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.

Flashing is a good way of preventing water from entering a dwelling at the point where the roof meets the walls. To begin the installation, fold a five-by-seven piece of aluminum flashing lengthwise.

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 ...