General home repairs

Flashing seems like such a small thing, but it can cause a whole host of large problems. In this home, the dormer wasn’t properly flashed when it was installed, which allowed water to seep in and damage the structure beneath. It was so bad that you could literally poke a screwdriver right through the wood. Compounding the issue was a clogged copper gutter that sent torrents of water cascading down on the compromised area.

Solutions

• We installed a new dormer window unit, properly sealed and flashed it, and finished it off with new siding and trim.
• As water ran down the wall over the years, it rotted away exterior wood that was in contact with the brick porch steps. We replaced that rotted wood with pressure-treated wood and installed proper flashing to prevent future issues.
• We noticed the wall issue when we saw telltale splits in the cedar siding. Although it didn’t look bad on the exterior (the homeowners thought the separation was something that could be corrected with a little caulk and paint) experience taught us otherwise. We realized that the cedar siding, a material that resists rot, was mostly unharmed, but the wood in the wall behind it was compromised. Also, since wood rot attracts insects, there was an infestation issue in the rotted wood. All of these issues were corrected.