What Is Roof Flashing?
Flashing is thin metal (galvanized steel, aluminum, or copper) installed wherever water must be redirected: roof-to-wall joints, chimneys, valleys, skylights, and pipe penetrations. Step flashing is installed piece-by-piece with each shingle course, overlapping the course below; counter flashing embeds in masonry and covers the step flashing above it. Most roof leaks originate at flashing details rather than in the shingle field, which is why chimneys, valleys, and pipe boots are the first places an inspector or insurance adjuster looks. Neoprene pipe-boot gaskets commonly fail in 10-15 years under Texas UV - often long before the shingles - and reusing old flashing during a replacement is a classic corner-cutting defect. Flashing condition frequently decides whether storm damage is repairable or whether a leak is excluded as wear-and-tear on an insurance claim.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
What Roof Flashing Can Lead To
Most roof leaks start at flashing - the joints where the roof meets a wall, chimney, or pipe - not in the open field of shingles, so a leak hunt starts at the nearest penetration uphill of the stain.
Related To Roof Flashing
Apron flashing at the downhill face of a chimney or dormer laps OVER the shingles below it, while flashing above laps under - reverse the lap and the roof is built to leak on day one.
Skylights leak at their flashing kit, rarely through the glass - and reusing an old skylight's flashing on a new roof pairs a 30-year surface with the one part already proven to be at end of life.
In the layered roof system, flashing is the exception layer - it handles every place the field layers get interrupted by a wall, chimney, or pipe, which is why flashing quality predicts leak history better than shingle brand does.
Questions about Roof Flashing?
Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.