There are many houses in Arlington and Alexandria that are virtually identical to this one, most were built 50 to 70 years ago; this house was probably on its third or fourth roof. As you can see, the existing light gray shingles are old and worn and are at the end of their life. The Owner of this house will soon outgrow it, so it was important to install a new roof that will protect the property but will also add some curb appeal when the day comes to sell it and move on.
Click on any picture to enlarge:
Here you can see the pitted and cracked shingles from the side porch.
First: Off with the old roof; once the old shingles are removed we inspect the roof deck for rotted or split boards. Generally these houses are really solid, most of them have old growth 1×6 pine or sometime oak roof decks; the density of the boards resists rot even when the roof is neglected for years. This house needed a few deck boards replaced because of cracking and a little warping; so far these boards have had at least 18,000 roofing nails driven in and pulled out of them and they look like they can take 18,000 more.
old roof removed
When replacing a roof we have to act as if it’s going to rain any minute-even with bright blue skies, we work quickly to cover the house from rain. That’s why we focused on the main house roof first before working on the lower porch roofs.
The main house is covered first
Once the main house was waterproof I started on the lower porch, to add some curb appeal the Owner opted for a standing seam copper roof on the small front porch. When installing an accent roof like this symmetry and scale are of the utmost importance. I made these 16 oz copper panels in the shop, they divide the roof into five equal segments; if you look around you’ll see metal roofs that were installed from one end of the house to the other, without evenly dividing the roof you wind up with a full size panel on the left and a little skinny panel on the right. Asymmetrical layout can look ridiculous or it can be just a little off , bothering anyone looking at it-even if they don’t know why.
To keep the roof as compact and graceful as possible I turned the standing seam panels up the wall in one continuous seam, the technique takes time and practice but it looks perfect. The panel is never cut into, I fold pleats into the copper and then double lock the seams for a completely waterproof joint that requires no sealant or solder; its taken years to perfect this technique and no I won’t show you how to do it.
Double folded upstand in standing seam copper roof
At the end of one very long day we have a finished beautiful roof.
Charcoal Timberline shingles with a new standing seam copper roof
Timberline Charcoal with Standing seam copper roof front porch
If you have a house that needs a new roof or a boost in curb appeal give me a call; I’m sure we can figure something out.
PS: Check out Thumbtack, you can find all sorts of businesses there. You can read reviews and find just what you are looking for: Roof repair and replacement
This is standing seam tin roof, probably around 40 years old. During high winds the eave edge of the roof was peeled back and flipped over on itself; the owner did his best to push it back and laid bricks across it to hold it down. When the panels flipped over it split the metal along the seams, there was really no repair option, the roof needed to be replaced.
The majority of the roof is a charcoal asphalt shingle, this area was the only one with metal. This portion of the roof has a very low slope, too low to replace the metal roof with shingles. This area is also invisible from the ground so there really wasn’t any reason to install another metal roof. My client chose TPO membrane, TPO is a bright white material that will perform perfectly in this application.
The pictures below will take you step by step through the job, click on any to enlarge.
We removed all of the old metal roofing and found that the roof decking was all in great shape. The panels you see being laid out is 1″ thick polyisocyanurate rigid insulation board; it has two functions, first it protects the roofing membrane from the rough bumpy roof deck and it also provides good R-value.
We fastened the insulation board with plates and screws, the round silver plates act almost like washers, giving more surface area for the center screw to clamp the insulation tightly to the roof.
insulation being fastened to the roof deck
TPO membrane comes in a variety of widths to suit most common applications. To keep seams to a minimum we chose a 10′ x 100′ roll of TPO; it is secured to the roof with screw and seam plates; these are smaller than the insulation plates but perform the exact same function.
TPO membrane being fastened to the roof
The second course of TPO is installed and the overlap is welded with a hot air welder; once welded the seam is as strong as the field of the membrane. This seam requires no glue, no caulk or sealant and no maintenance.
The one and only seam in the roof
The edges of the roof are secured with drip edge, it’s an L shaped piece of painted aluminum that waterproofs the roof edge and secures the membrane at the perimeter. You can also see a TPO pipe flashing installed and welded to the membrane.
TPO pipe boot and drip edge
After the drip edge is installed we cover the fasteners with white TPO cover flashing. This entire roof system is designed to overlap and enclose all exposed fasteners, this will make a roof virtually maintenance free.
We use matching shingle ridge caps at the peak of the roof, this will look perfect from the street.
