Nail pops occur when the nails that secure your shingles begin to back out of their roof sheathing and start pulling out, creating holes in your shingle that allow wind-driven rain into your home.
Nail pops can result from improper installation, environmental conditions or both, or both combined. While it might be tempting to force back down these nails by hammering, this won’t solve the issue and could void your roof warranty.
Identifying the Problem
Nail pops aren’t necessarily the most serious roof issue, but they should still be taken seriously. These areas create ideal locations for rainwater seepage, leading to ceiling stains and mold growth if left alone for too long. Over time they could even weaken sheathing, potentially necessitating roof replacement altogether.
At its core, nail pops should never be treated as DIY projects. While YouTube and hammers might seem tempting as solutions for nail pops, driving them back in place could actually make matters worse and potentially nullify any roof warranties in place. Instead, contact a professional roofing service for inspection and repairs immediately.
Roof nail pops can often be traced back to improper installation and environmental conditions, including too-short nails that don’t properly anchor shingles to roof sheathing, fluctuating temperature/humidity levels causing wood swelling that pushes them upwards, as well as fluctuations in temperature/humidity leading to swelling, which in turn pushes nails up from underneath the roofing material.
Removing the Damaged Shingles
Nail pops are caused by expansion and contraction of roof sheathing, or by nails used during installation being too short and failing to correctly anchor the shingle. They may also occur if surrounding shingles have become damaged or degraded, making any raised shingles even more likely to allow water penetration underneath and damage interior ceilings or sheathing. It’s essential that any raised shingles be addressed quickly; otherwise they risk becoming water penetration points that lead to water penetration beneath shingles compromising interior ceilings or sheathing beneath.
Once you have identified an affected shingle, climb onto your roof and use a flat pry bar to work under it and break apart its adhesive seal allowing it to be pulled free from its adhesive bonding and removed by pulling.
Removing a shingle completely is essential; otherwise, caulking will simply seal off the hole again over time and lead to further problems. Furthermore, unauthorised repairs could void your roof warranty.
Replacing the Damaged Shingles
Roof nail pops (commonly referred to as “backed-out nails”) occur when roofing nails used to secure shingles are forced back out of their holes in the roof sheathing, due to wood expanding and contracting in response to changing temperature and humidity levels.
Skilled roofing contractors use long, ring shank nails with rings that grip the sheathing to securely place each shingle onto a roof decking surface. These nails must also be driven flush so as to prevent leakage through nail holes.
DIY repairs of roof nail pops may cause additional damage to both the roof and home interior, potentially nullifying any warranties on it. Professional roofers should be hired if nail pops persist for extended or recurring periods as this ensures proper repair work and safe working conditions on the roof; properly repaired roofs can prevent costly leaks as well as other structural problems from developing over time.
Repairing the Damaged Shingles
As with any roof repair job, there are several approaches for handling nail pops. A quick and inexpensive fix would be to hammer the existing nail back into its hole; while this approach works temporarily, it could potentially cause additional damage to roof sheathing or adjacent shingles over time.
Nail pops can pose serious danger to roofs by forcing up the shingle, allowing rainwater to seep in through gaps under it, which may lead to interior damage or mold growth if left exposed for extended periods of time. This could result in costly interior repair costs as well as mold growth in interior spaces.
Instead, remove and replace the shingle directly above the nail with new one. Use a flat pry bar to break through glue seal beneath the shingle before lifting and extracting nail. Next use 1/2 tablespoon asphalt roofing cement to fill in hole left by back-out nail. Be sure to spread evenly as not too much of surrounding shingles is affected.