mounted counter flashing is screwed to the brick face instead and relies on a sealant bead along its top that needs regular recaulking.

Crickets

A cricket is a small peaked roof built on the uphill side of a chimney to split water around it. Wide chimneys usually need one. Without it, leaves and water pile up behind the chimney and work under the flashing.

Chimney flashing repair fixes whichever of these has failed. Cracked mortar, a broken crown or flaking brick get photographed and pointed out, since that part is masonry work. See chimney leaks in older Little Rock homes.

Flashing leak or masonry leak? Clues at the chimney

Where the water shows tells the roofer which of three levels is leaking: the flashing, the brick and mortar, or the crown and cap.

When the clues are mixed, the roofer water-tests in stages: the flashing alone, then the brick, then the crown. Pre-war chimneys in Hillcrest and the Quapaw Quarter often have soft old mortar, and when the joints can't hold a reglet cut, a mason repoints them before the roofer flashes.

Pipe boots and vent collars: the most common small leak

Count the pipes on your roof. Each plumbing vent passes through a boot that seals it to the shingles, and furnace or water heater flues have their own collars. A standard boot has a metal or plastic base and a rubber collar that hugs the pipe. In Little Rock's summer heat that rubber hardens, shrinks and cracks, often in 10 to 15 years, and sooner on a south-facing slope.

A vent boot leak usually shows up as a small ring on the ceiling below, often in a bathroom. The fix is straightforward:

• The roofer lifts the shingles above the old boot and pulls it off the pipe.
• A new boot slides over the pipe, its base tucked under the shingles above and lying over the ones below.
• The boot is nailed where the shingles will cover the nails, then the shingles are laid back and sealed.

Pipe boot replacement is quick, so the roofer usually checks every boot on the roof while up there. Boots installed at the same time tend to fail together. More in our guide to pipe boot leaks.

Skylight leaks and curb flashing

A skylight rarely leaks through the glass. The water usually comes in at the flashing around the curb, the raised frame the skylight sits on.

• Step flashing on the sides has the same job as on a chimney, and fails the same ways.
• Head flashing on the uphill side catches leaves and pine needles, which hold water against the curb.
• The apron on the downhill side can get bent or lifted, so water runs back underneath it.
• Old sealant around a deck-mounted skylight dries out and cracks in the heat.

Condensation can also run down a skylight shaft on cold mornings and look exactly like a leak, so the roofer checks whether the water appears only after rain. Skylight leak repair usually means new flashing around the existing unit. If the frame is cracked or the glass seal has failed, the roofer explains your options for the skylight itself before you decide anything.

Valleys, wall junctions and drip edge

Valley flashing

Open valleys use a channel of metal down the center. Closed valleys rely on shingles woven or cut over underlayment. Valley flashing that is too narrow, rusted through or dented lets water spill under the shingles in a downpour, especially when oak leaves and pine needles dam the flow. See why roof valleys leak.

Wall junctions and kick-out flashing

Where a lower roof meets a wall, step flashing runs up behind the siding. At the bottom, a kick-out flashing turns the water into the gutter. When the kick-out is missing, water runs behind the siding and rots the wall. The hip-and-valley homes of west Little Rock and Chenal Valley have many of these roof-to-wall joints, and each one is a place to check.

Drip edge

The metal strip along the eaves and rakes keeps water from curling back onto the fascia. Drip edge repair fixes bent, loose or rusted sections, often after a ladder or a falling limb bent them. If the fascia or deck edge behind it has gone soft, that goes on the list for roof decking repair.

Roof-to-wall flashing on brick, siding and fiber cement

Along the side of a wall, a roof is sealed with step flashing. Where a roof slopes into the base of a wall, such as a porch roof under upstairs windows, it gets apron flashing: one long bent piece, roof leg over the top shingle course, wall leg turned up behind the cladding.

Siding and fiber cement

Siding and house wrap lap over the flashing, never behind it, and the siding should stop about an inch above the shingles. Siding run down onto the roof wicks water.

Brick veneer

On Little Rock's many brick-veneer ranches, step flashing along a brick wall needs counter flashing cut into a mortar joint. A strip caulked to the brick face is the usual shortcut, and the usual leak.

