I know this isn't fun.

If you want to do your own diagnostics, here is how I would
proceed. Wait until everything is basically dry. Do not cover up
your view of the bottom of the roof. Use a garden hose and rig up
some way to control where it is directing water. Start below your
apparent leak. Allow water to run for 30 minutes at each set. Do
not force water up under the shingles, let it flood downward just
as rain water would. Gradually move the water hose up hill.
Monitor the ceiling you have open. When the roof begins to leak
you know exactly what is allowing the water in.

I do not recognize your description of a purple plastic strip.
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Donna" wrote in message
news:3Qjgg.663$LN1.636@trndny01...
The briefest version of the problem is this: We've had damp
wallboard in the bathroom (part of the master bedroom addition)
since we bought the house two years ago. The guy we bought the
house from was a builder of some sort (not a good sort,
evidently) and put the addition on himself, the summer we bought
the house. Repair guy 1 said the dampness was from an ice dam,
he replaced the wallboard. It got wet again. Roofer two said
that it was either seepage from the fan vent (which he repaired)
or water coming from the old roof section on the second floor,
running under the roof of the addition. So we put on another
roof over the second floor - again, a reasonable suggestion,
because that roof was getting really old. He also replaced the
wallboard. It took a few more months to get damp, but it got
wet again. We called Roofer 2 back, and he suggested we
re-flash the addition, since we've had other problems with
leaking around the addition's flashing. So we did that. The
wallboard not only didn't dry out, it completely fell in.
(That was the short version. The long version is the same, but
with a lot of swearing.)

Ok, so it's been raining for about three days. My husband and I
pulled down all of the wallboard in the bathroom, pulled out the
insulation, and now we're looking directly at the underside of
the 1.5 year old roof. I'm seeing wet wood (the flat sheets of
roofing wood are wet - the stuff that looks like particleboard,
but isn't), lots of water dripping through nail holes, and
something that looks like a purple plastic 6 inch by 24 inch
thing, nailed to the underside of the roof. Water is dripping
out of that, too.

What the hell am I looking at? What is the plastic thing? Why
is it there? Why is water coming through nail holes, if the
wood has new asphalt shingles and new flashing?

Advice, please? We've already spent a fortune not repairing
this problem. Before I call another roofer, I want to be able to
be sure that this is the LAST time I'll be replacing the damned
wallboard.

Thanks.

Donna