Most people probably don’t think about their roof much, that is, until it starts leaking. One of the most common causes of roof leaks is around roof penetrations, such as plumbing vents.  Typically a plumbing vent is a PVC plastic pipe that penetrates through the roof.  If your roofer does a good job, they will fabricate a custom piece of copper or lead flashing to fit over this pipe and extend under the shingles above.  However, most roofers end up relying on cheap rubber pipe boots that degrade in the sun, crack, and then eventually fail (sometimes in only a few years).  If your home already has these rubber pipe boots, you may be wondering what you can easily do to keep them from leaking.  There is a new product called Perma-Boot that easily slips over an existing PVC pipe and rubber pipe boots. Since it overlaps the joint at which the pipe boot and PVC vent come together, it sheds water away from the vent. The best part of the Perma-Boot is that installation takes minutes. There is no shop fabrication of flashing. There is no need to remove existing flashing and try to find replacement shingles.