Vent pipe boot replacement is a small job that stops a lot of ceiling stains. Every plumbing vent that comes through the roof has a boot around it: a flat flashing plate under the shingles with a rubber collar that hugs the pipe. On most roofs those collars are neoprene or EPDM, and UV cracks them long before the shingles wear out. A cracked collar lets water run down the outside of the pipe and into the ceiling below.
Our crew slides out the old boot, checks the decking around the hole for rot, and installs a new one. On asphalt roofs we often use lead boots, which fold over the top of the pipe and outlast rubber, or silicone collars rated for high UV. Metal flues from furnaces and water heaters get a high-temperature boot and a storm collar, not the plumbing type.
A leak near an interior wall, a bathroom or a kitchen, well away from any chimney, is often a vent boot. On homes in warm states with no masonry chimney at all, vent boots and skylight flashing repair are most of our leak calls.
If the roof is older and one boot has failed, we check every penetration while we are up there. Call (833) 583-1301 to book a boot replacement.
