Nail pops can be an indicator that something is wrong with your roof and should be addressed immediately to prevent leaks and costly repairs later.
Every day and night, your roof and sheathing experience temperature fluctuations that cause expansion and contraction – causing its nails to move up or out of place over time.
Repairing Nail Pops
Nail pops are nails that protrude or loosen from sheathing or shingles and require immediate attention, as they could potentially lead to leakage and interior damage that will require costly repair costs. If left unaddressed, these nail pops could result in costly leakage repairs as well as interior damages which require costly restoration efforts.
Roof nail pops may result from temperature fluctuations, poor installation techniques or moisture in the sheathing material – all factors which affect roof expansion and contraction each day and push or loosen nails that secure roof shingles. The wood sheathing contracts and expands throughout each day as its moisture evaporates or absorbs into it – this causes constant movement that loosens or pops the nail that holds down shingles in place.
Damaged sheathing cannot hold nails in place properly, which is often seen on older roofs or those lacking adequate attic ventilation. Nail pops may also occur if roofing contractors used too few nails when installing the roof; leaving less material holding down loose or lifted shingles. To make sure your roof remains in top shape, schedule a professional roof inspection so they can identify issues and determine the most effective course of action for your home.
Preventing Nail Pops
Nail pops may seem harmless enough, but left unattended they can open small holes in your roof that allow moisture penetration, potentially damaging wood structures underneath, staining ceilings, leading to mold growth, and shortening the lifespan of your roof.
Assuming you use quality roofing materials and execute proper installation techniques, as well as conducting regular roof inspections to identify loose or protruding nails, it should be possible to prevent nail pops.
Additionally, ensure your roof is adequately ventilated – this will enable its sheathing to adapt with temperature changes without loosening or popping nails loose. Furthermore, use roofing nails with ring shanks which offer twice as much withdrawal resistance than smooth-shank nails of equal diameter.
Identifying Nail Pops
Nail pops are circles of protrusions formed from protruding nails that protrude through your ceiling drywall and look similar to blisters in walls, except they cause damage instead of leaking into your house. While nail pops may not always be serious issues, they do signal something is amiss on your roof.
Roof contractors use nails to secure shingles to wood roof decking during installation of shingles, such as ring shank nails with gripping rings around their shaft to grab onto wood fibers and prevent nail pops over time. Unfortunately, nail pops sometimes occur for various reasons and require further attention from roofing professionals.
Nail pops can occur due to earthquakes or strong winds jarring the roof structure loose, or when wood expands due to humidity changes that cause humidity fluctuations and temperature swings, leading to shrinkage that causes nails to pull free. Therefore, regular roof inspection and repair is vital to prevent nail pops.
Getting Rid of Nail Pops
Roof nail pops can be more than an irritation; they can lead to leaky roofs and structural damage that require urgent action to correct. That is why it is critical that nail pops are addressed immediately.
Nail pops occur when the nails that hold roofing shingles to roof decking become loose for whatever reason, leading to their release and eventually leading to nail pops. This issue may occur for multiple reasons.
Moisture entering wood sheathing is typically responsible for this phenomenon. Over time, this causes swelling of the sheathing which pushes nails upward, eventually resulting in visible roof nail pops and lifted asphalt shingles.
Others include sheathing rot, which can lead to roof leaks. Finally, nail shank wear-down or rust off can cause smoothed nails to be pushed upward by changes in pressure and cause visible nail pops along with holes in roof sheathing where rainwater enters your house – for this reason we suggest hiring an experienced roofing contractor in order to repair leaks caused by nail pops.