Pry, chisel and scrape off old metal flashings and roofing cement. Before you do anything, get your ladder, roof brackets and safety harness set up so you can work safely and efficiently on the roof.

Lee Wallender is a home improvement writer of nearly 20 years and specializes in home remodeling, repair and maintenance. Sami Allen is the managing editor at Forbes Home, with over seven years of ...

Q: My house has a hip roof with a large chimney at the end of the house. No matter how much goop I put on the roof at the chimney, it always leaks after a year or two. Can you help me? A: What you ...

Q: Tim, I really need your help. My roof is leaking, and my last attempt to get it repaired was fruitless. It rained again and water still came in. Where do most roof leaks happen? Is it OK to use ...

Q. My roof is leaking, and my last attempt to get it repaired was fruitless. It rained again and water still came in. Where do most roof leaks happen? Is it OK to use caulk or black roofing cement to ...

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the different types of roofs you can use on your home. I should have realized it would create a tsunami of help requests regarding roof leaks at my “Ask Tim” page on ...

Q: My builder is talking about installing metal flashing as he's putting up my vinyl siding. What in the world is this material, and why is it necessary? I don't want to waste money, so can you tell ...

Q: Tim, I really need your help. My roof is leaking, and my last attempt to get it repaired was fruitless. It rained again and water still came in. Where do most roof leaks happen? Is it OK to use ...

Q: My house has a hip roof with a large chimney at the end of the house. No matter how much goop I put on the roof at the chimney, it always leaks after a year or two. Can you help me? A: What you ...