Bucks County, Pa. Slate Roof Repairs

New Hope, Pa. Dormer Flashing

		Slate Roofing in Bucks County Pa New Hope Pa This roof once sheltered Moss Hart, the famous playwright who was married to Kitty Carlisle, a legendary singer, actress and game show personality. The home dates back to the early 1700's and has seen several additions since.
The roof is a Bangor Slate which was quarried in the Pocono region of Pa. The slate has a normal life cycle of almost 100 years. In some locations, however, it can far exceed expectation. The southern slopes were reaching the end of life while the northern slopes were in very good shape. Like that of the norm in slate roofing, this rooftop had been visited by the usual novices, but the damage was not as severe as is sometimes realized.
The home has 24 dormers on the third floor and all seem to have been serviced by a roofing novice when the windows were replaced some time ago. The sills were all covered in roofing drip edge (of all things), probably because of the availability of the product and the clean aesthetics the edging provided with little effort. Two of the dormers were actively leaking and showing damage on the interior of the building.

Along with the 300 plus slates we replaced on this job, we were trusted to repair the two dormers that were leaking. Many times, the only way to fix a problem is to dig out and uncover everything. Since the roof had been tortured so many times by the inexperienced novices of the trade, we had to remove everything to diagnose and repair the problems.

		First the siding was removed. The trim was removed. Since the windows were so close to the roof, the sills and window sashes were removed. The sills were covered in aluminum drip edging, as stated. This metal was continued into the living area (big mistake). Evident moisture from not only external leaks, but from condensation was evident. Moisture laden air will drop its moisture when it hits a cold surface. The moisture problem was as big a problem as the direct external leaking issues.
When all was revealed, copper flashings were job fabricated and installed, seamed, sweated and soldered with 50/50 solder. All flashings were blind fastened and no direct face fasteners were used. Reclaimed Bangor Slates were used to do the slate replacements on this roof as they matched better than a random new Pa. Black Slate ever could.
		Our flashings were terminated before the interior conditioned space, providing a thermal break before the point of temperature transfer into the interior. Foam insulation was used in areas that were serviceable to improve upon the thermal efficiency of the openings.
A new wood sill was primed and installed along with salvaged siding. Some new siding had to be installed to replace broken pieces lost in the removal process. A good coating of oil primer was applied followed by caulking and a finish of quality Acrylic Latex paint.

Never allow a repair to be done that includes muck (asphalt roof cement) or face nails or quick patches as they never work. Shoddy repairs are everywhere in this industry. They always create problems that are often masked for a later date. Often homeowners do not notice the leaks until they have caused major damage. A leak first makes it to the underlayment (if any is present). Then it soaks in the substrate and decking and insulation. When the leak reaches the interior, it is often a case of unknown devastation.