On June 11, 2007, Mr. Homeowner called me with a problem. During the heavy rains that our area received on the first weekend of June 2007, his roof / chimney (chimney is located over the master bedroom) had leaked and damaged the ceiling in the master bedroom. Since the house was just over a year old, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner were very upset. They wanted me to come out and give my opinion of the installation of the flashing around the chimney and evaluate for other leak sources. The question of walking the steep roof came up. I explained that I would not commit to walking the roof until I observed the roof. There were other ways to inspect for a chimney / roof leak.

As their house came into view, I thought of the sight of my large red van pulling into drive way. What heroic theme and figure might one think of as I came to the rescue? The Lone Ranger? Super Man? Spider Man? No, I figured it was more like Under Dog, with some thing like “There’s no need to no fear, Travis Grubbs is here!”

After arriving at the house I observed the interior ceiling damage in the master bedroom and checked the chimney structure from the attic (no visible damage). I then inspected the exterior of the chimney, which was on the rear roof, and up near the roof ridge. From the ground I could see that the chimney was missing a cricket (more on that later) and that the chimney flashing did not look right. The roof was steep, but looked manageable. I decided to climb the roof and view the upside (or font) of the chimney. Going up went fairly well as I was walking up a rear roof valley. Unfortunately, the roof valley ended about 10’ from the roof ridge. I needed to sit of the roof ridge so that I could examine the up side of the chimney.

As I started walking up the steep roof slope to the roof ridge, my boots started slipping on the roof shingles. It is at times like these that I get closer to God. “Our father in heaven…” immediately started going through my mind. My boots continued to loose traction. “…Hallowed by your name…” I decided to get on my knees and stretch out to reach the roof ridge. “…Your kingdom come…” I then pulled and climbed up to the roof ridge. “…Your will be done…” This left my arms stinging from the hot roof shingles.

The view of the rear roof slope looked a whole lot steeper as I was looking down from the roof ridge. I began to understand why cats can climb up a tree a lot better than they can climb down. I had an excellent view of the upside (or front) of the chimney. I confirmed that a roof cricket had not been installed between the chimney and the roof ridge. A cricket? Yes, a cricket. Now don’t go thinking that I was looking for an insect to be standing guard in front of the chimney. A roof cricket is a horizontal wood (covered by roof shingles), or a metal, gable structure that extends from the up side of the chimney and connects to the house roof. The cricket diverts the roof water around the chimney so that it flows down the house roof surface and does pond up at the base of the front of the chimney. The absence of a cricket in front of this chimney allowed roof water, in a heavy rain, to dam-up on the up side of the chimney (even though the front of the chimney is close to the roof ridge) and allow water to leak over and around the chimney flashing, as well as penetrate the roof shingles. The caulked chimney flashing also needed to be re-installed. The present installation of the flashing and the absence of a roof cricket performed well when exposed to normal to light rains, but this installation was susceptible to leaking during heavy rains.

In my written report to my client I stated: “I suggest having a qualified contractor install a roof cricket on the upside of the chimney. The area behind the chimney, between the chimney and the roof ridge, is susceptible to damming-up rain water during heavy rains. This allows the rain to back up (pond) and penetrate the flashing and counter flashing, resulting in roof water to leak around the chimney chase. Section 1001.17 of the 2000 International Residential Code requires that a roof cricket be installed at a chimney with a width greater than 30". The present chimney appears to be at least 32" in width.” I also referred to, and attached a copy of, page 280 of the Journal of Light Construction Field Guide to Residential Construction (Volume 1, A Manual of Best Practices). This page provides details to installing a chimney cricket.

A comment about the building code: The building code is considered to be the “Minimum Standard” for building a house, see www.dca.state.ga.us/development/constructioncodes/programs/codes2.asp When some one says, “This house (or roof, chimney, etc.) was built to the code.” They are really saying, “This house (or roof, chimney, etc.) was built to the minimum standard.” Comforting isn’t it?

In my written report to my client I also addressed the issue with the chimney flashing (flashing is designed to keep water from penetrating around roof penetrations, etc.): “The metal counter (top) flashing at the chimney is caulked onto the brick chimney exterior. This caulked installation is susceptible to leaks and should be repaired (scored into the brick chimney or installed up under the brick chimney), by a qualified roofer / contractor.” I also referred to, and attached a copy of, page 281 of the Journal of Light Construction Field Guide to Residential Construction (Volume 1, A Manual of Best Practices). This page provides details to installing chimney flashing. This book is a good resource and can be purchased through the Journal of Light Construction.

After making my visual observations regarding the chimney, I began looking for an alternate method of getting off of this steep roof. Since I had slipped while going up the rear roof, I was sure that I could manage to slip while descending the rear roof. I did not like that option. I decided that the roof valley on the front right end of the house presented my best option for getting off of this steep roof. I had Mr. Homeowner move my ladder to the roof eave below this front valley, I backed down the roof valley, and climbed down the ladder, to reach sweet mother earth.

When going on a roof, it is a good idea to have some one on the ground to hold the ladder, move the ladder, etc. If you do not have some one on the ground, it is a good idea to have a cell phone with you just in case you have to call some one to replace a fallen ladder, etc. Being elevated above the ground, chances are that the phone’s reception should be great!