: Terry,

: First of all, great board - lots of good info.

: My problem - we had some remodeling done on our kitchen where the contractor had to put in a new vent pipe. He installed an all-in-one plastic (or rubber) vent sleeve/flashing on the roof. The problem is, we have a flat roof (tar and gravel) and the vent flashing was never fully sealed, so water came in and caused damage to the kitchen ceiling. Upon closer inspection of the flashing, I actually could find gaps between the flashing and the roof which I have sealed now with roofing tar - had too, more rain forecast. I think that a sheet of new roofing material should have been placed _over_ the flashing to create a better seal - all of the other vent flashings on our roof are covered with roofing material.

: The contractor says that the problem is my flat roof and I need a new roof (it's only 3.5 years old!).

Bill,
Most roofers use LEAD FLASHINGS on flat roofs.
The rubber flashings work fine with shingle or tabbed roofs, but not for flat. Have a roofer replace the flashing. Terry