Roof vent jacks are attached over vent pipes on the roof. They are also known as boots. They create a seal between the vent and the roof so that water does not penetrate the building. Over the years, they can get battered by the elements or even compromised by animal activity. Caulk or tar around the pipe can crack. When these things happen, replacement becomes necessary. How to install a roof vent jack requires basic tools. The chore can be completed by a homeowner capable of working on a roof safely. However, if your roof appears to have suffered damage around the vent, a professional roof inspection is recommended.

How to Install a Roof Vent Jack Step by Step

1. Climb on the roof and measure your vent. This information will be needed so that you can buy an appropriately sized jack.
2. After buying a new jack, get back on the roof with your tools and some new roofing nails.
3. Working with a flat pry bar, loosen shingles around the jack.
4. Pry out nails holding shingles above the jack.
5. Slide out the 3-tab section to expose the flange around the top edge of the jack.
6. Take a knife with a hook blade and cut through any caulk or tar at the seam of the jack and the vent.
7. Pry up the old jack along with its nails.
8. Slide the old jack off of the vent.
9. The top portion of a new jack will likely have lines where you cut it to fit snugly over a vent. Cut at the line for the size of your vent.
10. Slide the new jack over the vent.
11. Return the shingle section that you pulled out to its original position above the jack.
12. Nail down the bottom edge of the jack flange with three nails.
13. Nail in the loose shingle section.
14. Using silicone caulk, reseal all of the edges of the shingle tabs that you loosened to work on the jack.
15. Dab and spread sealant over the exposed nails on the bottom edge of the jack’s flange.

Roof Maintenance Cannot Wait

While you’re on the roof completing the steps for how to install a roof vent jack, you might notice other problems. Loose, mossy, or cracked shingles indicate that old age is catching up with your roof. If you notice excessive amounts of granules coming off the shingles, then they are reaching the end of their usefulness. As shingles age, they become more likely to lift up in a high wind. Water or ice might penetrate them more easily as well. If issues like these are ignored, then leaks will inevitably develop.