Roof nail pops can be an urgent situation that must be treated immediately to prevent leakage, damage to insulation and building materials and lead to leakage issues. Left unattended, loose nails could potentially become the source of leakage issues and leakage issues in a structure.
Roof nails feature rings around their shank that grip wood to form a tight seal against leakage, helping prevent nail pops that occur due to changes in temperature or relative humidity. Nail pops often occur when sheathing or rafters swell and contract during hot/cold cycles. Regulating attic space/roof ventilation significantly lowers this risk.
Remove the Shingles
Your roof shingles are held down by nails that penetrate into its sheathing. When these nails pop upward, it can cause serious damage – for instance pushing up an individual shingle, creating holes through it and possibly staining the ceiling with water penetration.
This issue can be due to any number of causes; improper roofing installation being one such factor; nails that lack the required ring shank can increase risk; also temperature and humidity fluctuations can cause sheathing to expand and contract, pushing loose or smooth nails up through.
No matter the cause of a popped nail, immediate action should be taken to address it. Hiring a roofing professional to assess and replace it quickly with another nail can prevent further pops. A new ring-shank nail should then be driven into different sheathing locations before roof sealant is applied in an effort to reseal this area effectively preventing further pops and damage in future. This simple repair provides effective protection from future nail pops or related damage.
Replace the Nails
Roof nail pops occur when nails used to secure shingles become loose and begin “backing up,” potentially leading to water penetration into the home and interior damage. Securing your shingles properly will stop this from happening and ensure that it can protect its structure for many years ahead.
Nail Pops may result from improper roofing installation, environmental conditions or both. Most often the nails responsible are either too short or did not penetrate wood sheathing correctly – long ring shank nails with small grooves around their shank can help prevent nail pops.
Poor attic ventilation may also contribute to nail pops. Hot and humid air can cause sheathing swelling; when this dries and contracts again, nails may work loose and pop upward through shingles and sheathing.
Apply a Waterproof Sealant
Nails that hold your roof shingles down may become loose due to improper installation or environmental conditions such as moisture seepage into the sheathing wood and seeping through can cause swelling over time, prompting it to push upward on nails over time and pop off of their bases over time. This often happens on older homes or newer roofs with inadequate ventilation systems for sheathing wood panels.
Nail pops can occur when nails are too short to properly secure shingles to the sheathing, typically as a result of poor construction methods or using ringshank nails with grooved ends that provide double withdrawal resistance compared to smooth shank nails.
If a popped nail goes unrepaired, wind driven rain will gain access to its underlayer, potentially resulting in further roof system damage or water leakage into your home. While DIY roof repairs might seem appealing at first, they can cause additional harm while invalidating warranties.
Re-Hammer the Nails
Roof nail pops can be an unattractive sight in your home and also an indicator of more serious problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible in order to avoid costly leaks or repairs down the line. Nail pops should therefore be addressed quickly in order to prevent leakage issues that require expensive leak repairs later.
Roof nail pops are often caused by improper installation. Nails must be driven straight into a shingle and secured with flat nails heads to form an effective seal that keeps water out; any deviation could leave gaps that allow water to enter; improper seals also allow back out from expansion/contraction of shingles and cause them to protrude through, leading to roof nail pops that come bursting through later.
Nail pops can also result from using the wrong type of nails. Experienced roofing contractors often prefer long ring shank nails which penetrate sheathing more reliably due to expansion and contraction, while short nails can more likely back out due to expansion and contraction than their counterparts, potentially dislodging shingles in their entirety.