For a mere 162 words, why is there so much confusion on just how much Ice & Water Barrier / Shield (herein called IWS) that needs to be installed? You distill it down to the root and it simply states that said IWS, when required by the … “shall be used in place of normal […]
Wacky Weds: Worst Flashing Idea Ever?
One of the biggest tenants of building but especially roofing is getting the water away from the structure as soon as possible. So I have to wonder what this person was thinking… An adjuster showed me this flashing detail for a chimney… Not sure why the roofer didn’t install a cricket to shed water away […]
Wacky Weds: Truth in Advertising?
We recently had a nice little hail storm that came through our area over 2 months ago – and wow did that bring out all the storm chasers. Between the actual knocks on the door to illegally placed flyers on & in the mailbox I would say we have had over 25 come through. Just […]
Getting the details right: 4 biggest roof flashing errors to avoid
No matter what the age of a building there is one simple universal truth; water is a buildings worst enemy. As the saying goes, if you can keep the water out & away from the building, it can last forever. One of the most overlooked areas unfortunately happens to be your homes primary defense; the […]
Wacky Weds: Penny Wise but Pound Foolish
We got another two-fer special for you today…Both involve a simple piece of flashing called a kick-out which directs water away from the wall. For more on this simple detail & the codes around it, check out 4 Flashing Errors & how to Avoid Them . Do you really need three guesses where the water is […]
7 Steps to temporarily patch your roof with a tarp
When ones roof is damaged it is only natural to want to stop any water from getting inside, which also happens to be one of your insurance company’s primary concerns. While it may take weeks or even months to get a roofer out to repair the damage, a tarp can be put in place pretty […]
BS4D: Ice Dam’s, Icicles & Attic Condensation, Oh My…
Living in Arizona, I used to love traveling up to Flagstaff especially during the winter months. One of my favorite places was the Little America as not only did they have a huge roaring fire, an awesome buffet, great Christmas light display, but some of the largest icicles I have ever seen. Ahhh if I had […]
Alabama Building Code: IRC Changes Chapter 5 – 9
Yesterday we looked at the first four chapters of the 2009 IRC as it is part of Alabama’s new Building & Energy Code that goes into effect in less than a week. Today we are going to delve in the final “building” (Walls, Floors, Roofing & Finishes) sections of the code, in particular the biggest […]
Common Sense Building: The Cool Roof Concept
When one starts talking about roofs you will quickly run into a whole bunch of jargon; hot roof’s, cool roof’s, vented, unvented, green, flat, hybrid & the list goes on & on & on. Needless to say this can & does cause quite a bit of confusion especially when regional differences in naming conventions pop […]
Going Off-Grid in the 21st Century – Harvesting Rain Water
When many people start to look at ways to reducing their water usage (especially for gardening) many look to the sky. They do some quick research, crunch some numbers on how much water they can save based on their roofs and jump in their car (or go online) to go buy a 30 to 50 […]