Roof Pipe Boot Leaks & Repairs
The rubber collar around a plumbing vent is often the first thing the Texas sun breaks down.
A plumbing vent pipe has to come through the roof. The boot is the flange that seals around that pipe. In this heat the rubber collar is usually what goes first. It splits, the metal rusts, and water follows the pipe into a bathroom or a laundry. Signs of a problem include water stains near a plumbing vent, cracked rubber around the pipe, damaged flashing, or moisture in the attic near the pipe. A leaking boot usually doesn’t mean you need a new roof.
How we change a leaking boot
We inspect the boot and the shingles around it to decide whether it can be repaired or should be replaced. As a GAF Certified™ contractor, we set the boot the way GAF recommends for a steep-slope roof: leak barrier at the pipe, the boot in the shingle course, and upslope shingles over the flange. Caulk alone isn’t flashing.
- Pull the shingles around the pipe.
- Look at the deck. If it is rotten, we patch it first.
- Set a new boot and weave the shingles back over the high side of the flange.
- Seal the collar. Caulk can help there. It is not the whole seal.
If a focused repair will hold, that’s what we recommend. If the roof has reached the end of its life, we’ll explain why. For apartment and commercial roofs, see pipe boots that last on commercial roofs.
Other common leak spots: a vent, a skylight, drip edge, a valley, flashing.