Hole in asphalt shingle roof

[pinetree10]

Looking for ideas on how to repair some minor damage to a garage roof -

A branch fell from a very tall pine tree and put a 2-3" hole through the asphalt shingle, through the membrane underneath it, and through the sheet of OSB underneath it all. It stopped short of going all the way into the garage and just sort of stuck there straight up like an arrow. The OSB splintered inside so the damage is visible inside, although only if I point it out to someone who isn't looking for it. I was able to push the bulging pieces back in place but obviously I have to fix the damage. If only it had struck above a supporting member, but no such luck. It was almost midway between the two. I put a piece of aluminum flashing under the shingle as a temporary measure.

If I remember correctly, the membrane used by the builder was some sort of plastic material and not traditional tar paper when the garage was built two years ago. Anyone out there have an idea of how I can repair this properly without tearing half the roof off? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[boomer1025]

I'd glue the flashing and the damaged shingle down with some Black Jack cement and wait till the weather gets warmer then replace the shingle and patch the OSBon the inside.

 

[dave1949]

Maybe the membrane was something like Grace Ice & Water Shield. If so, I think you could put a small patch of that over the hole area and not see much bump under the shingles. The builder might be able to give you a piece off of a roll.

Other than that, ask a roofer?

 

[Duwop]

I am a roofer, the suggestions made sound good. Another idea would be to get a flat bar and work up the shingle so that you could slide a small piece of metal under to cover the hole, the slide a piece of felt paper over the metal, then work plenty of black jack between the shingle and felt and imbed shingle solidly into roof cement. If the shingle has a hole and you are concerned about it, work the entire shingle out and install new shingle but cut about 1 inch off the top of shingle to make it easier to slip up under the course or row above.. This repair can be accomplished without blackjack roof cement if you replace the entire shingle and use the piece of metal and felt paper and shingle cut as described.

 

[pinetree10]

I already slid flashing under the damaged shingle. I was planning on removing the damaged shingle once the snow melts and we're back into warmer temperatures because I can't leave it up there with a hole in it. I have a bundle of shingles left over from the roof. I intend to use the piece of flashing to cover the hole permanently but I wasn't sure how to manage the hole in the membrane. I'll follow your advice with the felt paper over the flashing.

Is there a difference between the types of roofing cement you get at the big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot and what professional roofers use? You mentioned Black Jack and I see that's available at Lowes so I'll pick up a tube. Thanks for the suggestions.

The ironic part of this is I hired a tree company to cut this huge pine tree down because it was leaning toward my new garage and the branch snapped and fell while they were taking other branches off. They offered to replace the shingle in the spring but I think I'll do it instead. They're tree guys, not roofers. So much for preventing damage but I guess I'll take a fallen branch over a fallen tree.

 

[Duwop]

If I remember correctly the big box products carry two kinds of cement don't get the neoprene cement you need the asphalt cement. Sometimes it's easier to replace the shingles when it's colder outside because they pop loose easier than when warm as they have asphalt strips on them to prevent lifting in winds, and when it's warmer they can stick and and tear instead of coming loose.

 

[john_bud]

I'd warm the tube o goo in HOT water and use it quick. I can only imagine how hard it would be to push that stuff cold. It also won't flow, fill or stick well cold.

 

[EddieWalker]

First I would remove the damaged OSB. Take off how ever many shingles you need to in order to cut out all the bad OSB. Then I would sister on some pieces of lumber to the sides of your rafters, or run them between your rafters, depending on the size and shape of the new piece of OSB you have to install. You have to have something solid to nail to.

Then I would lift up the edges of the shingles around the hole enough to slide some 30 pound felt paper under them. Mostly concerned about the top and side shingles. Cut the paper to fit. Then I would run a very thick bead of roofing sealant along the edge of where the new tar paper is going and apply the paper.

Read the labels and be sure to only get something designated for roofs. Blackjack is a good brand, I think Henry makes better stuff, but that's more for flashing then gluing tar paper down. Whatever you use, don't be cheap and only use a little. Where I see failure is when very little is used.

Once the paper is down, install the new shingles from the bottom up. For the top row, be sure to cut the shingle to fit and use more sealant.

Some of your nails will have to go through the top of the shingles, so be sure to cover them up with sealant too.

Eddie

 

[DFB]

Sounds like it was a synthetic underlayment such as Rhino or Tigerpaw which I've used before (nice stuff) used but not an adhesive backed ice and water shield.

I would definitely want to reseal the membrane with a piece of ice and water shield though.

then flash, shingle etc...

Glue and screw a small piece of osb to reinforce the break on the inside if you like.

I don't really see the need of making a major project out it unless the insurance is paying.

I wonder if it would have broke through if it was plywood sheating? :confused3:

 

[leveled]

Some of the newer shingles are a pain to fix since they are so sticky (Certainteed or OC) I use GAF. I would remove the nails on the row above and the damaged one and slide out the shingle. Then patch with ice sheild then aluminum if its only a 2 or 3" hole. You could always use wood bondo on the inside, this would be harder than the OSB. When replacing the shingle re-nail and put a dime sized portion of TAR in 4 spots on each disturbed shingle.

 

[radioman]

eddie made a good suggestion and it almost exactly what I would do - but everytime I have a plan , sometimes it changes on the fly once you get up there and start working on it - you never know about hidden surprises. I'm glad you put metal up there, but yeah it should be under the shingles tabs just above the damages and caulk tar down the sides just to keep water creep to the hole and leave the bottom open so it can drain out for what ever water does creep in.

