At Roof Life of Oregon, we get to visit do-it-yourselfers all the time. We’ve really seen it all in our almost thirty-five years of roofing and roof maintenance in Portland. But the repair mistake we see most is the overuse of mastic. Mastic is a silicone sealant used to cover small holes or cover edges where water might penetrate a roof. It’s kind of like caulking. It’s used all the time by professional roofers for minor issues, but in the hands of bad contractors and DIY-ers, it’s usually used to make cheap roof repairs when much more is needed.
I think a lot of people see an issue on their roof and just say, “Oh, we’ll just mastic it. That will keep the water out.” So they go to Home Depot, get a bucket of black tar, and seal it up. DIY roof repair complete!
I saw a skylight the other day that had at least four tubes of silicone on it and it was still leaking! You’ll quickly find out that mastic doesn’t work in the middle of a storm. It is not a cure-all, and it ages just like your roof.
*And don’t forget: 98% of all roofing accidents happen on the transition from the ladder to the roof. It doesn’t matter how tall your roof is; it’s always a risk to try to get on there and do the repairs yourself. If you don’t really know what you’re doing, please don’t try to scale your roof while carrying supplies!
Leave it to the professionals to make your roofing repairs. At Roof Life of Oregon, we also have workmanship and no-leak warranty. You get to relax and know that Roof Life has your back. That’s definitely more than you can say for a big bucket of mastic.