Entries Tagged 'Masonry' ↓

Do you want to give your Mansard-style roof an upgrade while giving your house a face-lift? I decided to use synthetic slate on mine. While my house originally had a slate mansard, it had been roofed with ugly asphalt shingles years ago. These shingles were starting to fail (and they were hideous 3-tabs) so I had to make the decision of what route to go. Luckily, I discovered slate underneath the roll roofing on the rear slope of the mansard- this confirmed that the roof was originally slate. Next I had to remove the asphalt shingles (and I was desperately hoping that the original slate did NOT still exist under the asphalt shingles on the front slope). When asphalt shingles are installed over slate, the nails driven into the slate shatters the slate and you are left with thousands of razor-sharp pieces of rock to contend with. Luckily, the original had been removed prior to the installation of the asphalt. I was stunned. The guys who put the asphalt shingles on some 25 years ago neglected to install ANY flashing at all (step, counter, drip-edge, etc.) and simply applied huge gobs of black asphalt roof cement to the rake edges of the roof. UGH. Fortunately, the age of the tar and the temperatures being in the mid 50′s meant that the tar was relatively brittle. Solution- a flat-blade cold chisel and mason’s hammer chipped most of the chunks right off. UNFORTUNATELY- asphalt cement also stains the brick and the stains are nearly impossible to remove without damaging the brick. I will have to learn to live with some imperfection. Observe the before:

Once all the cruddy old roofing and paper was removed, it was time to do some assessing. The existing framing was sufficient to support the new roofing. I knew this for two reasons:

1. The new roof is synthetic slate which is SUBSTANTIALLY lighter than natural slate, and the roof was originally roofed with natural slate. Therefore, it had held the larger weight at one time.
2. I had repaired the rafter tails and supports for the mansard 2 years prior to this project when I had replaced the damaged soffits and fascia on the front of the house. I put in additional cribbage bracing when I did this which was bearing on the masonry wall at a 60 degree angle and took the “bounce” out of the 2×4 mansard rafters.

Next I had to investigate the existing sheathing for problems. The sheathing was 1×12 planks original to the house. Codes prefer that these be replaced with plywood, but do not require it unless the existing is damaged. While I did find some damage to the existing, it was isolated to one piece on the main slope and one each on the two small “hip” sides. I replaced the small piece on the main with old-growth clear douglas fir which matched what was there. On the hips, I cut triangles out of Advantech decking plywood and installed that. I did do the replacement as per code preference because the vast majority of decking was in great shape, I did not want to disturb the underframing structure, and the plywood preference by code is due to the stability needed for asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles require a plywood deck with NO gaps or wind can rip away the shingles-slate/tile do not require this nor does synthetic slate provided all the nailstrikes are into solid material.

Once those repairs were made, I “papered in” with #30 roofing felt. I prefer the #30 over the standard #15 as it has a lot more strength, is much more tear-resistant, and can handle winds much better. It is required for natural slate installations, but not for synthetic slate installations. I was battling rain and consistent 15-25mph windy days with some days offering 35-40 mph gusts. Needless to say, this part was nothing but good times. I did get the paper on before the first rains came, and we were 100% watertight.

And as this lovely roof boasted a 16/12 pitch, I did the lower section using ladders/planks/scaffolding, the midsection using planks on roofjacks and a chicken ladder, and the top from the main flat roof. I will say, there were moments I had my nerves a little frayed (especially on the windy days), but I am a believer in and practitioner of fall-arrest harness use.  I didn’t use the amount of nailers and rails I would have preferred, but I knew that if I fell, it would suck a lot less. Harnessed falls do still hurt, but they slow the decent with less force and prevent complete drops.

I then installed the aluminum drip edge, snapped my chalk lines, and installed the starter and 1st courses. Once past the initial layout, I did my 2nd and third courses using the markings on the shingles. At course three, I took multiple measurements and snapped a new king line to make sure I wasn’t veering off or wandering on my accuracy. After that, I didn’t need to snap any more lines as the shingle markings were extremely accurate (one HUGE plus with the synthetic slate) and the nature of the roughness around the shingle allows some play. I am glad I did this check-up line though, if I had been off line, each successive course makes the error show more and it just gets worse and worse. I installed aluminum step flashing as I went at the rakes and hips. The cards I made were 10″x13″. I had to terminate the two hips under the fifth course, and while I had my concerns about how this would come out, it worked quite well with the preformed hip/and/ridge shingles.

