Know Your Roof · Flashing & Roof Edge
Pipe Boots: The Seal Around Your Roof Vent Pipes
Quick answer
A pipe boot is the flashing around a pipe or vent that comes through the roof. Rubber or neoprene is common for pipe boots, and it's the first thing to crack. A cracked boot lets water run down the pipe into the attic, which makes it one of the most common roof leaks.
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What it does
Plumbing vent stacks and other pipes have to pass through the roof, and every hole in a roof needs flashing. A pipe boot slides over the pipe and sits under the shingles above it and over the shingles below it, so water runs around the pipe instead of into the hole.
Types
The most common type has a flat metal or plastic base with a rubber collar that hugs the pipe. All-metal boots, often lead, are formed to the pipe and use no rubber. Split boots open up to fit around a pipe without taking anything apart, and are mostly used for repairs. Roofers sometimes call the whole assembly a roof jack.
Signs it's failing
Cracked or split rubber around the pipe. A gap between the collar and the pipe. Missing or rusted nails at the base. A water stain on the ceiling near a bathroom or kitchen, below where the pipe runs. Damp wood around the pipe in the attic.
Repair or replace?
A failed boot gets replaced, not patched. Roof cement or sealant smeared over a crack is a temporary seal at best and tends to fail again. Replacing the boot is a small repair when it's caught early, before water damages the deck.
Looking for another word? See the roofing terms glossary, A to Z.