All done; this roof will provide good service for a least 20 years with minimal maintenance from the owner. The bright white membrane surface and insulation board will also keep the upper floor cooler in the summer and a little bit warmer in the winter.
This was one of my favorite projects, the house is around 115 years old and is on the National Historic Register. Although beautiful on the inside; the exterior, specifically the roof, had been neglected. 90% of the roof is completely out of sight so it was easy for deterioration to get out of control. The client called with a small leak in the front part of the house.
Before: you can see the upper flat roof is covered in blisters and various peeling coatings.
The front has a small mansard (learn more: François Mansart 1598–1666) which is a steeply sloped, almost wall like roof. This small roof section has three round louvered vents made from tin set into asphalt shingles, the vents had missing and rusted through areas and were contributing to the leaks. The vents were probably original to the house but the asphalt shingles were probably installed 15 years ago when the original slate roof developed leaks.
Missing pieces had left the roof open to driving rain:
Since the house is registered all architectural elements need to be replaced exactly or with period specific materials. If you can see it from the street it has to look like a snapshot in time. The asphalt roof can be easily replaced with slate but the dormer vents were more of a challenge.
We removed one vent to bring back to the shop for precise measurement; of course we closed the hole in the roof.
After 3 months we had three new copper reproductions, these are identical in every way down to 1/16th of an inch to the originals. Since these are made from 16oz and 20oz copper they wont need paint and they’ll never rust.
Now the easy part: We replaced the old black flat roof with new White TPO over dense insulation board. This roof will make the upper floors of the house much more comfortable in the summer by reflecting most of the sun.
The mansard was covered with small 12×6 Buckingham slates; these slates will easily last 100+ years. Once the copper vents were set in place the whole job really came together. Eventually the copper louvers will turn to a bronze color, 10-15 years from now they will start to develop a green patina. In 100 years the roof will be replaced again, I hope the next roofer enjoys the job as much as I did.
One of the top sources for roof leaks is the flashing around the chimney. Making and installing flashings on the roof is part art and science and it takes a considerable amount of skill to do properly; I’ve found that the art end of the job is what gets people in trouble. The following pictures show how we do our work; the flashings we make for chimneys and skylights are bulletproof and have never caused us to return to a clients house again, I also think they are lovely to look at.
We measure the length and width of your chimney and the slope of your roof. The flashings are custom made in our sheet metal shop for your chimney. Depending on the type of roof we can make the flashings from zinc, copper, stainless steel, aluminum and lead coated copper; they can also be painted any color you wish. We can fabricate flashings of any size no matter how big or small your chimney or skylight.
Once the flashings are made they are sent out to the project with all other necessary materials. The pictures below show the old flashing and shingles being removed, some rotted wood being replaced and finally the installation of waterproof underlayment.
The old flashing is rusted through tin
new piece of 1x6 roof decking where the other had rotted
Installing waterproof underlayment around the chimney
Most elements on a slate or shingle roof are installed from the bottom up, here we start by installing the lowest flashing called the apron.
Installing the copper apron flashing
Next we install step flashings, step flashing are small “L” shaped pieces of metal that are laced in to each course of shingles as they climb up the side of the chimney.
Step flashings are installed in each course of shingles
This is the most critical piece of the entire assembly, the pan flashing does most of the work in shedding water. We form our pan flashings with a rounded bottom edge (vs. a sharp fold) to keep this area dry; creased or square folded metal can hold water which leads to corrosion and leakage. All of the seams we use are double locked and are completely waterproof, no matter what nature throws at this house the chimney will not leak.
Copper pan flashing being installed behind the chimney
The pieces that cover the step flashing along the sides of the chimney are called counter-flashings, here it is being trimmed to fit beneath the pan and over the apron flashing.
Counter flashing being installed on the chimney sides
The final step is applying a bead of high quality sealant to the joint between the new flashings and the masonry.
Completed copper chimney flashing repair
This roof will be good for another five years, when replacement of the roof becomes necessary our flashings can be reused. If your chimney or skylight is leaking we have a bulletproof solution, call any time and we will be on our way.
Tom 703-299-8888
P.S. If you are out our of our service area we can make and ship a complete skylight or chimney flashing kit to you. All you need to tell us is the measurements of the chimney or skylight and the slope of your roof and we can have it on the way to you in a day or two. Just call 703-299-8888
This is a covered porch on the rear of a house we completely re roofed a few years ago. The structure was built by Harry Braswell, Inc. and is designed to give the owner some covered outdoor space.
