Roof Leak Repair in Moundville
The mounds have been standing for the better part of a thousand years. The roofs around them, not so much. Moundville is about 15 miles south of our base in Tuscaloosa, straight down Hwy 69 past the archaeological park and across the Hale County line, a 25-minute drive we make a couple of times a month.
It is a real small town with a real in-town grid: older wood-sided and brick houses on shaded streets, a lot of them with brick chimneys, side additions, and roofs that have been redone more than once. That combination, old chimney, new shingles, a porch roof somebody tacked on, is where leaks live in Moundville.
In-town roofs
Most of the in-town houses date from the 1940s through the 1970s. Low to medium pitch, gable roofs, original tin or galvanized valleys under two or three layers of shingle on some of them, and decking that nobody has seen since the house was built. When these leak, the stain is often nowhere near the entry point because the water runs along old decking boards and layered shingle before it drops.
We start in the attic, which on these houses often means a hatch in a closet ceiling and a lot of crawling. We trace the water trail to the entry point, confirm on the roof, and photograph it. Then we price the repair for that spot. We do not open a conversation about a new roof unless the shingles themselves are failing across the whole surface, and on most Moundville houses they are not.
Chimneys and additions
The brick chimneys are the number one leak. Original step flashing that was mortared in, counterflashing that is a smear of tar, and no cricket on the uphill side so leaves and water pile against the brick. We cut a reglet into the mortar joint, fit new step and counterflashing, and build a cricket where the chimney is wide enough to need one. Chimney flashing leak repair done that way does not need doing again.
Additions are number two. A porch, carport, or bedroom roofed at a lower pitch and tied into the main roof or a side wall with sealant. In wind-driven spring rain the water goes right under. We cut in proper transition flashing and kick-outs where the add-on meets siding, so the water sheds instead of soaking the wall.
Number three is what every roof in west Alabama gets after 15 hot summers: cracked pipe boots and dried-out vent sealant. We replace them with lifetime boots while we are up there.
Metal roofs are common on the farms and shops just outside town, and they leak at the screws and lap seams. Replacing the fasteners with oversized long-life screws and resealing the laps is a one-day job for most houses. If the roof has lost its coating and is rusting through, a full elastomeric coat is usually cheaper than replacement and buys another decade.
Services here
Roof leak detection, chimney and skylight flashing, valley rebuilds, pipe boot and vent repair, general roof repair for lifted or missing shingles, and storm damage roof leak repair with same-day tarping when the leak is active and we can reach you. Pricing is per repair after the inspection, most jobs a few hundred dollars, which is under the 1 to 5 percent wind and hail deductible on most Alabama policies, so we help you avoid a pointless claim.
From Moundville we also cover Duncanville on the way back up toward town, Fosters across on the US 11 side, and the Tuscaloosa neighborhoods south of the river.
Get your roof looked at
Fill out the form with the street, how old the house is if you know, and where the water is showing. A photo of the chimney helps, and so does a photo of the ceiling stain. We will tell you when we can be there and what the inspection involves.