Nice and neat looking, eh?
I often get calls for these leaks. I thought I would make a pictorial page of how roof leaks are built into the home and how to fix them.
Here are pictures of what the roof often looks like when most roofers
finish a dead-end valley.
Nice and neat looking, eh?
It looks Ok, as the pictures show, but was leaking when there was dew on the roof. I
opened the valley corner up
and as you can see, all the metal, I&W shield, and shingles stopped dead on the
corner, behind the corner boards. This seems to be typical where a section of
house extends up through a roof. Function was sacrificed for neat.
Further digging disclosed that more than 1 roofer had tried to
handle this dead-end valley.
The owner verified 3 roofers had been here. There were two layers of Ice
and Storm Shield, 3 layers of metal, and other stuff in there, including Peel
and Seal.
I tore everything out of there and had to chisel the
shingles from the underlay. I had to go down the wall a ways to get clean
shingles, and better step flashing in there.
Since this was in hurricane country, I added a dab of caulk where it wouldn't
show, but where it would keep wind blown rain out. When I got to the corner, I
found that the shingle exposure didn't hit where I wanted it. To just stop
flashing and put the last shingle in would have left about an inch of the upper
half of the shingle showing. That part isn't supposed to be exposed to the
weather.
Rain caught me many times while trying to close the corner, so I didn't get many
picks of the exact install. I did add an exposed step flashing to hide that inch
of shingle. Doesn't look too tidy, does it.
( I just re-installed the screws that were there originally.) I took valley
tongs and bent the valley to fit the corner. I stepped the shingles in up that
wall too. My valley metal protruded about 8" past the corner, and behind the
corner boards too.
Fits into the corner and around it too. No cut metal, just simple bends.
I then re-installed the downspout, and turned it down the roof. As you can see
in the picture, the rain caught me again! See how the water is carried past the
corner, and past the downspout. These corners, and all other corners must be
'open' to carry water. Closing the valley end to make it neat, and hinder the
water is counter productive. You can see here how the shingle exposure just
'broke' wrong for the corner. That's why metal was added at the valley end. Now,
you can see why valleys shouldn't be cut to fit nice and neat, to the detriment
of function.
I thought I would also add these pictures. The original roofer
did not clip his valley tops. Can you see the water trails? 
This picture shows how the tops are supposed to be clipped.
( The cap haven't been finished, so disregard the exposed nail in the cap ).
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Albert's Roofing Repairs | Slate and Window Flashing Co., Rich., Va.
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