Built this tower/ light house and had design creep work it’s way in.. To stay at the legal maximum height I needed to put the “light house” lower than originally planned. as a result the roof that goes up to it will be at a much shallower pitch than originally planned.
Too shallow I’m afraid..
It amounts to a 10 degree angle or a 2/12 pitch.. The grim part is I planned on using hand split cedar shakes, that same the rest of the house has..
The top deck is flat and has Ice and water shield over the whole surface. but the rafters will only be at a 2/12 pitch..
Will I be able to slide by on this? (rebuilding isn’t an option.).. it’s a relatively short area (5 feet) and I see no way for any leakage to get through but what will happen to the shakes laying that flat?
Replies
It takes 412 bro. 2/12 is rubber .
Tim Mooney
Time for some copper.
Joe H
Love to, can't! It would have to sit against aluminum
"Love to, can't! It would have to sit against aluminum"
Any chance you could use some of the Grace as a gasket between the two?
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
excellant thought!
perhaps not just ice and water but maybe a real gasket or make a gasket out of silicone.. Then if I don't need to allow for the thickness of the shingles I can raise it up enough to get it closer to a 3/12 pitch..
I wonder if I can make the copper thick enough to span from joist to joist without decking underneath. Any copper guys out there?
Frenchy, forgot what the details are, but some kinds of silicone react with copper.
Some silicone contains acetic (I think) acid. I'm not sure if that's the only problem, but you need to use one that is compatible.
Joe H
Thanks Joe,
I'll watch out for that. maybe to be safe I should use butyl?
Joe,
Sorry I dismissed your idea so quickly, it has real merit.. know how thick I'd have to make the copper to stand alone without decking under it?
If you can't get copper thick enough , make a copper / ply / copper sandwich
What I'm trying to do is eliminate the plywood underlayment. the Idea is that if I eleminate the 3/4 of an inch raise that requires over a short span like five feet that will give me more pitch.. perhaps not a big deal but every little bit helps (or so it would seem)
Greencu answered this in another thread -- you need the plywood under the copper. 2/12 is plenty of pitch for a copper roof, it's not worth fighting for an extra 3/4".
-- J.S.
'taint a fight yet! Still in the solvin' troubles stage. I'll get up there this weekend and start puttin' rafters up so 3/4 of an inch is no big deal, it'll just be where I nail 'em
Attach 2X2 ledgers to the sides of the joists (3/4" below the top) and insert the decking between and flush with the top of the joists.
My 2d,
Tom
What are you kidding me? This is frenchy, and the structure in question is his timberframe masterpiece! nothing less than setting the decking into the top of the joists with a dado route will do here. :-)> Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
Biscuits...
sheetrock screws ;-)
It'd help us answer if you posted a picture!
(just yanking your chain)
but yer right Mr. CloudMy life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Yea, like thats going to happen.
It's obvious, we just need to hire a teenager to put the webcam on the pole at the end of the driveway . . .Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Actually it would be easier than that,, I have a 66 foot manlift in my driveway.. he could get in it, drive it down the driveway, and raise himself up and take all the pictures he wanted..
Dear Sir,
Is there a chance that Der Inspector General will be able to determine the exact height of your structure? Can you push a little? Not that I think breaking code is right<g>, but height restrictions are an arbitrary thing to begin with.
Code breakers r us
Hand Hewn Restorations Inc.
Restoring the past for the future.
Yeah good idea. Just add some dirt around the foundation to cheat the hieght a little.
We had that problem with the height limit for a place under construction when somebody driving by the rural lot, not even anybody who lived in that neighborhood, complained to the county permit office. Trusses and roof were already up. The plans had been approved, but...
Do you know somebody who works well with the permit office? I'm assuming getting a variance might take too long or might be chancy.
We knew someone on the county advisory board who came up with the solution. We built some window wells and backfilled an additional 3 feet after sealing up higher. The county signed off without any further problems. I had to bury one or two of the side porch steps, but it was still a cheap fix and it probably improved the drainage away from the house as well.
D&L
They just don't allow additional dirt to be hauled in.. need a conditional use permit which means that the dirt and the structure that is affected by the permit are temporay and the city council can recind the permit at their whim..
