Of Course There's a Deck on the Roof Above This

[kurt]

A big, expensive deck. On a big expensive house about 10 years old. It'll take a couple weeks to get to the point where we're staring up at the sky, another week to frame in new structure, and several weeks to button it all up and rebuild a new deck.

Or something like that.

All because someone thought one didn't need flashing under stone coping. Stone is waterproof, right? No water migrates through limestone, right?

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[Marc]

That's gonna be one hell of a repair, enough to get me wondering just how in the heck would you do it?

Marc

[Jim Baird]

...obviously underway on a "cost-plus" basis.

[kurt]

It's unreal. You couldn't have convinced me 10 ears ago that I'd be seeing stuff this bad.

[mjr6550]

Any photos of the top side?

[David Meiland]

I could show you a brand new 16,000 square foot house with leaks like that at every balcony. Solution is to repaint the ceiling and open another bottle.

[John Dirks Jr]

Is the whitish color frost or fungus?

[kurt]

That's full tilt white rot. The webs on the TJI's are literally compost mush. The whole thing is settling about 5" on a 20' span. This one could have collapsed into the FR; it's not just a balcony; it's about 500sf of nastiness. Solid load bearing masonry exterior walls. No capillary breaks/boots on the joist ends. No squash blocks. No flashing under the coping. No nothing. Mold food joists set in wet CMU's. Woof....

I have a few photos of the topside, but the owner is understandably traumatized and adamant that no identifiable photos be distributed. I'm only allowed to show the rotten areas and the subsequent repairs for "public education". No identifiable anything. Just the mess. I think he's being reasonable. Most folks wouldn't even let me do this.

[Tom Raymond]

Ouch. Is this just bad flashing or one of those silly split face block fiascos?

The only good part is those 20 foot I joists can be shoveled into contractor bags. I can't imagine staging that many building materials in your urban environment.

[kurt]

Cavity wall. Not bad flashing....no flashing, cavity full of slump mortar. Staging is a logistical ballet, this is in the heart of rich urban professional territory. Neighbors, literally about 3' away, have to also be mollified. Appearances must be maintained.

Interestingly, when the drywall came off, we found someone had painted the inside block face with waterproofing paint.

[John Kogel]

It's been raining in there for years. What triggered the sudden call for action? [:-magnify

[kurt]

That's what's interesting. It hadn't been raining in there. It had been soaking it up like a sponge for years. Nothing was visible except the sag. It's only in the last year they noticed the moldy smell.

It's frightening. This stuff can be hidden for years without us knowing it. You couldn't have convinced me of this until now.

[mjr6550]

They built houses 10 years ago with load-bearing masonry walls? I have not seen that around here since about the 1960's.

[kurt]

They build them now. I look at new load bearing masonry homes all the time. I'm not expert in much, but I'm pretty good with masonry stuff.

It's a city thing. I only see them in the city proper, but I see them a lot.

[kurt]

The only good part is those 20 foot I joists can be shoveled into contractor bags.

Dropped this on the crew today; cracked everyone up. I gave you attribution.

[RJ]

The garbage snippet was pretty funny. I'll be the one holding the bag. We'll use trusses hanging off a ledger, vented flashing under the capstones, vent the perimeter of the roof behind the termination. All you building enthusiasts...this is a great example of the new REbuilding BOOM. . Its too bad no one wants to pay for it!!

[RJ]

Kurt, by the way,that wasn't waterproof paint. About a 1/8" of hard efflorescence.