The main house roof is covered with GAF Timberline asphalt shingles in Charcoal with a few lower accent roofs in standing seam copper; keeping with the same scheme, copper became the obvious choice for the new porch.
One very important note here; you’ll notice that the rosin paper and felt are secured with copper nails; I have seen many jobs where the underlayment was installed with steel nails, cap nails or even staples. Using anything but copper nails will lead to a failure; copper is soft, steel nails and staples will eventually wear through the copper panels as the panels expand and contract over the nail heads and staple crowns. If you are considering installing a metal roof ask your contractor how he installs his felt and paper, if he says staples or cap nails you should find another roofer.
The black paper is 30# asphalt felt, it provides temporary waterproofing if it happens to rain before the job is finished; the pink paper you see is Red Rosin Paper, its job is to isolate the copper panels from the asphalt felt. I could write pages about why copper needs to be kept away from felt paper but I’ll save that for another post.
As the panels are laid out across the roof they are locked to each other and then are folded over the copper drip edge at the eave edge of the roof. This curved eave end detail you see here is virtually unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Although this detail is barely visible from the ground I think it adds a “hidden jewel” aspect to the job.
“Can you show me how to do it??” Sadly, no; the only two people I’m teaching this to are currently in Kindergarten and Pre-School, and they are going to have to wait at least 12 more years to learn it.
After the eaves and seams are completed we installed new snow guards. These bronze guards clamp onto the standing seams and keep ice and snow from sliding off the roof in large sheets. There are many different designs for this purpose, guards can be casted to look like eagles, pineapples, fleur de lis, and clovers.
And finally a copper gutter to carry the rainwater away.
If your house needs a hidden (or not so hidden) jewel you should call me, I’ll be happy to help.
We have been repairing the roof on this house for years. The house was roofed with a tile that was designed to look like slate; it was made up of slate dust and cement formed into a uniform slate shape. The product failed miserably and the company that produced it was sued out of existence.
Before:
The darker spots you see are where I made repairs to the roof; since the original product is no longer available I had to use real slates for repairs.
There is a flat roof on top of this house, the old roof was black EPDM rubber. Although it never leaked, it’s matte black surface got incredibly hot. There were also two fans on thermostat controls that would try to keep the attic interior cool.
Once the old roof was removed we checked that the plywood roof deck was sound, this house had no leaks and it’s roof deck was in great shape. We installed new waterproof underlayment to provide temporary coverage and to give us a new clean surface to lay out our slates. The large copper flashing around the flue pipe was fabricated in the shop, since the material we are installing will last for 50+ years it becomes critical to have all flashing components last just as long. Copper flashings will last for at least 80 years.
The Owner chose Eco-Star Majestic Slate in Federal Gray; I think is was a perfect choice and it complements the stone and brick you will see later in post.
I tell clients “I never want to see you again”; and I mean it in the best possible way. I’ll never leave any component on a roof that might cause a problem in the future, we replace every bit of flashing, every pipe collar and even decorative pieces. I fabricated the turret caps in the shop from 16oz copper.
There are two small flat seam copper roofs on the house, they are basically sheets of copper that are folded at the seams and soldered with tin/lead along the seams. After a month or two the roofs will turn a bronze color, within 12-20 years they’ll turn to a perfect green patina.
Here you see the second flat seam copper roof and a really good close up of the slate.
Once we removed the old black rubber roof we installed new polyisocyanurate insulation board, this is a dense foam board that provides a high r-value and a clean smooth surface to lay out our new roofing membrane. The small silver plates are used with epoxy coated screws to anchor the insulation to the roof deck.
Since the house is taller than any tree around it we took full advantage of the sun. The new roof membrane we installed is white TPO; a thermoplastic that uses no adhesives or sealants (low voc) in its installation. The seams of the roofing and the associated flashings are welded with a hot air welder; once finished they require no further maintenance or caulk over the life of the roof. The previous black rubber roof easily reached 160 degrees in full sun, our new bright white TPO roof is only a few degrees above ambient air temperature because of its naturally reflective surface.
The old roof had two electric attic fans, one was noisy and the other had stopped working altogether. I replaced them with these solar powered units; the panels face Southwest so they are in full sun from 11am to around 5pm (hottest time of day). They are virtually silent, require no electricity and will be working hardest when the sun is at its most fierce. The bright white roof and solar powered fans will make the upper floors of this house a happier place to be.
