So Piggs, what are some signs/conditions that warrant more than patching a leak?

We have had water leaking through a roof for every rain since September. Today a hole the diameter of a pencil was discovered under some passive solar heating panels — presumably an old bolt hole. It’s now caulked.

The caulked hole may stop future leaking, but I’m concerned about damage sustained bythe materials between the shingles and and what we can see of the ceiling planks — particularly since it keeps raining and doesn’t seem to get hot enough to dry things out.

There is no attic in this area. It takes a few hours of rain for the water to start dripping through the planks, and it also takes several hours to stop dripping after the rain stops. On Monday I had a spot dripping until 5 pm, and there wasn’t any rain here on Monday.

Can a typical roof handle survive several months of these conditions, or is it most like shot and in need of replacement? The planks may be deceptive –they don’t bulge and stain like other materials do, so they don’t look as ominous as some other leaks.