Last week after cleaning the cutters and roof valley accumulations, I was thinking about posting this when someone else came up with a similar problem. the only difference is that Mine is between to “dormers”. We have 2 redwood trees in the front that are around 4′ dia and 50′ high. These things shed all year round. I just finished cleaning out the gutters and pan this area last week. There was at least a foot of branches/leaves/moss between the roofs. The neighbor tells me that this is around 5-6 months collection. and the gutters were completely filled too
Here’s what I found. A copper pan that runs up all sides at least a foot and a 2″ soldered drain that runs to the front gutter on the left side of the first picture. This was totally plugged and the copper valleys were total filled with debris, even on the back side of the house. Took 6-8 hours to clean this all out. The only way to clean out the pan and the adjoining valleys was to walk on the pan and that can’t be good over time.
So the question is when we redo the roof later this years would I be better reworking the roof section between the two gables in sort of a cricket fashion so that there is no drainage pan the wouldn’t accumulated the debris. The only problem I se with this would be that the water would then shed off at the front intersection of the two gables where a gutter isn’t feasible.
Anyone have any suggestions
Replies
I'd start by trimming back the trees so they are not so close to the roof.
Have you researched the issues dealing with the asbestos roof removal and disposal?What will the new roof use for material.
I'd widen out the valleys for more exposure on each side of the centerline to promote better drainage and also taper the reveal from bottom to top.
Thats your chance too to do as you said reform the space between the dormers.
What does the water fall onto once it leaves that area?You probably don't have ice damming concerns,do you?
You guessed it asbestos...I would assume
No big deal for me to remove it, just can't have a licensed contractor do it. Spoke with the waste management company and the cost for disposal isn't that much because we have a local landfill for this type of material. I haven't had it tested yet...that's next week($35.00)
No snow loads around here. I'm in the lower foothills of Northern Calif.
I thought about widening the valleys but I wasn't sure of the final look. This roof is really chopped up. The existing copper valleys don't seem to show any pitting or corrosion.
As for the trees, pretty hard to trim them back because of the diameter of the canopy and they are pretty close to the house. I had a aborist do a report on them. Very healthy. With their height, just the winds are enough, as shown by the accumulation of debris on the back of the house. I am planning on having some of the closer branches trimmed back.
Right now the water is supposed to drain into the bottom of the valley/pan and drain into another gutter and then down to another downspout. If this cloggs then the water just runs out to the front of the valley and down the facia board. This is where the potential for rot/decay is. Seems to be that the the whole roof structure is old growth redwood, so most wood decay is at a minimum. That's a good sign, but it won't last forever.
I am just not sure on how to change to roof lines/pitches so as to not change the front detail of the two dormers. Only for the curb appeal. Maybe leaving it as is. But my brain tells me that there is a better way.
I'm still researching what type of shingle to use. It needs to be $ conscious decision. The main concern is the heat build up on a poorly vented/insulated. Roof structure. The summers are commonly in the 90's-100's
Thats what I meant for trimming,just some of the really close branches so they won't rub during a high wind.
Widening and tapering will help with debris flushing out better and will look fine if executed properly-but if budget constraints are an issue then maybe best to leave whats there.
Is there any way to get some venting at the eaves,then when you re-roof you could add ridge ventilation?That would help with 90 plus days heat build up.
Piffin had a good fix for the twin valley problem-not hard to do and real effective.It won't alter the bottom look much at all.
Keep us posted on what you use for the new roof please.
The venting I think is going to be an issue. It doesn't look like the is sufficient room to get venting drilled/cut under the eaves.. There are some copper vents located lower but they have 3/8"-1/2" dia holes in the with wire screen behind. These seem to be more for venting between the brick layer. Plus if they are like the ones in the crawl space, they are pretty restricted because they are trying to vent through three layers of brick (16" thick walls)
As to the type of shingle, I have no idea what we will use at this time... The roofer that did the roof inspection when we purchased the home, recommended a laminated shingle and said it would run around $300 per square. Material and installation, not tear off(of course). Other than that, I really don't know what is best at this time. If I was rich like most of my clients, I'd go with slate. It's always been my fantasy to have a home with a slate roof.
Is my memory right that you are in a snow free climate?
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Yes, I'm still in a snow free area, just now in the lower foothills of Nothern Calif. I already miss the Washington Coast, especially the razor clamming and salmon fishing
with no ice, thedesign is not unliveable if you cqan keep it clean.But a more typical design detail for one like that is to use a sloped cricket to drain to the front, and a large scupper to catch the water and lead it into a downpipe where it apparantly drains much of the water out now.
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Your suggestion is what I had in mind. By changing the valley and doing the slopped cricket, it would shed the water to up front. I would think that the cricketwould run from the ridges on the dormers to almot the front of the facia. But this would probablybe somewhere in a 3/12 or 4/12 pitch.
The scupper is the part that I am hesitant on becasue it would force me to install another down spout in the area below the valley and this is the main focal point of the house from the street. The existing valley drain seems to run almost horizontal to the gutter to the left and would probably be a major undertaking. I'd probably have to remove the entire roof sheeting on the left dormer.
This dormer is actually the porch entrance to the house and is arched/domed at the top on the inside of the porch.
Maybe leaving things alone and improving the flashing down to the front of the facia when we tear off later this spring. It had lasted 75 years this way.
See attached picture
Put in the cricket.
Put a small collection box on the front and hang a chain from it.
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I doubt a rain chain will help much with that volumn of water
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