Adding dirt is such a big deal in this town you can't beleive it.. My front deck was 6 feet 3 3/4 inches tall on one corner.. Honest a shovel full of dirt would have made it under six foot and then it's not considered structure.. If it hadn't of been considered structure I wouldn't have had a bit of trouble getting the permit.. as it was I made twenty two trips to city hall/ planning commision and city council over a year period just to get the permit to do this..
Their solution was to get rid of the deck. (some on the council consider them to be eyesores so they look for ways to get them torn down)..
Frenchy, can you sheath between the joists flush with the tops? this would give you the support you need for regular size copper and the ability to riase the roof to the limit.
SamT
Excellant idea! Hadn't thought of that. piece of cake to do too!
Nah, two reasons..
I've got a good building inspector and I wouldn't want to pizz him off.. evan if i got away with it, I wouldn't feel good if I ever ran for mayor again and somebody found out that I was cheatin'..
The second is, that isn't the tallest part of the structure.. the roof I'm talking about is like a little apron below the lighthouse windows.. really doesn't affect the overall height issue except the solution would be to raise the lighthouse up a foot or so but then I'd be a foot or so above legal..
I have a 66 foot manlift in my driveway
Well, yes, that would work. But it also creates two problems. First, you can't use the manlift during that time. Second, we don't get to see the semi-live pictures of you soldering the copper on the lighthouse . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
CapnMac,
Ya ain't a gonna' see me in no pictures.. Don't wan' my soul stole.. 'sides ya all wid' break your camera iffan ya tried that!! (read my post about me'n camera's)
I bribed my daughter with a new lap top computer if she will learn how to post pictures and teach me..
that's been two weeks.. Hmm,... I haven't seen my new lap top around lately... :-(
Geeez, I'll knock out your building inspector AND teach you to post pictures for that new laptop! :) Fix both your problems!
Don't you go messin' with my building inspector.. he's the only sane one down at city hall.. God help me if I had todeal with the planning commision or city council on a regular basis..
However, I'll use your offer to threaten my daughter.. see if that lights a fire under her..
Frenchy
I've learned with my children that I have to collect there end of the deal first, then I pony up.
Doug
OK! you caught me,, I spoil the girls.. Hard to be tough when they give you that Aw daddy look.. especially with the oldest who's away at college.. I gotta bribe her with gas money to see her once in a while..
Frenchy
I didnt mention that it took me quite a while to figure it out! Probably 20 years worth.
Doug
"I spoil the girls."
Nothing wrong with that. But I'm a bit confused...
First you say "I bribed my daughter with a new lap top computer..."
Then you say "I haven't seen my new lap top around lately..."
If you bribed your daughter with it, but it is still yours, she might not be thinking the bribe is sufficient.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
You see I asked her to show me how to post pictures.. I bought a camera and told her that she could have it if i could use it once she taught me how to post..
camera disappeared,,
I bought a lap top same thing..
Hmmm,. Daddy needs to have a discussion with daughter..
I think she needs to be bribed with a car so that she has a means of transportation to go and retrieve the camera and computer.
Oh, you didn't read earlier where I got the computer for buying her a new car?
"I think she needs to be bribed with a car so that she has a means of transportation to go and retrieve the camera and computer."
If she needs motivation beyond that...maybe a new wardrobe???
If you give us her e-mail, we'd be happy to send her suggestions...just to help you out, you understand.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
You guys are so kind, However she seems to do just fine without your aid.. (and I've got her younger sister to go yet!)
Frenchy
You know what they say, the younger ones are smarter cause they watched their older siblings.
Frenchy, 16 oz roofing coil is pretty soft, but the sheets goods come in different tempers and smaller quantites. Coil is mostly 1000 pound and up. Probably more than you want, in a 20" wide coil that's 600' long.
Much research on this lately, mysterious stuff here in Southern Cal.
Call Copper Sales 800-742-5866, they're somewhere close to you. Edgar in sales or whoever might be able to steer you to something useful.
I'm thinking to bridge much of a gap you'd need some material so thick you would be unable to fold and join the edges, but there might be a way to get there.
Post a sketch maybe.
Joe H