Skylights and roof penetrations that failed

The field of shingles looks fine from the driveway. The house is still raining next to the vent pipe. That is the usual Houston story: a boot got old, a skylight gasket cooked, a sat-dish jack leaked, and a tropical band found it.

You do not need a new roof color tonight. You need that hole to stop acting like a downspout.

Attics here are ovens. Wet insulation up there becomes a mold farm in the heat. Pull the wet stuff if you can do it without falling through the ceiling.

Do this now

Find the drip in the attic or ceiling with a flashlight. Do not step on joists you cannot see.
Photograph the penetration from inside and, if safe, from outside.
Tarp over the skylight or jack if you can reach it safely. Catch water below either way.
Call a roofer for a targeted repair. Keep the photos for wind vs wear arguments.

Skylights

Older plastic domes get brittle in this sun. They crack, then they sheet water onto a hallway. If the glass or plastic is broken, treat it like an open window. If it is intact and still leaking, the curb flashing is the usual villain. Do not “recaulk the whole sky” from a wet ladder at dusk. Temporary tarp over the curb. Permanent flashing when a sober person can see.

Pipes, jacks, and the AC nest

Every roof penetration is a promise that someone flashed it right in 1998. Turbines, bathroom jacks, electrical masts, and the condenser stand on a commercial low-slope all leak after a hard rain. If the mast is involved, that is electrical-adjacent. Stay off it and call people who do that work. CenterPoint owns the drop, not the interior weatherhead mess. Know which side of the meter you are on.

Attic insulation after a leak

Wet blown-in over a Houston attic floor is heavy and useless. Bag it if you can reach it safely. Dry the deck with air that has somewhere to go. Closed wet attics in September are how the hallway smells like a swamp in a week. Photograph the wet insulation before you haul it. That pile is part of the claim.