Roof flashing, leak repair and replacement for brick homes in Malvern

Brick has been Malvern's signature product for a century. Acme Brick bought land in nearby Perla in 1919 and still makes brick in the area, and the city celebrates it every June with Brickfest. Walk any Malvern neighborhood and you will see brick ranches, brick chimneys and brick garage walls almost everywhere.

For a roofer, that matters. Every place a shingle roof butts against brick needs flashing that is set into the mortar joint or covered with counterflashing, and a lot of older work here was done with surface caulk instead. Caulk lasts a few summers, then shrinks and opens. Water runs down the brick, behind the shingles and into the ceiling.

Mortar joints themselves wear out too, and a soft joint above the flashing can let water in even when the metal is fine.

When a Malvern homeowner calls about a ceiling stain near a chimney or wall, we start by finding the actual entry point. Then we repair it so it stays fixed.

• Remove old caulk and failed metal at the brick line
• Install new step flashing under each shingle course along the wall
• Cut a reglet into the mortar joint and set counterflashing so it sheds water
• Build a cricket behind wide chimneys so water does not pond
• Seal and photograph every joint before shingles go back down
• Check the attic afterward to confirm the stain area stays dry

Beyond the brick details, Malvern housing ranges from older frame homes near downtown to brick ranches from the 1960s through the 1990s and newer homes on wooded lots outside town. Downtown was rebuilt in brick after fires in the 1890s, and some nearby homes from the early 1900s still have steep roofs and board decking.

Hot Spring County is hillier and more wooded than the prairie east of Little Rock. Pine and oak trees over a roof drop needles and limbs into valleys and gutters, which keeps the roof damp and holds water at the worst spots. Gutter guards and regular valley clearing make a real difference on these lots.

Manufactured homes and metal roofed shops are common on rural roads around Malvern, and we work on both.

Spring storms cross the I-30 corridor between Arkadelphia and Little Rock most years. Hail, straight-line wind and falling limbs are the main sources of storm damage we see in Malvern, and tree damage is more common here than in open farm towns because of how many lots are wooded.

After a storm, we document the damage with dated photos and measurements so your adjuster has clear facts. If a limb has opened the roof, we tarp it and come back with a written price for decking and shingle repair.

Call (501) 387-1152 day or night. We schedule an inspection, show you the photos and give you a written price before any work starts. Most flashing repairs take a single visit, and most replacements are finished in one to two days, with a magnet sweep for nails before we leave.

If you are replacing the whole roof, that is the best time to fix flashing for good. Reusing old step flashing against brick saves a little money up front, but it is the most common reason a new roof leaks in its first few years. We price new step flashing, counterflashing and chimney work as part of every Malvern replacement so the brick and the roof finish together.

Shingle color is worth a moment of thought on a brick home. Red and orange toned brick pairs well with weathered wood, charcoal or darker brown shingles, while lighter buff brick often suits gray tones. We bring sample boards so you can hold them against your actual walls in daylight instead of choosing from a small photo.

For homes with deep shade from pine and oak, we also talk about gutter guards and a ridge vent, because a cooler, drier attic and clear gutters help the new roof hold up longer in this wooded part of the state.