These copper snow guards were placed at 12″ intervals around the entire perimeter of the roof. Snow guards keep sliding snow and ice on the roof until it either melts or breaks up into harmless pieces. This house had no ice protection before and sliding snow and ice had done a lot of damage to the gutters.
All finished.
This was a very eco-friendly job; the slates are made from almost 90% recycled materials, the flat roof is energy star rated and there are two solar powered fans keeping the roof cool.
This was a tough job; it had very steep slopes with beautiful landscaping beneath, virtually none of the old tiles could hit the ground when the old roof was removed. The week we did this job the temps were in the high 90’s; covering trees and shrubs with tarps on days that hot will have them overheated and cooked by days end. We removed just a few of the old cement tiles at a time, delivered them up to the flat roof where they were taken down the front to the dump truck; basically handling the material four times instead of the normal two. I must say I’m very proud of the roof and also that all of the trees, shrubs and plants are safe and sound.
I’ve been installing Eco-Star slate for the past twelve years, my oldest job looks just as good as the day i put it on. If you have a failing real or synthetic slate roof this product might be perfect for you. Call 703-299-8888 and ask for Tom if you would like to discuss the possibilities.
A quick Q & A when it comes to hail damage and your home:
What does hail damage on my roof look like?
Asphalt shingle hail damage
You can see the dark spots where the granules are knocked off, this is where the shingle will start to fall apart. As the sun makes the asphalt base brittle more and more granules will fall off. Within a pretty short amount of time your roof will look like its 30 years old.
What happens when hail hits my house?
If the hail is large enough and flying fast enough it can dent your siding and gutters, it can crack your skylights and even make holes in vinyl siding.
What about my roof?
When hail strikes asphalt shingles if can blow off the granules on the face of the shingle. The face of asphalt shingles is made up of ceramic granules, the granules give the shingle it’s color but more importantly they protect the asphalt base of the shingle from the sun. When asphalt is exposed to the sun it will age exponentially, the suns ultraviolet rays make the asphalt in the shingle brittle. When the shingles become brittle they fail; you have seen old cracked neglected asphalt driveways, now think of a parking lot or driveway that has been sealed. Same principle, the sealant on the driveway does the same job that the tiny granules do on the roof.
My roof looks fine from the ground…
Most of them do, however the only way to check for hail damage is to go up on the roof and look. If the hood of your car is dented, if you can see dents in the gutters or if there is dented or cracked siding then chances are the roof took a beating too.
What do I do now?
First; protect your house. If the skylight was shattered or a vent was torn off in the wind you should call a licensed roofing contractor to cover anything that might lead to more damage to your house.
Second; call and file an insurance claim. If your house has a lot of damage your insurer will send out a claims adjuster. If the hail damage is widespread it might take a while to get a representative to you. After big storm events independent adjusters will come in from all over the country to work through the claims; most claims are settled within three weeks.
Third; get estimates for repairs. It will make the process a lot easier if you have an estimate for the repairs when the adjuster meets you at the house. The adjuster will make determinations of what he will cover and what he won’t; the insurance company may pay for an entire new roof or they may pay for re-roofing one damaged area.
Can you replace the roof, gutters and siding?
Yes we can. We do it all the time.
Do I have to replace my roof or siding now?
No, you don’t. However prices for roofing, siding and gutters go up every year, your insurance company is paying you a fractional amount of what the work costs today. By not replacing the damaged parts of your house now you will be left to pick up the difference later. Also some insurance companies have cut off dates for allowing claims; if you wait too long you may be out of luck. Also, selling a house with hail damage can be difficult.
Which contractor should I hire?
Hire someone local, hire a contractor that has an investment in your satisfaction. When large disasters happen contractors (called storm-chasers) will be driving here with both feet on the gas from all over the country; they skip town as soon as the work dries up or until an even bigger storm hits somewhere else. Many storm-chasers do good, honest work, but some leave homeowners with shoddy repairs and material suppliers with piles of unpaid invoices. You may have heard of the “tail light warranty”; that means the warranty on his work is good as long as you can see the tail lights on his truck.
Hire a contractor with a fixed local business address, a good Better Business Bureau rating, a website, a CheckBook rating, a stellar Angie’s List Rating, a long local reference list and a vested interest in your happiness. Although the guy from Oklahoma may say all the right things he certainly wont be heading back to see you if there is a problem.
