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Bob Willis · Guest

I Inspected a roof the other day (shingles less than a year old)that had a rust color stain that appeared to be running down the shingles from the heater (oil) chimney which was made from a galvanized stack and had aluminum flashing. No sign of rust anywhere. The owner thought it was from the fuel oil. Anyone come across this before?...Bob
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Bob Wills - MAB Chairperson
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com

Erby · Guest

I'd bet it is some kind of galvanic action or corrosion of some sort. If it was residue from the fuel settling on the roof, they would have to have the wind blowing from the same direction all the time and the flue top to close to the roof to allow the debris to disperse into the atmosphere.
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Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections
Georgetown, Kentucky
www.b4uclose.com

Joe Myers · Guest

I would be willing to bet you were seeing new work and an old stain from the previous chimney. I have never seen a rust colored stain from fuel oil. I would be willing to bet they replaced the chimney stack when they replaced the shingle.

Let me know what you find.
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Joe Myers
A & N Inspections, Inc.
http://anii.biz

Bob Willis · Guest

I too believe that the stack was replaced after the reroof. It definitely was not coming from anything on the current roof. It didn't affect the roof any other than being unsightly.
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Bob Wills - MAB Chairperson
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com

Joe Myers · Guest

I know Dan from Peach is an ex roofer. How about it Dan, can you help us out? Where do you think the stain is coming from?
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Joe Myers
A & N Inspections, Inc.
http://anii.biz

Bob Willis · Guest

Actually, this roof had a brand new stainless stack installed so I figured the stain came fron the old stack before it was replaced, However the owner insisted the stack and roof were replaced at the same time. He claimed the stain was from the low grade of fuel oil he was using or something. (Yeah, O.K.).
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Bob Wills - MAB Chairperson
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com

Dan K · Guest

Joe, The flue pipe inspection comments came from me. I Think it is probable that the stains are older and came form an old flue pipe. I just wanted to point out that it is imprtant to rule out any problems with the flue pipe itself. And yes I do blieve that a person could mistake a ceosote stain for a rust stain, and that could be a big mistake. And your welcome for the leson.

Russ Meyers · Guest

Long shot - but anything is possible! Probably would have had to been there to see it, but did any of the tradesmen involved in the roofing or flue installation use red chalk to mark their cuts or lines. Were there any brighter red areas under protected edges not subject to weathering.

I can show you a 4 year old shake roof where the carpenters did a cut out for a masonry chimney using a red chalk line and left red chalk dust residue on the nearby shakes that is still there today.

Blue chalk fades to white and white seems to fade out but the red will hang around for years!

Tip of the day from an old framing carpenter - Don't use red chalk!

If the flue was installed after the roofers had finished, I could easily envision the sheet metal men using whatever nails they had on the truck in support of Nick's theory of steel nails used on the flashings.

Also study the shape and pattern of the stain in relation to how water flows around the area for clues. If low grade tars or improper sealants were used around the flashings, they can sometimes "bleed out" onto adjacent surfaces.

When it's not OBVIOUS then it become INTERESTING!!!
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Russ Meyers