Roof Flashing Repair in Duluth, GA

If a leak keeps coming back after caulking — once, twice, three times at the same junction — the problem is not the caulk. It's the flashing underneath. Caulk is a sealant. Flashing is a mechanical system. In Georgia's climate, where winter lows in the low 20s alternate with summer highs above 100°F, metal flashing expands and contracts through thousands of thermal cycles. Sealant applied over the surface of a failed flashing system can't handle that movement. It cracks. Water finds the same gap. The leak returns.

Georgia code requires sheet metal flashing at least 15 inches wide at all chimneys, walls, and roof intersections. A significant number of homes built in the '90s and early 2000s across the Duluth area — particularly in the larger subdivisions east of Buford Highway — were installed below that standard. We've diagnosed flashing-related leaks across both Duluth zip codes on chimneys caulked four times, dormer transitions with three different sealant products layered over the same failed junction, and porch-to-wall tie-ins where the original builder used a single bent piece of aluminum instead of a code-compliant step-and-counter system.

A Real Job: Four-Year Recurring Leak at a Bump-Out Addition — 30096

A split-level near Satellite Boulevard, built in 1993, with a bump-out addition from 2004. Water had appeared inside the wall at the addition junction intermittently for four years. Three separate caulk repairs by two contractors. Each held for one season.

When we pulled back the shingles: a single continuous piece of bent aluminum with roofing cement as the only adhesion. No step flashing. No counter flashing. The three caulk layers had created a dam trapping water against the wall sheathing.

Removed everything. Installed individual step flashing woven with each shingle course. Cut channels into the siding for counter flashing that laps over each step piece. Ice-and-water shield at the base for secondary protection.

Two full years — zero recurrence. Three failed caulk repairs: ~$600. One code-compliant flashing install: under $800 and permanent.

For full repair services, see our roof repair page. Storm-related flashing damage? Our storm restoration process handles insurance.

Leak that keeps coming back? Call (678) 766-9646 — we'll find the real source.