Roofing in Manchester is two roofs that should not be described as one. Mill buildings in the Amoskeag yard carry flat roofs, parapets, and internal drains that clog with debris and then spill where the stain is far from the drain. Wood houses on the West Side and in the older blocks carry pitched roofs that ice in the valleys and fail at chimneys. North End houses add a more ordinary asphalt slope with trees over the ridge. Name which roof you are under.
A parapet seam and a split boot on a mill roof leak into a top-floor unit and then down a stair that several homes share. On a pitched house, the path is the warm eave, the chimney, and the porch roof tied into the wall. Street trees fill valleys with seeds. A wavy line or a soft spot near an internal drain is a better clue than a guess from a ceiling bubble. Say whether the water arrives in a rain or only during a thaw.
Brick mill roofs were not detailed as house roofs, and patches stack up. A membrane at the end of its life will not be saved by another pail under the skylight. On the wood houses, a second layer of shingles hides a soft deck. Ice over a heated stair is a heat-loss problem and a shingle problem together. Mention antennas, old vents, and any drain dome you can see from a higher window without walking the roof.
Access in the millyard is stairs, elevators, and a roof that may have hatches and mechanical curbs. Access on a West Side three-family is a narrow yard. Those paths change the work. Do not step onto a flat roof that ponds. The wet insulation underneath can be mush while the surface looks intact. Tell the caller if several units are staining from one storm.
Give the building type, flat or pitched, and whether the leak is active. A clogged internal drain is a different call from missing tabs after a wind. Mention the Merrimack side only if that exposure is actually yours. Stay off the roof. Call the number on this page.