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Zinc Roofing

Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Zinc Roof Dormer

Zinc Roof Dormer

An example of the limitless possibilities with Zinc Roofing

I recently attended a training for an upcoming project; my clients chose VM Zinc for their roof. I have worked with copper, tin, lead, aluminum and steel for years but this was my first exposure to Zinc.

It tools almost identically to copper, it’s a little bit easier to form. Zinc stretches very nicely and when you are forming it with a hammer it’s as if it knows where you want it to go.

Here are some mock ups that were made over the three day course:

Soldering Zinc Sheet

Soldering Zinc Sheet

Zinc solders beautifully, it is very demanding (temps, fluxes, cleanliness ,etc) but once you have the technique down there is nothing you can’t do.

Reinforced zinc solder joint

Reinforced zinc solder joint

The round dots you see centered on the joint give the joint strength during expansion and contraction. I have soldered miles of tin and copper, but soldering zinc was almost like painting with molten lead.

Zinc skylight flashing

Zinc skylight flashing

This is a mock up of a skylight or chimney flashing in a standing seam roof. This flashing detail is very clean and simple and will last for an easy 100 years.

Zinc roofing when installed properly offers some of the same benefits as a copper roof. Both will last for at least 100 years with very little maintenance. However if you are looking for longevity but don’t want the green patina on your project then Zinc might be perfect for you.

Zinc will develop a light gray patina within about 18 months with average exposure to rain and moisture. The patina is self healing; if its ever scratched or worn off it will re develop in a matter of months.

Were all looking forward to the Zinc project and I’ll put up some pics when it starts.

If you’d like more information feel free to call or email tom@lyonscontracting.com

or www.vmzinc.com

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Standing seam copper roof, arlington VA roofing contractor, flat seam roofing, metal roofing, northern va roofing, sheet metal, standing seam | 2 Comments »

How to make a custom copper roof vent

Monday, August 17th, 2009

I’ve had a bunch of people ask me how I made the copper vent in the last post. I had to make a smaller one for the the master bath steam shower; so I took pictures along the way.

Copper vent tube

Copper vent tube

Make a tube: single lock a copper sheet into your desired diameter and length. You should remember geometry from junior high but if you don’t; multiply your desired opening by 3.14, that will be the size of your flat stock before you roll it. Since the vent tube will be in the weather make sure you solder the back seam. This one is a six inches across.

Copper vent ring

Copper vent ring

Make a ring: the protection ring will keep out wind driven rain. The outer ring should be about 2.5″ wider than the vent pipe you just made. Same as the other pipe; single lock and solder the seam.

Beaded outer vent ring

Beaded outer vent ring

Roll a few beads into the copper; it adds strength and beauty to the job.

Struts on inner vent tube

Struts on inner vent tube

Fabricate three struts to support the outer ring, these can be riveted on. Don’t forget to turn down all of your free edges; you want a place for water to drop off before it reaches the inner vent pipe. I test each vent I make, and I have forgotten to turn down the tabs, it leaks, trust me.

Outer vent ring riveted in place

Outer vent ring riveted in place

Rivet the outer ring to the struts, use two rivets per strut and the whole assembly will be rock solid. Also use copper rivets with BRASS mandrels; don’t use the phony copper rivets with steel mandrels; after the rivets are set the head of the mandrel stays behind. When it gets wet it will rust and leave streaks on your beautiful new vent. Spend a couple extra bucks and get the right rivets.

Copper cone vent

Copper cone vent

Make a cone: the cone should be at least 2″ wider than the inner vent pipe. Rivet the seam and solder.

When you make the cone be sure to leave three tabs to rivet the cap to the three struts.

copper vent cap

Copper vent

Copper vent

Ready to be brought to the job site. This vent is completely baffled; meaning it won’t leak during heavy wind driven rain or snow. Since it is made from copper it should last at least 100 years.

Standing seam copper roof and copper vent

Standing seam copper roof and copper vent

Solder a flange to your new vent a the proper angle. Clean the roof area, flux and solder the new vent flange and you are good to go.

I hope the photo descriptions helped; if its too much of a job for you or you just don’t have the time I’d be happy to make one for you.

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Standing seam copper roof, arlington VA roofing contractor, metal roofing, northern va roofing, sheet metal, solder, standing seam | No Comments »

1800’s Old Town Alexandria Townhouse gets a new copper roof

Monday, August 10th, 2009

IMG_0488 This town house has been gutted from top to bottom by another contractor; when its finished it will be a brand new house inside of the old brick walls. Like many townhouses in Old Town Alexandria this one has been added on to  a few times over its 150 year life.

