Hello to all,
I have two customers looking to rip and replace their roofs due to leaks. The two houses are attached with two hipp roofs. The two hipp roofs meet along one of their long edges in a low (or NO) slope “valley” running the entire length of the houses. The existing roof has the “valley” lined with roll roofing and then shingled. Obviously this didn’t work. What would be the best method of making sure this area does not leak? EPDM? Torchdown? How far out of the valley should I keep the first course of shingles? When I cap the hips at the front and rear I will obviously have to run the caps all the way to the “valley” to cover the ends of the shingles on the front and rear of the houses. How can I make sure the nails don’t pose a problem. ANY advise is appreciated.
Richie
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Listeners write in about haunted pipes and building-science tomes, and they ask questions about roof venting and roof leaks.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
What you seem to be describing is called a dead valley. It should never happen because it is bad design and is gauranteed to leak eventually, no matter what you do. You will need to build a cricket to divert the water flow and then you have normal draining valleys.
Excellence is its own reward!
Two separate houses, each with their own roof, yet joined as if Siamese twins.
Is there a reason you can't perform the operation, giving each its own identity and deal with the runoff via gutters?
Or, if joined they must remain, reframe to a common ridge to create one hip roof with only four sides
Piffin and Ralph,
Thanks for the responses. The two houses also share a common wall so separating is not possible. I gues I'll have to pass on the job as I saw an estimate for a layover roof using rubber in the valley. Anyone ever hear of rubber roofing NOT applied to a clean deck? How could you get full adhesion? Sounds like more leaks waiting to happen but price rules and this estimate is LOW.
Richie
I'm with Piffin - No way would I want to leave the "dead valley" as it was.
After tearing off the roof, I'd frame a new valley or cricket in there and re-shingle it.
But it looks from your last post that you're going to pass on this? Hope the roofer who gets it has good insurance..........I've been making obscene phone calls. Of course,I didn't know they were obscene until I saw the bill.