The two plumbing stack flashings below have obvious problems. The one on the left was probably a decent flashing, new out of the package, prior to the "roofer" slathering it up. He had a proper flashing that would work, but he did not get how it works. Instead of putting the flashing in correctly, so it neatly fits up under the shingles -- water is shed over the top -- he smeared tar under it and then pressed it down onto the roof. He put the roof vent on the same way, on top of the shingles, so he had that method down pretty good.
On the photo to the right, he put a hole in the roof and smeared tar all around it -- that tar was the only flashing. While this method of flashing might work very short-term, it is not the right way to do it for longterm benefit. The only way I can imagine doing this kind of job would be to temporarily patch a leak during a serious storm -- the equivalent of temporarily fixing a flat tire with one of those spray cans that will reinflate the tire until you are in a more convenient location.
Steven L. Smith
Bellingham WA Home Inspections
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Thanks for the reminder of how flashing should be installed, Steven.
Brian,
Glad to be of help.
Steve, you need this guy to come to the rescue----in a flash!
Homeowners love to use the bucket of tar and smeer that stuff all over.... the idea being the more they apply the better the job. ........ NOT!!
Sean Allen
Sean,
You are absolutely correct. The more tar you can buy, the better off you are is the general theory.
It looks like you don't like either of the ones in the photos. Do you have a photo of one that you do like?
Ardell,
This one is installed correctly. No tar, the shingles neatly shedding the water off it at the top and down around the sides.
Good post Steve. And Ardell, it isn't about liking or not liking; it is about what actually works to keep water out.