Your Roof Damage Might Actually Be Foundation Damage

After every hail storm in the DFW area, neighborhoods are dotted with rooftops that have repairs underway. Shingles get ripped off, forceful hail can punch straight through the sublayers, and even the chimney cap can get cracked. If you find spots of water damage in your ceiling, that’s a clear sign that rain is getting through your roof. But it might not be left over from the last hail storm. Foundation shift can cause leaks, too, especially because:

1. The roof can shift around the chimney.

From the outside, it looks like your chimney sits on top of the roof. But the chimney runs all the way down through your house to your foundation and it’s only that exterior surface layer that really connects to the roof. Once the foundation moves and the roof doesn’t, that misalignment will start letting water leak in around your chimney through the gaps.

2. Your foundation might be settling more on one corner than another.

Shift happens, but it doesn’t always happen equally. One corner of your house might be a more severe slope or closer to the neighbor with the new in-ground pool. When one side of your house settles more than the other, that’s when you get cracks, loosened beams, and stress. That can happen in the panels below your shingles just like along door frames.

3. Roof movement can split the tar seal or rip shingles around the nail.

When your foundation is settling, it’s going to rip through the most fragile components in order to disperse any pressure or stress. Oftentimes, that can be the shingles themselves. The tar strip that seals the bottom edge of the shingle down can break, especially if it’s partially melted due to the heat. Pressure can also make the shingle shift away from the nails locking the top in place.

If you see water damage or cracks and gaps in your roof, don’t blame the hail just yet. It might be foundation damage. Contact us today for an evaluation.