 

[jel1988]

I'm a roofer too, take Duwop's advice. We use the same method to fix small holes.

 

[crazyal]

If all the pieces of OSB are there and you were able to push it back into place then in the spring I would just use wood glue to repair the OSB. As for the membrane, I would use something like Grace Ice and water shield. It's sticky on one side and will seal to the membrane. Just remove several shingles around the hole so you can put a nice large piece down. I would give the glue time to dry before nailing new shingles down.

 

[tractchores]

If you're cheap you can also just replace the shingle(s) that are damaged. I've done this on mine a few times with no leaks. A couple inch hole does not effect the structure at all and unless you're protecting finished area just fixing the shingle and then doing a bigger fix whenever you re-roof gets the job done.... I keep an eye on the several holes I have done this with in mine and haven't had one leak, if I did I'd do a more serious repair job.

 

[Duwop]

Thanks for your vote of confidence Jeff I was a professional roofer for 25 years before retiring. I love Roofing

 

[pinetree10]

First I would remove the damaged OSB. Take off how ever many shingles you need to in order to cut out all the bad OSB. Then I would sister on some pieces of lumber to the sides of your rafters, or run them between your rafters, depending on the size and shape of the new piece of OSB you have to install. You have to have something solid to nail to.

Then I would lift up the edges of the shingles around the hole enough to slide some 30 pound felt paper under them. Mostly concerned about the top and side shingles. Cut the paper to fit. Then I would run a very thick bead of roofing sealant along the edge of where the new tar paper is going and apply the paper.

Read the labels and be sure to only get something designated for roofs. Blackjack is a good brand, I think Henry makes better stuff, but that's more for flashing then gluing tar paper down. Whatever you use, don't be cheap and only use a little. Where I see failure is when very little is used.

Once the paper is down, install the new shingles from the bottom up. For the top row, be sure to cut the shingle to fit and use more sealant.

Some of your nails will have to go through the top of the shingles, so be sure to cover them up with sealant too.

Eddie

Thanks, Eddie. I've debated in my head how to handle the OSB because the damage is relatively minor (if you can call a hole in the roof minor) in that it splintered/bulged on the inside but all the pieces stayed intact. I could easily get away with just flashing over the hole and leave the damaged wood in place and the only reason I consider that is because I dread the thought of taking even more shingles off and then removing more of the membrane in order to cut an area of the wood out to replace it. Your description is exactly what I was looking for with regard to how to handle the wood. Being more of an electrician than a roofer, I have no judgement for how this kind of repair is supposed to play out.

DFB is right to ask the question about plywood. I also wondered if the damage would be as bad if it wasn't OSB but to be fair the branch struck exactly where the two sheets meet and all the damage was limited to just the one edge of one sheet so it literally hit right on the weakest part of the sheet and at least 8-10 inches from the rafter so there was no integrity to take the blow. I debated with the builder (who is a friend of mine) about the benefits of OSB versus plywood and he swore by the OSB. Last thing I want to do here is start that debate up again because I'm sure you guys have opinions on that as well. DFB also hit the nail on the head mentioning Rhino because that's what the membrane is. I couldn't recall the name but once I saw it I remembered it. I'll tackle this when it's still cold enough to separate the shingles but warm enough to get everything to stick like it should.

Sorry to make such a big deal out of such a small issue but this garage is only 1 1/2 years old and it was a huge accomplishment for me to build it so I take any damage to it very personally.

 

[pinetree10]

Sounds like it was a synthetic underlayment such as Rhino or Tigerpaw which I've used before (nice stuff) used but not an adhesive backed ice and water shield.

I would definitely want to reseal the membrane with a piece of ice and water shield though.

then flash, shingle etc...

Glue and screw a small piece of osb to reinforce the break on the inside if you like.

I don't really see the need of making a major project out it unless the insurance is paying.

I wonder if it would have broke through if it was plywood sheating? :confused3:

You're right, it was Rhino. I remember seeing that name when I helped the builder move the shingle bundles around and I had never seen that kind of membrane on a roof before.

See my comments above about the OSB/plywood debate. I'm trying not to go there for fear of starting a war.

Yeah, the insurance. My deductible is $1500 so this won't be covered. I'm still negotiating with the tree company to give me a break on the tree job to make up for the damage to the roof.

I'm pretty picky about this stuff so I'll be sure it's done right. You guys have been very helpful and I appreciate all the advice.

 

[EddieWalker]

The reason I would replace the damaged OSB is because you will never get a nail to hold if you don't. As for comparing OSB to plywood, I prefer OSB, but would think that plywood might have been stronger at resisting impact. Since that's not what a the sheeting on the roof is designed to do, it then becomes a question of using half inch plywood or 3/4. Sheeting is supposed to hold the nail in place. I feel OSB does a better job at this then plywood. In every attic that I've been in, and as a remodeler, I'm in them all the time, plywood splinters and breaks up from the nail. Sometimes it's minor, but in the overall roof, it's significant. Most places have two plys that hold with the third blown away with less then a quarter of an inch of wood holding the nail in place. Construction grade half inch plywood has three layers. That's what would be used instead of OSB. If you want to compare higher end plywood, the cost also has to be a factor. How much do you have to pay for plywood to get the same performance out of a $8 sheet of OSB?

Eddie