Roof leak detection
Finding where the water actually gets in
Flashing fails more often than shingles do, and the chimney is where it fails first. Masonry and roof framing move at different rates, which over years opens the joint where counter-flashing is set into the mortar. Step flashing up the sides, counter-flashing into the brick, and the cricket behind the stack are the usual suspects on a leak where the roof itself looks fine. On older chimneys the mortar joint holding the counter-flashing is often the actual failure rather than the metal.
Fayette County sits in the metro Atlanta hail and wind corridor. Spring storm season here does two kinds of damage, and only one of them is obvious. Straight-line wind lifts shingle tabs, breaks the seal strip underneath, and drops them back down looking untouched — the roof then leaks in the next storm from a spot that shows nothing from the ground. Hail does the other kind, bruising the mat under the granules so the shingle fails months later. Housing stock across Fayette County skews newer and denser than most of the state, which means a lot of architectural asphalt in the 10-to-20-year band where the seal strip is past its best but the roof is nowhere near replacement.
Sealant buys a season at most. It is applied over a joint that is moving, so it cracks at the first full temperature cycle. Where flashing has genuinely failed, rebuilding it is the repair; caulk is a way of paying twice.
It can. A cracked crown, a missing cap, or spalled brick lets water into the stack and it shows up inside looking exactly like a flashing leak. Worth checking both — they are different trades and different fixes.
Finding where the water actually gets in
Leaks appearing after wind or hail
The sheathing under the shingles
Natural slate, repaired not replaced
Single-ply flat roof membrane
What repairs actually cost here
You will get a straight answer on whether Fayette County needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.
Call (229) 592-0097