Hello!
New to internachi and im working on the roof course.
I just did the inspection and writing assignment and a friend let me use his roof to complete it.
When i was up in the roof, i noticed a TON of exposed nails on his roof but they were covered with silicone.
I checked them and they seemed pretty sealed up.
Is this acceptable? Im curious to know if this is acceptable.
Thanks!
Welcome to the forum, Mario.
Shingles are fastened to the roof using nails. Those nails are covered by the next shingle. Those nails are covered by the next shingle. So on and so forth. The last shingle in a section will not be covered so the nails will need to be sealed, as seen in your pictures.
4 Likes
what Bert said , it is common to find exposed nails at the last installed cap shingle…
3 Likes
Also, keep in mind areas of the roof that high see very little water compared to lower portions. I say this jokingly as an oversimplification but how excited I get about roof problems increases as I work my way down the roof where more water drains.
Back in Oregon I used to see a lot of shake roofs and I’d regularly find missing ridge shakes or woodpecker holes where you could see right into the attic. The funny thing is the leakage inside was minimal and usually contained to just a bit of water-damaged insulation. Lower down the roof in a valley? A pinhole could allow loads of water in because the valley collects all the water coming from the upper surfaces. The pics in the OP? Probably wouldn’t be anything I report on.
5 Likes
Very common in my area at certain locations on the ridge. I also see exposed nail heads at the lower edge of attic “turtle” vents and sometimes at headwall flashings. In my opinion, all exposed nailheads should be covered with tar or silicone caulk.
4 Likes
In a word, YES. Provided of course that the sealant used was rated for such applications. Not all sealants or caulks are the same…
4 Likes
It doesn’t hurt to draw a little maintenance attention to the area.
“Exposed nails were observed around the ridge cap and the upper area of the roof. The nails have been sealed with a mastic material. It should be noted that mastic has a finite life and will eventually start to deteriorate and break down quicker than the life of asphalt shingles. It is recommended to periodically have the exposed nails reviewed and mastic reapplied.”
2 Likes
In my area, mastic is not a common term for caulk/silicone or anything out of a tube. 
3 Likes
Thank you everyone for your feedback!
Its greatly appreciated!
1 Like