Roof Repair in Cincinnati, From the Masonry Side

Roof repair in Cincinnati, starting where the roof meets masonry

A lot of roof leaks on older houses are not shingle problems. The water gets in where the roof meets something solid: a brick chimney, a parapet wall, a stone gable or a brick sidewall above a lower roof. That is why roof repair in Cincinnati so often turns out to be a flashing and mortar repair, and why a masonry contractor is a sensible first call when the stain on your ceiling sits next to a chimney or an outside wall.

Swiss Masonry has done masonry in Cincinnati since 1993. We do roof repairs, and we replace roofs when it is part of a larger exterior job we are running as a general contractor. We are not a high-volume roofing company, and we do not go door to door after storms. The owner looks at every leak in person, on the roof and, where he can reach it, in the attic, before he prices the repair. We work in Cincinnati and the 50-mile area around it, from Hyde Park and Mount Adams to Milford and Covington.

Chimney flashing repair: the three parts that keep water out

Chimney flashing is a system, and a leak usually means one part of it has failed.

Step flashing

L-shaped pieces of metal are woven into each course of shingles up both sides of the chimney, each lapping the one below.

Counterflashing

A second layer of metal is set into a mortar joint cut into the chimney and folded down over the step flashing. It belongs in the joint, pointed in with mortar. When counterflashing is face-nailed to the brick and held on with caulk, water gets behind it as soon as the caulk shrinks. If the joints themselves are eroded, we repoint them with tuckpointing before new counterflashing goes in.

The cricket on the uphill side

On the uphill side of a wide chimney, water and leaves pile up against the brick. A cricket, or saddle, is a small peaked roof that splits the flow around it. Ohio’s residential code calls for a cricket on the ridge side of any chimney more than 30 inches wide.

Not every chimney leak is flashing. A cracked crown or soaked brick can let water down inside the stack, which calls for chimney repair. We check both.

Parapet walls, coping and brick sidewalls

Flat roofs on older brick buildings are often edged by a parapet, a short wall above the roof line. It takes rain on both faces and on top, so it leaks in ways a pitched roof does not.

• Coping. The stone, terra cotta or metal cap on a parapet sheds water off the top of the wall. When its joints open, water goes straight down into the brick. We reset loose coping on fresh mortar, add flashing under it where the wall needs it, and anchor it with stainless steel pins rather than galvanized hardware.
• Roof-to-parapet joint. The roof membrane should turn up the inside face of the parapet and be covered by counterflashing set into a mortar joint, the same way a chimney is flashed.
• Brick sidewalls. Where a lower roof meets a taller brick wall, step flashing and counterflashing do the work. At the bottom of the slope, Ohio’s code calls for a flashing that diverts water away where the eave meets the sidewall, so it lands in the gutter instead of running down the wall.

On older buildings, the mortar in a parapet is often soft lime mortar. On pre-1920 brick we repoint it with a lime-rich mix chosen from a sample panel, as part of our historic masonry restoration work, never with a hard cement mix that traps water in old brick.

Slate roof repair on older homes

Slate is one of the longest-lasting roofs there is. The National Park Service’s Preservation Brief 29 puts the life of a properly installed slate roof at 60 to 125 years or longer, and it notes that when slate leaks, the gutters, valleys and flashings are more likely to have failed than the slate itself.

• Broken slates. The damaged slate is pulled with a slate ripper, and a matched slate, new or salvaged, slides into its place. It is held with a single copper nail through the joint above, covered by a copper bib.
• Slipping slates. Many slates sliding at once often means the original iron nails have rusted through while the slate is still good. Those slates can be taken up and relaid with copper nails.
• No roofing cement. Mastic smeared over cracked slate or flashing seals for a season, then hardens and cracks. It also makes the next repair harder.
• Flashings. On a slate roof, flashings should last about as long as the slate. The Park Service ranks copper among the most durable flashing metals for that reason.

Ohio’s code does not allow a new roof covering laid over existing slate, so a slate roof is either repaired or torn off. The Park Service favors repair whenever possible.

Spot repair, one slope, or a new roof

We size the work to the roof in front of us.

1. Targeted repair. Flashing at a chimney or wall, a valley, a few shingles or slates, a cracked vent boot.
2. One slope or section. Roofs often wear unevenly. When one slope has failed and the others are sound, replacing that slope and repairing the rest spreads the cost out.
3. Full replacement. When the roof has failed across the board, it is torn off. Ohio’s code does not allow a new layer over a roof that is water soaked or already has two or more layers. We repair the deck, install new underlayment and new flashing at every wall and chimney, and coordinate the work with your box gutter and soffit repair or chimney work so the whole roof edge is sound.

Some cities and townships require a permit for re-roofing. We check with your building department and pull the permits the job needs.

If a storm damaged your roof or chimney, we write line-item repair estimates that your carrier’s adjuster can follow, and we work alongside your adjuster and any general contractor on the job. We do not negotiate claims or promise outcomes. More on that is on our storm damage repair page.

How we handle a roof leak call

1. Tell us where the water shows up inside and when: every rain, wind-driven rain only, or snowmelt. Each points to a different source.
2. The owner inspects the roof, the masonry and, where he can reach it, the attic.
3. You get a written estimate that names the cause and the repair. Every job is priced after the owner sees it. Common masonry ranges are on our pricing page.
4. The repair is done with the masonry and roofing work in the right order, mortar joints first, then flashing.

Insured, with a certificate of insurance on request. Our work carries a one-year workmanship warranty. Roofing is one of the trades we coordinate as a general contractor, with masonry still our specialty. To set up a visit, ask for a free estimate.