Tarzana Property Management
Can satellite dishes cause roof leaks?
By The Editors of RHJ
One was with a flat roof. It happened to be a polyurethane foam roof that we had installed. I received a service call about five years after we installed it. The lady was upset because she said the ceiling in her bedroom had collapsed.
I know people are prone to exaggerate, so I’ve learned not to accept necessarily what they say, but to go and check it. I agreed to look at the roof, and because our people were all busy I was the one who went there to check it. Sure enough, she was correct. It’s the only time I have ever seen this – her ceiling in the bedroom literally had collapsed. She had sheetrock on the bed, insulation was down, it was a mess. I looked at that and thought, “Boy, do I have a problem. We’ve done something wrong.”
I went up on the roof to check and noted there were three holes right in front of a scupper. A scupper is a hole through a parapet wall through which water moves to drain off a roof. Obviously, those holes had been drilled there and left there. Then, I looked at the wall above. There was a new satellite dish fastened to the wall. I took a couple of photos, went down and asked the homeowner, “When did you have the satellite dish people here?”
“Oh, they were just here last week. I just got new service.” And I said, “Well, let me show you a couple photos.” I showed her a photo of the satellite dish, then I showed her a photo which included the satellite dish and the holes in the roof right below it. I told her that, “Your satellite dish people first installed the dish on your flat roof right in front of a scupper. They realized they didn’t have good reception, so they moved it up onto the parapet two feet away and installed it there. They didn’t bother to seal the holes. You need to call the satellite dish people and have them come replace your ceiling.” Never heard anything more from her about that.
Another issue was with a shingle roof. Same issue. Got a call, “We have water leaking in.” They didn’t claim that the ceiling was collapsed. I checked. It wasn’t, but there was water damage requiring sheetrock repair and paint. Same issue. Go up on the roof, there’s a nice new satellite dish up on the roof. The installer hadn’t bothered to caulk at the holes before screwing the receiver base to the roof. With heavy rain, water leaked in.
Satellite dishes are a problem. The ideal way to install a satellite dish is not to have it on your roof. It should be fastened to the wall or to the fascia board, so you have no penetrations in the roof. So good roof preventive maintenance involves correct satellite dish installation.
From: http://rentalhousingjournal.com
Carnahan Property Management Services Woodland Hills,West Hills,Bell Canyon, Hidden Hills, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Reseda, Topanga, Encino, Northridge, Van Nuys, North Hills,Chatsworth, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, North Hollywood, West Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, Simi Valley, WestLake Village, Agoura, Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Burbank. Call us at (818) 884-1500.