How long has it been leaking? Its my first question when someone calls about their roof; and sometimes its hard for my clients to answer.
“Not that long”; is by far the most common answer.
However, “Not that long” can mean a week , or it can mean three months and it can mean four years; it depends on the clients perception of time; sometimes the memory devices people use to date the problem can be quite entertaining. The all time longest was an elderly woman who was able to trace the start of her roof problem with the birth of her grandson in 1999; she called me in 2007.
Water damage happens slowly, then all at once.
Water intrusion is unique in the way it damages a house. Usually roofs don’t fail catastrophically, it starts small and slowly gets worse.
The faster you get to the problem the cheaper it will be to fix. If the leaky roof is ignored the damage and cost for repairs grow exponentially; what might cost $565.00 to repair today could turn into $5,650.00 within three months. If water is allowed to come into the structure for extended periods you not only must repair the problem that caused the leak, but sometimes everything below the leak. By the time three rainy months have passed the insulation in the attic, plywood roof decking, rafters, drywall, electrical outlets, lighting and flooring may have been ruined. There are also mold and insect problems that come up when roofs are let go.
If you are having roof problems don’t wait to call; the sooner you deal with it the cheaper it will be. If cash is tight and you can’t pay for it all, ask us for help. If I can afford it I might be able to extend your time to pay. The universe has been good to me and i find that when I am good to others I’m rarely let down by them.
Ice dams occur when temperatures are low and there are a few inches of snow on the roof. The only way to make it stop is by removing the ice and giving the water a place to flow safely off the roof.
It is extraordinarily dangerous work, so if you are going to do it on your own please wait until you can get a friend to help.
You can also hire a roofing contractor to do the work for you.
The right weather conditions for ice dams is usually when outside air temperatures are in the low 20s (°F) for several days with several inches of snow on the roof.
Research shows keeping the attic air temperature below freezing when the outside air temperature is in the low 20s can reduce the occurrence of ice dams. Research has also shown that sun exposure in the winter has little effect on attic air temperature. Warm air from living spaces below penetrating into the attic is usually the culprit in the formation of ice dams.
Edit 2/14/10
Watching the news for any more than 25 minutes will have pains shooting down your left arm; their job is to terrify you. They want you upset so you stay tuned during the Folger’s Coffee commercial. Most of what they are saying about the snow on your roof is pretty much all wrong.
When to worry:
1) You have water coming in through the tops of your windows or water coming in along the outside walls. If water is leaking into your house you must stop it, the only way to do that is to remove the huge chunks of ice that have grown along your gutter.
2) You heard an unmistakable cracking sound and then you saw a crack in the drywall at the ceiling or wall. If you saw or heard anything like that then the roof you are under is over loaded. NOTE: Residential roofs almost never fail catastrophically, under the current snow load you have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of having your roof wind up in your basement.
When not to worry:
1) If your roof isn’t leaking now then chances are it probably won’t.
2) You have huge piles of ice on your gutter; it will melt, relax. The worst that can happen is that the gutter falls off, move the glass patio table out of the way so nothing else gets damaged.
If you are having leaking call us, we can help. Dont waste your money hiring someone to remove the snow from your roof because the anchor man with the comb-over scared you into it.
When the snow and ice are gone you can call me to inspect for any damage.
This is one of those classic examples of a “Roof in a Can”.
Roof in a Can is a term we came up with when describing a repair job we’ve seen; it’s when the person working on the roof can’t figure out the right way to do something so he just squirts caulk over the problem. I have a collection of these pics somewhere, I’ll put them up someday.
Before:
Leaking pipe collar and caulk
These plumbing vents are really close together; too close for the installer to use two pipe collars. The pipe collar is installed on the pipe on the left, the pipe on the right got the Roof in a Can treatment.
I would love to know how the person decided which pipe got the collar and which one got the caulk. Flip a coin? Did he ask a coworker? Did he think the larger pipe was mocking him? Maybe he just wanted the smaller pipe to have the collar, pulling for the underdog on the roof.
copper pipe flashing
This took me about thirty minutes; it’s made out of 16oz copper and will last for the next three roofs. No caulk to dry out and crack, just copper and lead solder. Solid.
There they stand ready to face the weather again. Both pipes treated with practical dignity; flashed with copper and installed with pride.
Caulk is not a roof and caulk doesn’t last, don’t let someone “repair” your roof with a caulking gun.
If you have leaking pipes on your roof give us a call.