I had to cut the top tiles into 10″ pieces, and I decided to use some poly-adhesive under the bottoms of these shingles for a little extra insurance against wind. At this point, I have not installed the ridge cap shingles or the counterflashing at the rakes, I am waiting on the shingles to arrive at the supplier (unfortunately, none of this stuff is stock or easily returnable). As for the counterflashing, I ab fabricating it out of 18ga sheet copper now as my next post will show in detail. Current state of the roof looks like this:

Note: I have not removed the jack brackets yet. Also, I mixed the random colors myself as I purchased these before you could get the “premixed bundles” the suppliers now offer. I am glad I did this though as I was sure that the pattern would be totally random, which is more historically accurate to this time period in my opinion. I also, wanted the roof to look like it had been there long enough to have had repair pieces put in that didn’t necessarily match the others….

As I have been snapping away with my camera at some fantastic examples of downspout installations, I feel the need to share some fantastic visual examples. The first is what happens when poor planning results in environmental benefit (this is rare-left pic below):

They need to water their zoysia as well as mother nature

Next we see an example of someone fighting simple gravity – once again.

And here we see the damage caused by poor gutter drainage installation and maintenance:

Masons love this. Nothing destroys like lethargic maintenance.

That last one really gets to me. What a waste of a building for something as simple as $5 worth of pipe. Now it is a repair in the $1000′s, and that is if it has not compromised the foundation.

These last two are my favorites this week. They are on the same building (it scares me that the building is an educational institution). The first is a proper downspout connection from downspout pipe (aluminum 3×4 in this case) to cast iron, slip-sleeve type connection. The second is, well, I really am at a loss for a description. You tell me.

I can find no faults with this installation. School #1

And then….

Truth is stranger than fiction.

I would congratulate the installer of the last picture on their use of a proper mission band for the connection, except that the installation uses an unapproved connector for a code-violating installation. Aside from that, this will certainly result in masonry damage, flooding in the basement, damage to the window below, and likely promote mold and mildew growth. I am sure this is a quick fix for a clogged sewer line, but it is anything but a fix. If anything, they should have re-routed this downspout to the street or combined it with another downspout sewer connection until they could repair this one.

Quick fixes must be temporary when handling large volumes of water. Otherwise,  building damage is sure to result.

Water prefers to go downhill

This is one of the most frustrating things I see in older homes. The home has cast iron or clay gutter drains below grade that connect to the sanitary system, and they are failing. Rather than spend the often daunting amount of money to repair the pipes, the homeowner or their hired contractor decides to abandon the old line and “daylight drain” the downspout(s).  There are applications where this works, but it can also be bad choice if the drainage for the location is not correct.

This is a proper application of a daylight-drained downspout. Note that the ground slopes away from the downspout and the building, and the foundation is a slab-on-grade with no basement.

However, if you live in the Mississippi River Valley, you will rarely see these circumstances in older homes. First of all, the houses almost always have basements. Second, the soil is often heavy clay that saturates quickly and does not absorb much water. Third, the ground often slopes back towards the building. Therefore, by draining the water close to or at the house, doesn’t drain it at all! The water simply collects until it can cascade into the basement of the house! As it does, it rinses away precious mortar and soil, and begins to compromise the foundation. What is more damning about this, the downspouts are often at the corners of the structure which is the most vulnerable pier location in the foundation- transferring the shifting to two walls instead of just one.  It can also affect those that live near you. Observe:

My uphill neighbor's downspout...which floods my basement.

I am working with my neighbor, who speaks very little English, to solve the 1200 square feet of water that heads straight to my foundation in every rain. I am adding piping to carry the water to the front slope of our yard and to assist in irrigating the yards, without irrigating my basement.

Another issue with daylight draining is the creation of large icy patches in cold weather. An “elephant trunk”-type of downspout solution is popular among house-flippers. It costs very little, and keeps the water from simply running down the house. It does not counteract slope issues however, and it spreads the water out wherever it lands, creating a huge problem for those using adjacent walkways in icy conditions.

And yes dear friends, the alley walkway is immediately below it.

Draining your gutters to daylight can also cause problems for motorists in icy conditions. Consider a downspout, one that carries the load of a 2500 sq ft roof, drained into a paved alley. And now consider that it is at the high end of a 1/5 mile alley and will help to re-ice it as the alley covering melts while the roof drainage replenishes the supply of water to ice-over. Yes, I have seen that also.

But who cares, right? Drainage rolls downhill...

There are solutions to all of these problems. They do not have to be expensive, and often they can be VERY beneficial to the environment. I will go over the solutions in my next post.

Just bear this in mind, water is your home’s worst structural enemy in a masonry home. The cheapest solution is often actually the most expensive when taken over the long term.

And if you are wondering why your yard slopes toward your home, the most likely culprit is landscaping. Yard grading was likely correct when the house was built. But add 100 years of sod, seeding, planting, mulch, edging, and thatching, and you have a gradual buildup of the yard surrounding the house….