Walter and all others interested
I’m trying to give a customer the benefit of informed advise.. the house is circa 1905
original roof was cedar shingles… probably reroofed circa 1935 with slate
my buddy Barry ( slate roofs from Westchester County , NY ) had been taking care of the roof for the last 15 years or so
the original roof was installed with steel nails, I can see them thru the bottom of the roof boards in the attic
from observation, it looks like Barry and others had replaced apx. half of the origianal slates
also the copper ridges & copper valleys have been coated with cloth &
red lexonite ( ??? )…
every year there are recurring leaks so all the ceilings on the 2d floor are damaged & need new skim-coat
here’s the options: replace the flashings ( ridge & valley ) with copper
replace the flashings with galv on the ridge & copper on the valleys
strip & reroof with asphalt ( salvage to the roofer )
the strip & reroof coasts apx double the replace flashings option
by my estimation the original slate roof is apx. 70 to 75 years old and this is a salt air atmosphere… Barry is not here to advise , but i think he was replacing slates because they were falling out or breaking
the owner’s goal is to sell the house when the market returns, which we think might be 3 – 4 years…. when that happens , the initial look ( curb appeal ) is marred by the appearance of the slates and a home inspector will no doubt have some criticisms of the condition of the roof if we do nothing… or even if we do something
what do you think of the value of keeping it a slate roof ?
here’s the slates Barry was using to replace with
and here’s a poor picture of the East elevation.. the dirty looking ones are the original ( probably years of tree sap from the old maples )
i’ll see what i can do about some better pics
Edited 6/25/2008 10:18 am ET by MikeSmith
Edited 6/25/2008 10:19 am ET by MikeSmith
Replies
Mike,
With better pictures I will happily give advice on what I can see.
Are the valleys open or closed ?
Steel nails on the gutter reline thread I've just started are great after 95 years.
Ridges as you know are nowhere near as crucial as valleys.
Looking forward to helping if I can.
Best regards, Walter
Mike - Walter's got a better eye for the slate condition than I do, but if the slate replacement has been taking place because of failing nails vs. failing slate, then one option might be pulling off the existing slate, new underlayment and flashings and re-installing the existing slate. Probably be about the same price as asphalt shingles.
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"I could have had Miss September...... I couuld have had Miss May. I could have had Miss November, but I waited for December....." ZZ Top.
yes... my roofer will quote me on replacing & also using artificial slateon the replacing, we anticipate losing a lot of slateshey... more later.... gotta go meet our new grandson.... Finn MichaelJune 26... 1330 hrs !Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Congradulations there Grandad. Hope all are well.http://grantlogan.net
"I could have had Miss September...... I couuld have had Miss May. I could have had Miss November, but I waited for December....." ZZ Top.
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Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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Kudos for the grandson.
Give him a cut off golf club with a pacifier.
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CONGRATS!
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Mike,
Any help still needed here or has the die been cast ?
Walter
no decisions yet.. the Owner lives in Philly, so I don't see him very often
stay tunedMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
met with the owner Saturday.... got some more pics
the chimney we tore down to the attic & rebuilt last year
View Image
here are some good ones of the front hip....you can see some of the new slates Barry installed over the years.... and the mesh & red fibered patch
View Image
all the grey slates are replacements from Barry
View Image
notice the minimal roof edge overhang... we think this may be contributing to some of the leaking .... whadda ya think ?
View Image
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 7/14/2008 8:59 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:01 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:02 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:04 pm ET by MikeSmith
get you involved too.....
here's some more of the slate condition......
some are splitting and flaking off
View Image
and.....
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the open valleys which Barry treated with mesh & lexonite
View Image
more field slates....
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and more of the field.....
View Image
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 7/14/2008 9:38 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:39 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:40 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:42 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 9:43 pm ET by MikeSmith
in the meantime....... cracks in some of the walls ....indicated some settling
investigating with our laser showed us that some of the point loads had naot been adequately carried when it was built back in 1905
here's one of our screw jacks I inherited from Tom Priest back in about '75.... Tom was the pre-eminent building mover in Southern RI back in the '40's thru the '60's.....
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we have about 5 of these...
they insert into jack boxes made from 2x6 nailed up round-robin....
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ramming it home with a 4x4 club
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we can scab them together to make taller boxes.... or cut them down , as in this case , for low ceiling work
View Image
we're going to set two jacks , one on each side of the point load stress we want to pick up with a new lally column
View Image
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 7/14/2008 10:03 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 10:04 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 10:05 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 10:07 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/14/2008 10:08 pm ET by MikeSmith
Mike,
The slates look to me to be mostly in place and mostly whole.
Nice larger slates so there is more sidelap than on narrower slates.
The lack of overhang draining down the old cedars might be a source as you suggested.
First thing I'd do is put new open 20 oz. copper valleys in place - tapering the exposure from 6.5" to 8" at the bottom.
I'd also reflash the chimney into the roof with copper to help there and get rid of the rust potential.
I'll send you out a valley Shutterfly album later.
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