Restoring a neglected flat roof and cornice gutter.

This week we're restoring the flat porch roof and box gutters at a residence in New Albany, IN.  As with many century-old gutters, these had been relined at some point in the recent past.  They even rebuilt the trough and did a bunch of carpentry repair but the repairs themselves caused even more problems.  Surprisingly the gutters didn't leak but the transition that was cut into the old roofing material did.  So now the leak was happening on the structural part of the porch rather than the superficial framing of the overhang.  We've now rebuilt and repaired the rotted areas and corrected the pitch issue with the gutter.  Tomorrow we will begin lining the new gutter trough with copper pans and installing the insulation board for the rubber roof...

Peel-n-stick, v-crimp panels installed with face-nails, silver emulsion coating, and tar of course!

Just slop more bull on there: that will fix it for sure!

Do-over!

...Speaking of rubber roofs, Did I already mention how much I love rubber roofs?  Fully-adhered rubber (EPDM) is the best option for simple flat roofs on old houses.  I love copper, really.  But nobody can justify the upfront cost of a flat-lock copper roof (almost $2000 per square!)  Around the turn-of-the-century there was an army of immigrant roof tinners who were well trained and worked for next to nothing to cover the houses constructed in the building boom of that time.  For quality metal roofing to be cost-effective: We would need another influx of highly-skilled cheap labor that could create true double-locked and flat-lock metal roofing.  As it stands now, that type of roofing is a boutique item that is not within the average homeowner's budget.  It is better for the structure to spend the money on the crucial areas instead of splurging on an item that could be waterproofed effectively for much less.  Gutters should always be lined with professionally fabricated sheet metal.  EPDM is NOT designed for gutters, and installing it in a gutter is not within the scope of the warranty granted by any of the product manufacturers.  Gutters take a lot of abuse and the rubber, while durable on a flat roof, is not strong enough to take more than a decade or two lining a gutter.  Gutter lining should last a century, minimum.