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I’m thinking about making a chimney flashing out of vinyl-coated aluminum coil stock.We’ve made a couple in the past and so far haven’t had any trouble. I’ve made plenty of wall flashings out of this material also.I just wonder if the mortar would have any effect on the aluminum.I suppose copper is the best for a chimney but will mortar hurt it? Copper pipes sticking out of a slab always get something wrapped around them.
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Ignorance is bliss , I did one about three years ago maybe four ,with regular trim coil stock and it still looks good today . I even used it to do decorative dental at the top . after I did that I was told that it would not hold up because of the mortar interaction thing. I think that the paint helps to isolate the alm. from the cement . In your case the plastic would be even better. IMHO. Recently I was told that it is just wet cement that has the interation that corrodes aluminum, copper.
*flashing techniques are regional..aluminum is used in a large part of the country.. but for the life of me i don't know why..here and in many other locations the common flashing is lead.... you buy it by the foot off a roll in the hardware store...usually 10" or 12".....here's an old one showing the lead flashing let-in to the brick joints...
*One other thing to consider is muriatic acid. At some point, someone will probably use muriatic acid to clean that chimney and I've been told some flashing stands up better to that stuff than others. Of course, I can't remember exactly what this guy told me, but I never knew him to tell tales and he had a lifetime of experience in the trades. It might be worth asking about. We use aluminum quite a bit here in the Pacific Northwest, but we use galvanized and colored steel, too. I've only been building for a little over 20 years out here - not long enough to notice much difference.
*After 15 yrs. of replacement roofing I can say that it is the job being done right, that counts . If you are using a 30yr roof or less then you will have no problem with it. If you are using a 40 yr roof or up, go with lead or copper. If the job is not done properly then neither will last.
*Lifetime roof tile suggest the use of aluminum or copper for flashing there concrete roof tile. I had a hard time trying to find the lead soil stack flashing. haven't seen lead or copper flashing in hardware stores or lumber yards for years around here.
*We have flashed what now seems like zillions of chimneys by insetting painted aluminum coil in old mortar work.( most of the chimneys are 40 plus years old with a high percentage being about 80 years old).We have also come across a few chimneys(from the 60's) with mill finish aluminum grouted in place with fresh mortar.I don't know what happens elsewhere,but in my area I would not hesitate a nano-second to install aluminum flashing. I have never seen it degrade in contact with mortar. Perhaps a different enviornment,like a sea-side area,might provide a catylyst which could degrade the aluminum-----but I find it perfectly safe here in ohio.good Luck all,stephen
*Hey Stephen, you where attacked in a post called Reroofing over old shingles, in the main discussion area ," go get em".
*Yeah, one of the regulars read the poster the riot act. Nice to see.
*steve.. just got the issue.. i'll be doin my homework on you and jim this weekend....which guy is you ? i already know what jim looks like...
*Thanks for the input guys.I think I'll go ahead with the aluminum.I think It'll probably last the rest of my lifetime, or at least till I'm too old to give a damn.
*Mike,Jim,Ron and everyone else.....there was a discussion here in late '99 or early '00 about re-roofing that got kind of heated as I recall.I don't know positively,but I think that thread lead to FHB suggesting I write an article.Before the article was even written,David Ericson---the editor,and I discussed that the topic might end up being controversial( the Breaktime discussion was still fresh in my mind at that time).So before the article was written ,I decided that I would just present the article and if anyone wanted to argue they could just bicker amongst themselves.I just wanted to spell out how I generally handle re-roofs( and believe me,my method is not anything special----it is the way I have seen countless others handle the same situation with equal success)Roughly,---the article was written in March/April of '00.It took untill August for me to line up a good subject house at a time David could fly in and take pictures.David and I(mostly David!) polished things up in the fall/early winter of '00 and here we are.If the article looks like it was written by someone with more than about a 6th grade education we can all thank David.He has a pretty impressive background and was able to clean up the mess I submitted. In fact the whole thing was so much fun that we are already working on another project.Any and all of the folks who wrote or posted that they liked the article----you have my deepest thanks---really.And for the folks who wrote or posted to the effect that I must be a slack -jawed drooler and a fly-by night hack besides----hey,you are entitled to your opinion also.Good Luck All,StephenPS. My apologies to Toolshed for hijacking his thread. I owe you one.
*so , steve... which slack-jawed roofer were you ?hah, hah, hah.. just brought the issue home.. i'll read it and get back to you... thanks for the article...p.s.: the guys laughed at me when i brought one of the foam roofing mats back from the supplier... but they sure save roofs and knees...i see them used in your pics...
*They sell those things? Jeez, I cut up the mother in law's matress...
*good article, steve... that's you cutting the flashing into the chimney ?sort of a young dude , huh ?
*Hey Mike...instead of whipping the boys from the roof....you'd save your knees if you just yelled up from the ground...and beat them when they came down! Jeff
*thanks , jeff... if tomorrow doesn't rain.. i'll try that ...
*well .. it didn't rain.. and it worked just like you said jeff....here's me after whipping the guys...
*here's roy after whipping me.....
*Mike,Looks like the house fell over in that first one.
*djk.... when u got a bundle on your shoulder you gotta work with gravity.. not against it... it's all in how you set up your staging...
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I'm thinking about making a chimney flashing out of vinyl-coated aluminum coil stock.We've made a couple in the past and so far haven't had any trouble. I've made plenty of wall flashings out of this material also.I just wonder if the mortar would have any effect on the aluminum.I suppose copper is the best for a chimney but will mortar hurt it? Copper pipes sticking out of a slab always get something wrapped around them.