Roof flashing repair in Long Beach, CA

The open field of a roof rarely leaks. The joints do. Anywhere the roof changes direction or something passes through it, a piece of metal flashing has to carry water past the gap. When that metal rusts, bends, pulls loose or was installed backward, water goes behind it and into the house.

We see a lot of flashing that has been caulked over and over instead of replaced. The caulk cracks in the sun, traps water and hides the rust underneath. Our roofers remove the old metal, install new flashing lapped the right way, and tie it back into the roofing and the wall so it sheds water without depending on sealant.

The types of flashing on a roof

Step flashing runs in short overlapping pieces where a sloped roof meets a side wall, one piece under each course of shingle or tile. Counter flashing covers the top of step flashing and is tucked into the wall or stucco. Headwall flashing runs along the top where a roof meets a wall above it. Valley flashing lines the trough where two slopes meet.

Drip edge runs along eaves and rakes so water drips clear of the fascia. Vent and pipe flashings seal around anything that comes through the roof. Each has a job, and each fails in its own way.

• Step and counter flashing at side walls
• Headwall flashing at the top of a slope
• Valley metal where two slopes meet
• Drip edge at eaves and rakes
• Vent, pipe and appliance flashings

How flashing fails

Rust is the most common failure near the coast, where salt air eats through galvanized steel. Older homes often have flashing that was never replaced during later re-roofs, so the metal is decades old under newer shingles or tile. Stucco and siding work can bury or cut flashing, and patio covers and additions often get tied in without proper flashing at all.

We also find flashing that was installed upside down, lapped so water runs behind the metal instead of over it. No amount of sealant fixes that. The only real repair is to take it out and put it back the right way.

• Rusted metal near the ocean
• Old flashing left behind during a re-roof
• Flashing cut or buried by stucco work
• Reverse laps that send water behind the metal
• Additions tied in with caulk only

How we replace flashing

We remove the shingles or tiles around the joint, pull the old flashing, and check the decking and wall sheathing behind it for rot. New underlayment goes up the wall, then new flashing, lapped so every piece sheds water onto the piece below it. On stucco walls, we cut a clean reglet or use surface-mounted counter flashing so the top edge stays sealed.

Near the ocean, we use metals and fasteners that hold up better in salt air. Then the roofing goes back on over the new flashing, so the system works the way it was meant to.

When to call about roof flashing repair

Salt air, stucco and flashing in Long Beach

Homes within a mile or two of the ocean, in Belmont Shore, Naples, Alamitos Beach and along the bluff, lose flashing to corrosion far faster than inland homes. We often find flashing on these homes rusted through underneath while the roofing over it still looks fine. Replacing it with better-suited metal and fasteners makes a real difference here.

Long Beach is also a stucco city. Spanish Revival homes from the 1920s and 1930s, and plenty of ranch homes since, have stucco walls meeting the roof, and every repaint or stucco patch is a chance for flashing to get buried or cut. On older homes in historic districts like Bluff Park and Rose Park, we keep the visible lines of the wall and roof the same when we replace flashing.