Hey folks! I've got a detached garage that's likely from the 60s or 70s, and while it's a cute space with a workbench and an old chimney, the roof is in pretty bad shape. It's a torch-down roof with a slight pitch, but unfortunately, the pitch isn't enough to redirect water away from where the chimney is, leading to pooling and leaking. I purchased the house in January, and it looks like someone previously tried to fix the issues by patching from inside because there are newer 2x4s and plywood that are already rotting. A roofer from my main house came by and patched the spot with goop, which has stopped the leaks for now. My question is twofold: A) How hard would it be to raise that dipped area so it's flush? I have basic woodworking skills but no roofing experience. B) Would it be acceptable to just coat the entire roof with silicone and add more goop to the problem area for the time being, maybe for a year or two? I'm a new parent of twins, so I'm short on time and resources. Any advice would be super helpful, thanks!
2 Answers
If your roof frame is already rotting, you’ll need to address that first. Otherwise, any sealant you apply could just fail as the roof flexes. But I've heard from a retired construction buddy that putting plywood in the dip and sealing the edges could work for a temporary fix. Then coat the entire roof with silicone. It's just a band-aid solution, but it might buy you some time while deciding how to move forward.
I had a similar torch-down roof with water pooling in one corner. I coated the whole thing with silicone, which helped with leaks for a bit, but didn’t fix the sagging. A roofing pro explained that the pooling just speeds up the rot beneath the surface. So, while silicone can work for a couple of years, you really need to either build up that dip or re-pitch the roof for a proper fix in the long run.