Most homeowners don't pay much attention to their roof until rain or melt\ue000 ing snow starts to leak through it\u2014then it demands immediate action. But if you periodically inspect your roof, you can correct minor problems before they become serious enough to cause

Understanding the structure of your roof (see below) is the first step toward diagnosing possible problems. On the facing page, you'll find direc\ue000 tions for inspecting your roof from the inside and outside. If your inspection in\ue000 dicates that repairs are necessary refer to pages 31-38.

CAUTION; Tile and slate roofs are extremely slippery, and the materials can break easily; metal and plastic roofs also tend to be slippery. If your house has one of these out-of-the- ordinary roofs, it's best to leave inspec\ue000 tion and repairs to a professional roof\ue000 ing contractor.

A roof protects a house from damage by the elements, especially water. Roofs are designed to shed water; the parts comprising a roof combine to di\ue000 rect water off the roof and away from the house.

A typical roof (see illustration at right) begins with a framework of rafters which supports a roof deck (sometimes called a subroof) consisting of sheath\ue000 ing and underlayment. The roof deck, in turn, provides a nailing base for the roof surface material.

deck used can vary depending on the roof surface material, most decks have both sheathing and underlayment.

Sheathing, the material that pro\ue000 vides the nailing base for the roof sur\ue000 face material, ranges from solid ply\ue000 wood to fiberboard to open sheathing (used with wood shakes).

Sandwiched between the sheath\ue000 ing and the surface material is the underlayment, usually roofing felt. A heavy, fibrous black paper saturated with asphalt, roofing felt is thick enough to resist water penetration from outside, yet thin enough to allow moisture from inside the attic to escape.

roof must be able to withstand wind, rain, snow, hail, and sun. A wide variety of roof surface materials is available\u2014 the different types are discussed at right and on pages 31-33.

of which require weatherproofing\u2014 usually provided by the flashing. Made from malleable metal or plastic, flash\ue000 ing appears as the drip edge along the eaves and rakes of a roof, the collars around ventilation and plumbing pipes, the valleys between two roof planes, and the "steps" along a chimney or dormer. Less obvious flashing also pro\ue000 tects other breaks in the roof, such as around some solar panels and sky\ue000 lights. At the roof edges, metal, wood, or vinyl gutters catch water runoff and channel it to the ground via the down\ue000 spouts, which direct water away from the house and into the soil.

Roofing varies widely in size, shape, and material. Traditional sloping roofs are usually covered with overlapping layers of asphalt shingles, wood shin\ue000 gles or shakes, or tile, though you can find such roofs covered with slate, alu\ue000 minum, or galvanized steel.

Flat or low-sloping roofs are most often surfaced with alternating layers of roofing felt and asphalt, with a layer of gravel on top. These are known as built-up, or tar-and-gravel, roofs. Some flat roofs are covered with insulating Polyurethane foam.

It's a good idea to inspect and repair your roof in autumn, before the hard weather hits. Then examine the roof again in spring to assess whatever damage may have occurred during the winter. If you discover problems, make the necessary repairs, following the in\ue000 structions on pages 31-38.

spection in the attic, using a strong flashlight, a thin screwdriver, a knife, and a piece of chalk to examine the ridge beam, rafters, and sheathing. Look for water stains, dark-colored areas of wet wood, moisture, and soft spots that may indicate dry rot. Mark the wet spots with chalk so you can find them easily later on.

If it's necessary to remove fiber\ue000 glass insulation batts to examine the sheathing, be sure to wear loose cloth\ue000 ing, gloves, goggles, and a respirator for protection.

Next, turn off any lights. If you see any holes above you, drive nails or poke wire through them so they'll be visible from the roof's surface. (In a wood shingle roof, small shafts of light coming in at an angle indicate cracks that may swell shut when the shingles are wet.)

examine the roof from outdoors, evalu\ue000 ate the condition of the roof structure, surface material, flashings, eaves, and

To check the roof structure, stand back from the house and look at the lines of the ridge and rafters. The ridge line should be perfectly horizontal, and the line of the rafters, which you can assess by looking along the plane of each roof section, should be straight. If either sags, call in a professional contractor\u2014you may have a structural

Next, inspect the roof's surface. Before climbing up on your roof, be sure to read the safety tips on page 30. If you're at all nervous about going up on the roof, make the inspection from a ladder, using a pair of binoculars. Don't walk on the roof any more than is abso\ue000 lutely necessary; you can easily cause more damage.

Inspect the flashings for rust spots and broken seals along the edges. If you have metal gutters and down\ue000 spouts, look for rust spots and holes.

Then examine the roof surface for signs of wear, loose or broken nails, or curled, broken, or missing shingles.

Use a knife and screwdriver to test the boards along the eaves and rakes. Scrape out any damage caused by dry rot, treat with a wood preservative, and fill the holes with wood putty If the dam\ue000

Roof leaks usually appear during storms, when you can't make per\ue000 manent repairs. But you can take some steps to temporarily divert or halt the flow of water, as shown below.

Generally leaks begin at a roof's most vulnerable spots\u2014at flashings, where shingles are damaged or miss\ue000 ing, in valleys, or at eaves. Often, the

water shows up far from its point of ori\ue000 gin after working its way through layers of roofing materials and down rafters to collect in a puddle on the attic or bed\ue000 room floor.

During a storm, trace the course of water from where it's dripping through the ceiling to where it's coming through the roof. Drive a nail or poke wire

Once the roof is dry enough, check it thoroughly looking for weak spots that indicate a source for the leak. Keep in mind that the point where a nail or wire is poking through may be below the actual source. Make permanent re\ue000 pairs as described on pages 31-33.