We started on the upper roof of the oldest section of the house, this section got a new White TPO membrane roof. TPO membrane is installed over rigid insulation board and can really cut down on cooling bills. The membrane is bright white and reflects most of the suns rays; making the upper floor a much more comfortable place to be. TPO requires very little maintenance so it is a really good choice when access to the roof is difficult. You can see the mousetrap we had to build just to get up there.
While working up here you could really feel the difference between the neighbors roof (black roof on the left) and our roof; our roof was a relatively cool 80 degrees while you couldn’t even touch the neighbors roof without gloves because it was so hot.

Standing seam copper roof and copper vent

Standing seam copper roof and copper vent

Because the lower roofs are visible it was important to install a period accurate roof. We installed a new 16oz double lock standing seam copper roof over both lower roof sections.

The really cool looking vent is also made of 16oz copper, the vent was custom made for this project and will be venting the hood over the kitchen range two floors below. We wanted all of this roofs components to have the same 100+ year service life, so copper was the only logical choice for this new vent.

The pipe you see on the left side is a plumbing vent; it allows air into the plumbing system. Remember putting your fingertip over the end of your drinking straw? The water would stay in the straw right?; well this pipe vent does the same thing for the sinks and toilets. This pipe is the only soldered connection on the whole roof, all other flashing details are done by creasing, folding and forming complete sheets.

Standing seam copper roof

Standing seam copper roof

Finishing up the wall coping and flashings. When designing a roof system it’s really important to think think of the roof not just now but 50 years from now. Everything on this roof is copper; the nails, the rivets, the panels, flashings  and even the clips that hold the panels in place are all made from the same gauge copper. When materials are mismatched they create weak points it the roof system. Like all metals, copper expands and contracts with temperature change. Unless allowances are made for that movement and all integral parts are up to the stress the roof will literally tear itself apart in just a few seasons.

Flashing and parapet walls on copper roof

Flashing and parapet walls on copper roof

The flashing details we used on this project have been in use for 300 years in Europe, they are completely waterproof because there is no cutting of the copper panels. All of the folds and curved flashings are formed from complete sheets of copper, details like this take a long time but the roof will never ever fail.  Although bright and shiny now this roof will be a warm bronze/brown color in about two months; about ten years from now it will begin to turn green (think Statue of Liberty).

Copper roofing has a service life of around 150 years, however if it’s not installed with tremendous care, skill and attention it can fail in a few months.

copper skylight flashing

copper skylight flashing

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Standing seam copper roof, arlington VA roofing contractor, metal roofing, roofing, sheet metal, standing seam | No Comments »

Alexandria VA Slate Roof Repair

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Slate Roof Repair Attempt

Slate Roof Repair Attempt

This is a slate roof in Alexandria, VA. The homeowners had been having some sporadic leaking and hired a company to correct the problem. The solution they came up with was not carefully examining the slates for cracks or checking flashings for pits or holes; that would have been the right thing to do.

What they chose to do was spread no less than five gallons of tar over the entire roof plane; making any legitimate repair impossible. When the roof is covered in tar it locks all of the slates in place, you can’t gently remove one or two without destroying all that adjoin it. Think of it like playing Jenga with all of the pieces glued together, not fun I think you’ll agree. Although some are cracked, most of the slates that are covered in tar were still in pretty decent shape. What happens in the following pictures could have been avoided and the homeowners  could have saved a good pile of cash.

Copper Apron Flashing Covered With Tar

Copper Apron Flashing Covered With Tar

The roof was leaking right at the angle change and could have been repaired very simply. All that was necessary was to remove the courses of slate above and below the copper apron flashing; install new copper flashing and new slates. But instead someone with bucket of tar and not even a pair of gloves trashed the whole roof.

I knew he didn’t have gloves because I could see finger prints in a few spots; kind of like the La Brea Tar Pits of poor workmanship.

New Slate with copper snowguards

New Slate with copper snowguards

The old trashed slates were removed and we had to replace a few rotted pieces of 1×6 roof decking. Once the old roof was removed it was plain to see that the leaking was from one place only, however with the roof covered in tar the water was coming in the house in three spots.

We installed new copper drip edging at the eave and along the rakes to keep water from wicking back into the roof. We also installed these copper loop snow guards, the snow guards prevent accumulated ice from sliding off the roof. The guards keep the ice on the roof until it can melt away without destroying anything below.

Finishing Up

Finishing Up

New copper valley flashing, new copper apron flashing and new slate roof tied properly into the old slate roof. No can of tar, no mess, just another stone roof ready to serve for a hundred years. By using copper nails to fasten the slates and copper flashings there is nothing on this portion of roof to rust or corrode.

Finished Slate Roof

Finished Slate Roof

The slates we installed on this job are from the Buckingham Slate Quarry, it’s about four hours from Washington DC and it produces some of the best roofing slate in the world. Buckingham Slate is  graded S1 and has a service life of 125-150 years if properly applied and cared for. The slates above our new roof are not Buckingham and will probably require replacement in the next ten years or so. This will not be a problem, our new roof and apron flashing can stay right in place and the rest of the roof can replaced around it.

