Chimney, dormer, valley and wall flashing that has pulled loose or rusted through, traced and repaired by an independent local roofer.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
Flashing is the metal that seals joints where a roof meets a wall, chimney, dormer, vent or valley. When it bends, rusts, lifts or loses its sealant, water runs behind it. A roofer traces the leak, resets or replaces the flashing and seals it into the wall and under the shingles. Most leaks on older houses start here.
If a roof leaks only when the wind pushes rain sideways, or only when snow melts against a wall, flashing is the first suspect. The shingles shed the water on an open slope. Flashing handles everywhere the roof stops being open slope: chimneys, dormers, valleys, side walls, plumbing stacks, skylights and the foot of a porch roof. These are small areas with a large effect.
The houses around Sherman have plenty of them. Colonial and farmhouse-style homes in Litchfield County towns such as Washington, Roxbury and Woodbury often carry several chimneys, dormers and additions, each with its own flashing. Lake houses have gable ends, decks and skylights. Every joint is a place where metal, sealant and shingle have to stay tight through freezing, thawing and decades of movement.
Sherman Roofing is a call line, not a roofing crew. You describe where you see water, and the call is put through to an independent local roofer who serves your town. The roofer traces the leak, shows you the failed joint and prices the repair separately from anything else on the roof. Call (833) 751-2102. If water is entering now, see emergency roof leak repair.
Never climb to a chimney or wall joint to check it, since these spots are often wet, mossy and awkward. Do not caulk over flashing from a ladder in cold weather. Look from the ground and let a roofer climb.
Tell the line which room, where it is in relation to chimneys and walls, and in what weather it leaks. This narrows the search for the roofer.
The roofer looks at the attic for wet wood below the suspect joint and then inspects the flashing outside, lifting the shingles and counterflashing as needed.
A little sealant can extend flashing that is sound. Metal that is bent, rusted or too short needs replacing. Sealant alone is rarely the long-term answer, and the roofer should say which this is.
New step flashing is woven into the shingle courses, counterflashing is set into the wall or chimney joints, and valleys are relined where needed. The metal is fastened so the water runs over it and not behind it.
The roofer checks adjacent decking, sheathing and siding for rot and replaces what is damaged. After the next heavy rain or thaw, check the ceiling. Tell the line if the leak returns.
Flashing quotes depend on how much metal is involved and what is behind it. This page prints no figure, and the roofer confirms the price on site.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Single vent boot or small detail | Quoted per visit | Usually quick if the surrounding shingles and decking are sound |
| Chimney flashing | Quoted per chimney | Size, number of sides and condition of the masonry joints change the work |
| Wall or dormer flashing | Quoted by length | Siding often has to be lifted, adding time and sometimes a siding repair |
| Valley relining | Quoted by length | Pitch, length and whether shingles must be removed and replaced |
| Rotted wood behind the metal | Found once opened | Decking and trim repair are priced as extra lines |
Your exact price is set by the roofer after inspection and confirmed in writing before any work starts.
It sits at the joints where materials meet and move at different rates, and every joint relies on small metal parts and sealant rather than on the solid shedding surface of the shingles. Freezing, thawing and sun wear sealant down, and metal bends, rusts or pulls out over time.
On an open slope, water runs down and off. At a chimney or wall, it can run sideways and back. Flashing is the part that turns that water outward, so any failure sends it in.
Roofs with many chimneys, dormers and additions have many such joints. That is why an old house has more leak points than a simple ranch of the same age.
As a short-term stop it may work, but sealant dries, cracks and peels within a few seasons, and gobs of cement over bad metal hide the problem. A lasting repair resets or replaces the flashing and uses sealant only where the design calls for it, as a backup and not the barrier.
Roofers sometimes use sealant on a hairline gap. The test is whether the metal is sound and correctly lapped. If it is not, caulk is cosmetic.
If a past owner or contractor smeared cement across a joint, the roofer will usually need to remove it to see what is underneath.
Yes. Old houses often have multiple chimneys, additions at different dates and flashing in several generations of materials, from lead and copper to galvanized steel and aluminium. Matching and joining different metals correctly matters, since some combinations corrode where they touch.
Historic homes in Washington, Roxbury and Woodbury may carry slate or cedar roofs with traditional copper flashing. Repairs use the same approach, which is slower and more skilled. See slate and cedar roof repair.
Ask the roofer what metal is already on the roof and what will be used, so that the repair does not set up a new problem.
Have it checked every few years, after a significant storm and before winter if you have had leaks or ice dams. Fall is a good time because leaves are down and a roofer can look at valleys and walls without snow. Early attention costs less than a ceiling repair.
A look from the ground at chimneys and walls can reveal rust or gaps. A roofer's inspection goes further, into the attic and under the shingle edges. See roof inspection.
Step flashing along the sides, an apron at the front and a back saddle called a cricket on wide chimneys, with counterflashing set into the masonry. Mortar joints age and the counterflashing loosens, so the chimney and the flashing are best checked together. See chimney flashing and repair.
Step flashing runs up the side of a wall or dormer under the siding and over each shingle course. When siding is replaced without lifting the flashing, leaks follow, so dormer repairs often involve the siding.
Where two slopes meet, the valley carries the most water. Open metal valleys and woven shingle valleys both need to be clear and intact, and leaves in them are a frequent cause of failure.
Rubber or metal collars around pipes and the kits that surround skylights. They tend to fail from age, sun and snow load, and they are small, inexpensive parts that cause large stains.
The older homes of Litchfield County and the Candlewood Lake towns carry a lot of joints. Colonial and farmhouse-style homes in Washington, Roxbury and Woodbury often have more than one chimney, with dormers and rear additions. Each one has been flashed, and re-flashed, over generations.
Sherman's lake homes add their own: deck ledgers that meet the wall just under the eave, skylights on contemporaries, and gable ends with steep valleys. The tree cover in town drops leaves into valleys, where they hold moisture against the metal. Clear valleys are the cheapest flashing maintenance there is.
Snow does its work too. Roughly 45 inches falls in a typical winter around Danbury, and snow sliding down a roof pushes against flashing, while freezing meltwater pries at sealant. Leaks around flashing often appear in the thaw and are mistaken for ice dam leaks, so describe when yours appears.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Flashing, crowns and mortar joints on masonry chimneys that age along with the roof, looked at and priced by an independent local roofer.
Leaks, loose shingles, worn flashing and limb damage on wooded Sherman-area roofs, looked at and quoted by an independent local roofer.
A pre-winter or post-storm check of shingles, flashing, vents, gutters and attic, written up by an independent local roofer.
On a historic house the stone or wood is often not what fails first.
Flashing leaks tend to appear next to chimneys, walls, dormers, vents and valleys, and often only in wind-driven rain or snowmelt. Shingle leaks are more widespread. A roofer traces it from the attic.
It depends on the metal, the installation and the weather. Some outlasts the shingles and some does not. A roofer can judge its condition by looking at it up close.
Usually, and it should be. New flashing is much easier to install when the old shingles are off. Ask the quote to list each chimney, wall and valley.
It can, slowly. Water runs into walls and framing, and rot can appear years later. Early repair is cheaper than rebuilding a wall.
Many can, but not all work in these metals. Ask for experience on historic details, especially on slate or cedar roofs.
That is for your insurer to decide, and this line cannot say. Photograph the leak and keep the roofer's written findings in case you need them.