What are the signs of a leaking roof?
Short answer. The clearest signs are water stains or rings on ceilings, peeling or bubbling paint near the tops of walls, drips or damp spots after rain, and a musty smell in upstairs rooms or closets. In the attic, look for darkened or wet decking, damp insulation and rusty nails; outside, look for missing shingles, cracked pipe boots, loose flashing and overflowing gutters.
Inside the living space
- Yellow-brown stains or rings on ceilings.
- Paint bubbling, peeling or cracking near the ceiling, especially on exterior walls.
- Drywall tape seams loosening or sagging.
- Water dripping from a light fixture or ceiling fan.
- Musty smells in upstairs rooms, closets or bonus rooms.
- Mold spots on ceilings or in closet corners.
- Swollen trim or stains above window heads.
In the attic
- Dark water trails on rafters or decking.
- Matted, damp or compressed insulation.
- Rust on nail tips or metal straps in one area.
- Daylight through the decking.
- Mildew on the underside of the decking.
Outside
- Missing, creased or curled shingles.
- Cracked rubber collars on pipe boots.
- Flashing pulled away from a chimney or wall.
- Granules collecting in gutters or at downspouts.
- Stained or rotted fascia and soffit, often from gutter overflow.
- One spot with moss or dark staining that never dries.
Signs that are easy to misread
Rusty nail tips all across the attic and frost on winter mornings usually mean condensation from poor ventilation. Summer drips near the attic air handler usually mean the HVAC condensate line. Neither is a roof leak, though both need fixing. See roof ventilation basics and common leak causes.