If your slate roof is giving you some trouble call a qualified roofer with some demonstrated slate experience. A bucket of tar might seem like a bargain now but it will cost you a fortune in a few months. Even if your roof isn’t having any problems it should be inspected every year, a quick inspection will head off any problems before they get out of hand.

Call if you need me.

Tom


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Posted in Alexandria VA Slate Roof, Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Arlington VA Slate roof repair, Slate roof repair, VA Slate roof repair, arlington VA roofing contractor, northern va roofing, roofing, slate roof, snow guards | No Comments »

Two bedroom house with 60 residents

Friday, June 12th, 2009
That's not insulation
That’s not insulation

This flat roof had been leaking and rotting for years. It doesn’t  take nature long to find a weakness; as soon as you let your guard down animals and plants try to take your house back from you. Generations of birds have been nesting here, this was really gross; lots of bugs, bird skeletons, mouse skeletons and probably 30 pounds of droppings.

Ok; who wants to be a roofer?? Anyone?? Anyone?? Bueller??

No; it isn’t glamorous but its the life we chose.

Removing the old rotted roof decking
Removing the old rotted roof decking

The roof was leaking almost everywhere, when it gets this bad the only sensible thing to do is remove all of the wood decking and start over. To leave even a little questionable wood behind would be like a doctor taking out a little bit of cancer. Wet rotting wood left behind will just make the roof rot again in the future.

new plywood roof decking
new plywood roof decking

Clean, dry and strong plywood installed and ready for insulation.

New Iso board insulation
New Iso board insulation

This is polyisocyanurate insulation board, it comes in 4×8 sheets and ranges in thickness from 1″ up to 6″. It does two things; first it protects the roofing membrane from the relatively rough plywood roof deck; second, it provides terrific R-Value keeping the interior cool. If your flat roof doesn’t have positive slope we can install a tapered insulation system to make sure the roof drains clear.

New TPO roof

New TPO roof

Cleaning up; now the roof is ready to battle nature again. The bright white TPO roofing membrane will reflect most of the heat from the sun, coupled with the new insulation  should make the house much more comfortable and certainly cheaper to cool.

The key to keeping your roof in good shape is regular maintenance. Cut back overhanging trees, clean the gutters a few times a year and have the roof inspected every 18 months by a qualified roofing contractor.

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, arlington VA roofing contractor, flat roof, flat seam roofing, northern va roofing, roofing | No Comments »

Finished

Friday, May 29th, 2009




Another one done; this job wasn’t easy. We had brilliant sunshine last week and although it doesn’t look it from the pictures the stainless is really shiny. So you get the sun from above and then the sun from below bouncing back at you. I think the inside of my nose got sunburned.
A few things about this roof:
First: this is the worst its ever going to look. There is a light varnish on the material that we remove from the perimeter of each sheet before soldering; thats why some look hazy. The weather will remove the rest in about a month.
Second: after about two years the roof will develop a uniform light gray patina and the solder lines (which stick out sorely) will all but disappear. After the patina develops all the little dents and tool marks will also disappear. If you want a roof like this for your house come visit me at www.lyonscontracting.com
The tool in the top picture is a soldering iron, an electric soldering iron. I have always used propane or acetylene irons; never again. This iron is from American Beauty Soldering Tools http://www.americanbeautytools.com/.
I had seen electric irons in a few places on the web, I always figured they were too weak. Think about it, what would be better than a loud, white hot, roaring flame blasting out of the handle holding the iron; I was wrong.
My new electric soldering iron is my new favorite tool.
First off its silent; my propane iron is so loud I that I cant hear myself think. Imagine working in your office with a running motorcycle parked next to your desk.
Second, it holds heat unbelievably well, I can fully solder three panels without having to pause to let the iron heat back up. With its constant and even heat I am able to make more consistent seams with faster production times. With my propane iron I was able to fully solder around forty panels in an eight hour period, with the American Beauty 550W electric iron I was averaging around sixty panels in the same eight hours. This tool paid for itself before lunchtime on the second day.
Third, it is a breeze to set up, all I need up on the roof is a heavy gauge extension cord. Just plug it in, set up your work area and in five minutes the iron is up to operating temperature. With propane or acetylene I need the tank, the hose, the ignitor, something to hold the tank and a nearby fire extinguisher. With the electric iron I don’t have to worry about running out of gas, which always seems to happen at 5:45pm on the last two feet of seam to be soldered, that means coming back the next day and that costs money.
A special thanks to Mr. Virgil Brooks, he is the engineer at American Beauty Tools and has been a great resource. I have a prototype iron of his that I’m going to test out next month; can’t wait to see what it can do.
American Beauty Soldering Tools 1-800-550-2510

Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, arlington VA roofing contractor, electric soldering iron, flat seam roofing, metal roofing, northern va roofing, stainless steel, standing seam | 6 Comments »

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