When the kick-out is missing

Swollen trim, peeling paint or soft siding at the lower end of a roof-to-wall joint mean water is running into the wall, and vinyl, fiber cement and brick can hide wet framing for years. The new kick-out goes in as the first piece of the run, fastened to the roof.

Older Little Rock homes: masonry chimneys and steep, cut-up roofs

The pre-war neighborhoods near downtown have the most flashing per square foot of roof. Houses in Hillcrest, the Heights and the Quapaw Quarter often have steep pitches, dormers, gables meeting gables and at least one brick chimney. Every one of those intersections is flashed, and many were last touched decades ago.

• Chimneys may still carry their original metal, patched with tar many times over, or counter flashing that someone caulked to the brick face.
• Dormers add short walls on both sides, each with its own run of step flashing to fail.
• Steep slopes mean harnesses, roof jacks and more setup.
• Board decking under the shingles in many older homes holds nails differently than plywood, so flashing gets lifted and refastened carefully.

The same kind of work turns up in older neighborhoods across our service areas around Little Rock, wherever brick chimneys and steep, cut-up roofs go together. If old shingles break as the flashing comes out, the roofer patches them as part of the job, the same way as a missing shingle repair.

Caulk is not a repair: what actually lasts

A tube of caulk stops a flashing leak for a few months. It is also the most common reason the same leak comes back. Little Rock summers heat roof metal far past the air temperature, and it grows and shrinks every day. Sealant on the face of a joint cracks and pulls away, often while still looking fine from the ground.

Flashing that lasts depends on layering, not glue:

1. Laps that shed water. Every piece overlaps the one below it, so water runs over the joints and never into them.
2. Metal set into the masonry. Counter flashing goes into a cut mortar joint, not onto the face of the brick.
3. Fasteners in the right place. Nails sit where the next layer covers them, never through the part that carries water.
4. Sealant as a backup. A bead at the top of a cut joint or around a pipe collar is fine. Sealant doing all the work is not.

Flashing metals, and why mixing them causes corrosion

Most flashing on Little Rock shingle roofs is galvanized steel or prefinished (painted) metal, with copper on some older homes. Each wears differently.

Metals that can't touch

When two different metals touch and stay wet, the less noble one corrodes faster. This is galvanic corrosion, and Little Rock's humid summers keep those joints wet. Copper touching galvanized steel or aluminum, or copper runoff washing over them, eats the steel or aluminum first. Fasteners count too: copper nails for copper, galvanized or stainless for steel. In a repair, the roofer matches the metal or separates it with a membrane.

What affects the cost of a flashing repair

Flashing repairs vary more than most roof work, because what you see from the top is only part of it. The main price drivers:

• Which flashing failed. A single pipe boot is a short job. Rebuilding step and counter flashing around a chimney takes much longer.
• Chimney size and condition. A wide chimney may need a new cricket, and soft mortar makes cutting a clean groove for counter flashing harder.
• Roof pitch and layout. Steep, cut-up roofs in older neighborhoods need harnesses, roof jacks and slower shingle work.
• Shingles around the flashing. Brittle shingles next to the work may need to be swapped out as well.
• Hidden rot. Wet decking or wall sheathing found once the old metal comes off adds to the scope.
• Skylight condition. Reflashing a sound skylight is different work from dealing with one whose frame has failed.

For the bigger picture, see what shingle roof repair costs in Little Rock. The roofer gives you a written estimate before work starts.

Why Little Rock homeowners call us for flashing and chimney leaks

• ✓Someone picks up any hourChimney leaks have a way of showing up during evening rain. The phone is answered 24/7, so you can get a roofer scheduled while the drip is still active.
• ✓See the failed metalPhotos show the loose counter flashing, the cracked boot or the rusted valley before any work is approved, together with the written estimate.
• ✓Repair at the sourceFlashing problems are fixed as flashing problems. A bad chimney flashing or vent boot does not mean the whole roof has to come off, and the roofer won't suggest it does.
• ✓Licensed and insured in ArkansasEvery roofer we send is licensed and insured in Arkansas. Little Rock Shingle Roofers connects you with independent licensed roofers who perform the work.