Roof Leak Repair in Santa Rosa & the North Bay
A roof leak is the one problem that gets worse on a schedule you do not control. Rea Roofing Inc. finds and repairs leaks across the North Bay, and the work starts with an unglamorous but essential fact: water almost never enters the roof directly above where it appears on your ceiling.
How we actually trace a leak
Water travels. It runs down the top of a rafter, along the underside of the deck, across a ceiling joist, and comes through the drywall several feet from where it got in. Chasing the stain instead of the path is why so many leaks get 'fixed' three times and keep coming back.
We start inside where there is access — attic, crawl space above a ceiling, the top of a wall — looking for the wet trail and following it uphill. Staining patterns, rusted nail tips and darkened sheathing tell you where the water has been traveling long before you get on the roof.
Then the roof, working through the suspects in order of likelihood rather than at random: flashings at walls and chimneys, valleys and dead valleys, skylight curbs, plumbing vent boots, solar and antenna penetrations, ridge and hip terminations, and only then the field of the roof itself. On low-slope sections we add seams, drains, scuppers and equipment curbs to that list.
You get photographs of what we found and a clear explanation of the cause. Where the leak is one failed detail, we repair it. Where it is a symptom of a covering that has reached the end of its life, we will tell you that instead of taking money for a patch that buys one storm.
Our Leak Repair Process
- 01
Call or text with photos
Send pictures of the stain and tell us when it appears — during rain, after rain, or only in wind-driven storms. Each points somewhere different.
- 02
Interior inspection
Attic and ceiling side first, following the water trail back to where it entered rather than guessing from below.
- 03
Roof inspection
Flashings, penetrations, valleys and terminations checked systematically, with photos of everything found.
- 04
Repair the cause
New metal, new boots, reworked valley or termination — repaired with proper detailing rather than sealant over the top.
- 05
Verify
Where it is warranted we water-test the repaired area so you are not waiting for the next storm to find out.
Why leak calls go better with us
Water coming in today?
Call or text (707) 332-0081 and say it is an active leak. Move what you can out from under it and put a container down — then let us get on the roof.
Cause, not symptom
We trace the water path rather than sealing the nearest crack, which is why a repair should only happen once.
Photo evidence
You see what was wrong and what was done — useful for your records and for any insurance conversation.
Free inspection
Getting eyes on the roof costs you nothing, so there is no reason to wait and watch a stain grow.
Straight answer on the roof's future
If the covering is finished, we will say so plainly rather than selling repeat patches.
Rea Roofing project photos
Our own photographs of real jobs. Captions describe only what is visible in the frame.
Low-slope roof build-up in progress on a new concrete structure — cover board being set in two-part adhesive ahead of the membrane.
Tear-off day on a residential re-roof — decking exposed and inspected, shingle bundles loaded to the ridge.
Roof Leak Repair questions
The stain is small — can it wait until spring?
A small stain means water has already been in the structure long enough to soak through the drywall, and it is wetting framing and insulation you cannot see. Waiting turns a flashing repair into a framing and drywall repair.
Why does my roof only leak in some storms?
That usually points to wind-driven rain getting behind a wall flashing, a skylight or a rake, rather than a hole in the field of the roof. Telling us it only happens in certain conditions genuinely narrows the search.
Can you find a leak on a flat roof?
Yes. Low-slope leaks concentrate at seams, drains, scuppers and equipment curbs, and standing water makes them worse. We check drainage as part of the inspection because ponding is often the real underlying cause.
Free estimate — Roof Leak Repair
Tell us what the roof is doing and where it is. We will come and look at it, and the inspection costs you nothing.
More from Rea Roofing
Roof Leak Repair — free estimate, no obligation
Call or text (707) 332-0081, or send the details through the form. We cover Sonoma, Marin, Napa & Mendocino counties.