did i get your attention Calvin????
I just wanted to let you know how your referall went. you might want to forward this to your friend for his future reference–or he can call or e-mail me for specific info

A)— the customer is a very nice lady—so nice in fact that she is one of those people i would like to work for for free—-but i don’t want to set THAT precedent!!!!!- just a very pleasant person

B)—- her house is in AKRON-not Fairlawn. in fact she is exactly one block from another of my long time customers. we did a 2 day project one block away from her about 3 weeks ago–I was already kind of familiar with the house in question-it is quite distinctive.
the house is kind of—–well let’s call it a tudor cottage.– despite having a turret–it’s not that big—–but you kind of expect maybe hansel and gretel to appear anymoment–just scaled right, lots of brick and slate, and copper and spectacular plaster work etc. Mature landscaping, excellent neighborhood–overall just a great place

C)overall—2 basic problems
1) the slate.—-customer informs me house was built in the early 50’s????—which is about right for that neighborhood there are several nearby houses of the same distinctive style mixed in with some other somewhat older houses of other styles—its a moderately upscale neighborhood. customer tells me that when the house was built the slate was already used—which i believe.
the slate is NOT soft PA grey slate—–but it’s a 3/16″ semiweathering green slate. when the used slates were installed on the new house( back in the 50’s)–some of the slate nail holes were re-punched higher on the slate—-then when the slate was installed the nails were a little over-driven.-this pulled the top of the slate down a little too tight to the deck–and cantelivered the bottom of the slate up off the underlying slate—leaving it un-supported. over time snow,ice&foot traffic, hook ladders etc weigh down on the unsuported slate and snap it off. rough guess—–maybe 20-25% of the existing slates have been replaced,repaired,re installed etc. customer tells me they have had constant problems with roof from the moment they moved in. some of the slate repairs were done so long ago thant the galv. bibs used in the repairs are now rusting out—-and so in time old repirted leaks–will start leaking again

2)Flat roof—-customer and her husband had an addition put on the house over 25 years ago. 3 planes of slate roof drain onto a flat roof. the flat roof is in turn surrounded by 3 waist high parapet walls which are hidden by 3 pent roofs in slate. Mature landscaping drops pine needles and broadleafs onto the the flat roof–parapet walls prevent leaves from blowing off and the scuppers clog—–water ponds up. slate covered pent roofs make access to the flat roof tricky for ordinary maintenace( for instance her landscaper could clear leaves regularly IF he had access. Flat roof is currently EPDM–and maybe the worst flat roof i have ever seen—-company who did the install-out of business
I charged her a nominal price—replaced 10-12 slates including several that were causing a leak near where the turret meets the main roof. There is a copper pan between the turret and the main roof—over the years the pan has been painted with tinners red—then misc. spots karnacked etc. At this point there are 3 seperate spots that have the tiniest of pinholes which I sealed with a geocel for now and then coated the whole pan in a brushable version of geocel. cleaned out all her copper gutters and cleared of her flat roof—-all in all i was there 4 plus hours.
I had a long detailed conversation with her–primarily about the flat roof and the turret pan

best long term thing–is that the turret pan should be re-placed. absolutely—–but it is in no way cost effective to do so due to the condition of the rest of the slate roof. the original install of the used slates has been a problem from day one circa 1950—–and even if the install had been flawless the existing slates are reaching the end of their life. a lot of the slates used as repairs over the years ore in worse shape than the majority of the original slates—–and there are a smattering of new slates as well( some of them mine at this point).
Grant’s nemisis,!@#$%^& Slate Company gave the customer a price to replace the pan( remember this is a round pan behind a turret)–she accepted the price—-and then several days later the company called her to tell her they weren’t in business to LOSE money and DOUBLED the price.– understandably she doesn’t want THEM involved at this point
I have suggested another absolutely top notch company( “K” Company that i have NO hesitiation about—she doesn’t want them involved either as it seems they have previously worked on her roof. they charged her a nice figure—-did a fair amount of work on another part of the roof on a seperate problem—but she feels THAT problem is not resolved. Please note that this roof is at a point in it’s life when it is almost constantly sloughing off slates. I found 2 slates that had fallen off from several courses above where”K” had done an extensive repair I explained to the customer that entirely possibly the “K” company did in fact repair THAT problem—-but that at some point after they left—-weeks or months later OTHER slates worked loose and are causing the problem she thinks is the same-previously solved problem

so–let’s recap–the customer is a delightfull lady with a delightfull home—that unfortuneately has a roof that has been an ongoing problem since the house was built. for all these years she has had people make regularly scheduled repair calls—twice a year–to replace the in-evitable loose slates etc.—she is comfortable with that arrangement and if she wishes i will continue with that.
HOWEVER—-if a young 30 something couple moved into that house–rest assured that roof would be coming off ASAP. I have suggested an absolutely reputable local company to replace that pan– (i would absolutely have them work on my house if needed)– but that solution is not cost effective to her—-probably not age appropriate given the condition of the slate and additionally she has personality qualms about the recommended contractor——-so i think i am the current designatee to continue with the patch and mend program that has been going on for 50plus years.

BTW your friend–knows chrissie hyndes brother???
small world. i SAW chrissie Friday night- the same day I did the above project.
summit county democratic party fundraiser.
chrisie opened for( climb in your wayback machine!!!) DEVO. can you believe it
the black keys—huge local favorites with national and international play time opened with a hal hour set that was spectacular—–chrissie played 3 four songs—–then DEVO came out in their whole 1978 schtick—–the whole place leaped to there feet and danced in the ailes for the whole DEVO set.
NOW- I goot admidt i come from the whole Crsby Stills Nash and Young, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen vein of 70’s music–DEVO was not my thing at all—but it was for a good cause—- and I was totally flabbergasted by the crowds over the top reaction. my wife and i laughed the whole time–plus there were totally smoking hot young democratic girls floating around in DEVO hats and DEVO raincoats and DEVO jump suits—-what a freaking hoot!!!!!
plus chrissie can still totally bring it.
is her brother( your buddies pal—the one in the Numbers band??– wife and i have seen them a ton of times as well.

gotta run- i am trying to average 30 miles a day on my bike.
stephen