The three things that fail · 01
Roof nails backing out: why it happens and the fix that lasts
Roof nails back out because your house moves. It shifts and settles, and metal flashings move every day. A smooth nail works loose, and water follows it in. Caulk over it doesn't last. We pull every nail in every flashing and put in a screw with a rubber (EPDM) washer. Fixed once.
Why do nails back out of flashings?
A nail is smooth. A screw has threads. Every day the house heats, cools, shifts and settles, and the flashing moves with it. Over a few years that movement walks a smooth nail back out. Which one would you be pulling out with your fingers?
What does the fix look like?
Every nail in the flashings comes out, across the whole roof system, not just the one you called about. Each one gets a screw with a rubber (EPDM) washer. The washer doesn't break down and makes a watertight seal. Screws are for flashings only; shingles are still nailed.
Why fix all of them?
If one flashing has nails backing out, the others are at the same stage: same sun, same heat, same age, same fastener. Fixing one means another call next year.
Where do we see it most?
Wall flashings, pipe jack flanges, vent flashings, and anywhere the roof meets a wall or chimney.
Where this fits: it's The Anchor program, and it's inside The Breakwater and The Harbor. See the programs.
What to ask any roofer, including us
- Will you hand-nail or gun-drive?
- How do you fasten flashings: nails, or screws with rubber (EPDM) washers?
- What size is your drip edge, and does it give 2 inches of coverage over the decking with the fascia installed?
- Do you detach and reset the gutters, or leave them in place during tear-off?
- Will you file the manufacturer warranty in my name at completion, or do I register it myself?
- How long is your workmanship warranty, and is it transferable?
Also ask: did they walk you through a file? The age of the roof, what's good up there, what needs attention, and your options, and then let you pick?
Questions homeowners ask
Why are the nails coming up out of my roof shingles?
Your house moves. It shifts, settles, heats up and cools down every day, and the metal flashings move with it. A smooth nail works its way back out. Once it's proud of the surface, water can follow it under the shingles and into the decking.
Can a roofer just seal the nail pops, or does that come back?
It comes back. Caulk over a nail head doesn't last in the Texas sun, and the nail underneath keeps backing out. The fix that holds is taking the nail out and putting in a screw with a rubber (EPDM) washer. The screw grips; the washer seals.
Is it normal to see nails sticking up on my roof?
No. A nail you can see from the ground has already backed out. It's one of the first signs the parts on your roof are failing before the shingles are.
My roof is leaking around the chimney. Is that the flashing?
Usually. Where the roof meets anything, a wall, a chimney, a skylight, is where the roof leaks. Loose flashing fasteners and wind-driven rain are the common path. A photo inspection shows you exactly where.
See what your roof is telling you before you decide anything.
- Book a roof inspection.
- We bring your roof system down to you. The good, the bad, what's failing, in photos.
- You decide.