Hello:
I have water leaking down through the attic vents and white PVC vent pipes. What is the best way to repair these leaks? Can repairs be made from inside the attic? Should the vents be replaced (they are plastic)?
Thank you!:(

Lets be sure we are clear on this. The white PVC is your vent stack from your sewer. The other attic vents are air exchange vents, right? None should be replaced or sealed from inside. Both need to be sealled from the outside. Silicone caulk may do it for now but the vent stack should have had a jack boot installed under the shingles.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Lets be sure we are cllear on this. The white OVC is your vent stack from your sewer. The other attic vents are air exchange vents, right? None should be replaced or sealed from inside. Both need to be sealled from the outside. Silicone caulk may do it for now but the vent stack should have had a jack boot installed under the shingles.

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The white PVC pipe may be the vent for the sewer line and in either case it does go out the roof with a jack boot over it. The leak seems to come straight down the white pvc pipe on the inside. Now for the black vents, appro. 12" x 12", they are just open vents for the attic. These are leaking at the top edge (looking from the inside). If the vent pipe has the jacket over it, does it leaking require replacing the boot? I expect that it should be. If so, can this be done without removing shingles? Also, can the vents be replaced without removing the shingles, or it is necessary in both cases?

If the PVC leaks on the inside you won't see the leak, it will drain all the way to your basement and then the sewer. Is inside referring to the inside area of the pipe? Only the vent stack gets a boot, the 12x12 air vents should have flashing ubder the shingles. You can caulk the top and sides of the 12x12 but not the bottom edge. With a bit of skill and a flat bar most folks can replace this vent without removing the shingles but a lot depends on how they were flashed.

It is leaking inside the attic around the outside of the white pvc pipe so it must be coming through the lip around the top of the boot. Can that also be caulked? Also, how long will the caulking last since it is in direct sunlight?

The boot is the way to go. You would have to arefully deal with the surrounding shingles when installing it, but that's doable too. On 2nd boot in 50 years. Is that long enough for a repair to last?

Since the rubber boot surrounds typically only last 5-6 years, there is a new product on the market now that fits over your existing boot and pipe and seals it. It is apparently guaranteed for the life of your shingles, but I've never used it : http://www.permabootstore.com/

I also have leaking fans it happens in the winter when it gets warmer. I live in Calgary and there are a lot of Chinooks. Could this be the insulation around the fans? I've had a whirly gig installed in the attic where the fans lead from but it's made no difference.