Q&A – What is the proper repair for water damage?

A townhouse resident from Oregon came to AAR looking for a bit of advice about a water problem.

Alan from Oregon had some water damage issues in their HOA-monitered town home a few years ago. The problem seemed to resolve itself, until this last fall when it returned to the same place. While unable to get onto the roof, Alan got creative and took some photos to ask the experts at AskARoofer about. Here was their exact query:

"In spring of '22 we noticed water damage coming from a corner of our town home, presumably from the roof or downspout that is adjacent. The HOA had someone come out and said they saw no issues. Separately our building, which is shared with 5 other townhomes, was already slated to have its roof replaced later that year.

The replacement took place and we had no further issues until fall of '24 when water damage was again observed on the interior in the same place, as well as on the walls on the floor directly below. It is a three-story town home with no roof access, so the only photos I've been able to get were with my phone attached to an extension pole. Attached is the best view I could get, does this look like proper repair? It is a TPO roofing membrane, and it sure looks like there are a lot of patch jobs, and visible nail heads."

Roofing expert Jana Zavala, owner of HER Roofing responded, saying the follow:

A leak can happen at several different entry points such as along the top of the cap metal, around any of the T-patches or even on the other side of the curb, on the siding. A qualified roofing contractor can probe the T-patches and see if they are properly welded. I recommend calling the contractor that installed the roof first (as they most likely have a workmanship warranty), before contacting other contractors to address the leak.

Continue the conversation in our Forum!