Chimney Flashing Photo and Description Page

Updated 3 / 2013

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Here are some photos of a common chimney flashing kit custom made for our clients Ralph and Media Druschel in Zelienople, Pennsylvania for the new house they are building. This custom saddle has been designed to have the same sideways slope as the roof and has been reinforced with 1/2" plywood to have the same strength under the copper as their roof. This makes for a simple to install single piece design. I could make a copper cover to go over an existing frame, but there's a much higher chance it will not fit just right. This wood has been glued up inside this copper cover.

The flashing kit has been numbered and labeled to help the installer know how it is to go in place and in what order. I wasn't satisfied with the standard flashing configuration, so I recently designed a special type of step-flashing with a pair of 45 degree bends instead of just a simple 90 degree bend, which is an improvement over the standard right angle bend configuration normally used. This has several advantages, yet may be difficult to fit into some situations.

Sealing around the corners of a chimney has always presented a problem to make sure it's water tight without the use of a caulk, which could fail sooner than the lifespan of the roof. It needs to maintain a seal even in the harshest wind storms. I have found this alternative shape helps in several other ways as well:

(a) navigates the rain water out away from the corners of the chimney a bit better.

(b) slows the water down and reduces upward splattering under the counter flashing.

(c) helps trim off the commonly compromised and damaged shingles nearest the chimney when replacing the flashing without a full re-roofing project, thus reducing the shingles needing replaced around the chimney.

(d) helps reduce scraping needed where the chimney meets the roof: old caulk or sloppy mortar work.

(e) makes it easier to cut the new grooves without needing to grind so close the the roof.

(f) application of an underlayment resting up against the chimney for added protection is also made possible; without such risk of cracking that membrane needed with conventional flashing.

Here is a great set of photos sent to me, taken with my client's cell phone while I helped walk him through the process of installing this copper flashing kit I made him. This shows him test fitting a few pieces first.

He loosely laid out shingles and flashing in place to capture these images, so I could see if he was on the right track.

The saddle seen here had some minor damage during shipping, but he was able to bend it back in shape. It would have been too costly and time consuming to send it back to have me fix it, or remake it. This is one of the advantages in using a malleable metal like copper. He marked a line on this piece of flashing as an indicator of how the counter-flashing will need to be positioned over this flashing to allow for some movement as temperatures change.

Here he has now gotten the confidence to start nailing down shingles and flashing. It is important to punch the nail hole through the copper flashing with an ice pick or similar tool, or you could wind up bending a lot of these copper roofing nails I include with each flashing kit.

Most of these copper roofing nails will be driven through 2 layers of shingles and copper flashing. You could run the nail half way up each piece of flashing, but then you would only have 1 nail holding each piece of flashing in place. Set lower makes it go thorough the lower flashing as well for a substantially more secure hold and less chance of any movement.

This layered installation will provide a good water tight seal without the need for any caulk. The tab of the flashing that lays flat on the roof deck should be completely covered by the next row of shingles as seen here. Remember you can click on each photo to get a better look.

When you reach the top corner this right angle bend has to be custom formed on site to seal against the top flashing pan. Be it a full saddle with the same sideways pitch as the roof, or just a simple horizontal tray to divert the rain water off to the sides of the chimney.

This top tray or saddle needs to be made several inches wider than the chimney to drain the water out past the sides a bit. It is also important this has a wide outlet mouth on both ends, so there is less issue with debris getting trapped in this area.

The extra ends of this upper tray then need to be folded over the step flashing to help seal it to the side flashing. The outlet drip edge flange is also bent down to meet the shingles.

Now he's ready to mortar in the counter-flashing pieces over the step flashing set installed. It is imperative to have this 2 part flashing system, so as temperatures change and the wood structure expands and contracts differently than the clay structure of this chimney they will be able to allow for this movement while maintaining a water tight seal. With even a 1/4" movement any caulk used would be torn apart and made irrelevant. The counter-flashing needs to be installed with this in mind, so it is not mounted too low to the step-flashing pieces and saddle.

To see more photos of this installation follow this link:
http://copper-by-design.com/rf/Druschel.htm

Let me know if you need any special configuration and we'll customize your kit.

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Helpful Roofing Information
For some valuable advice with regards to roofing and rain management issues check out our:

(a) Gutter Installation
(b) Gutter Debris Protection Options
(c) Roofing Quality Standards
(d) Moss Control & Treatment

web pages for answers and solutions that could save you thousands of $ and a great deal of anguish.

If you do find this information very helpful, feel free to send us a $ tip for the assistance we so freely have published on the web here for your benefit, like you might tip a waitress.  Heck, send us a gift certificate for a candle lit dinner for two.

 

Below is a photo of our
Better Business Bureau's
NW Business Integrity Award
for the year 1998

1999 Better Business Award

We were also a 1997 finalist for this same award. See our referral web page to see how we managed to be honored with this special award

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