Roofing the Rows. What You Need to Know.

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Back in the day when 4th Street was one aspect of a privately owned corporate town (Walkerville), all of these cookie cutter row units were uniform in every way. When the roofs needed to be replaced, the whole quad was done. This ensured that the look and soul of the neighbourhood was kept in tact. Uniformity was key. That was back in the day.

In 1936, the Municipality spun the ownership off to individual owner/residents. As could be surmised, uniformity was lost to autonomy. Unit by unit, the roof lines started to deteriorate because of individual tastes, economics and demographics. The neighbourhood had lost its original planned sense of community.

Enter the eighties. This was the time when a group of new, pioneering owners who realized the historical and architectural significance of these homes simultaneously kicked off the regentrification process. One unit at a time, the 4th Street homes were being renovated and retrofitted. This process continues today. Gentrification brought with it cooperation and collaboration. Neighbours helped neighbours with their projects and before long the healing process to restore Hiram Walker's original vision of community started to unfold.

One of the most difficult challenges which faces the neighbourhood today remains the roof lines. Many neighbours got together to re-roof entire quads and this for sure, has proven to be the desired look. It also knits the street together as a whole. We still have quads with a quilt work of colours, textures and undesirable seams. Some of the units carry the entire history of Monmouth on their frames. Six layers of shingles including the original shake! Imagine the tonnage up there. The outermost layers are not even fastened to wood. The reasons are the same as they were back in the 1930's. Economics, timing and taste. Getting around all of this takes cooperation for sure.
How do we start? Coordination is key. Communication is imperative. All it takes is one person to have a roofing contractor measure up and quote the entire quad. The roofer will break it down to payment for each unit. This information is then shared with each owner and feedback has to be aquired. How many neigbours are ready, what colour and type of shingle etc.? There are many roadblocks which you might encounter. These include the neighbour who just shingled last year, economics and so on. There is a solution and fix to every one of these scenarios. Assuming that everyone is now on board, here's what you need to know about roofing on Monmouth Road:

1) If needed (it probably is), tear off all existing layers of roofing materials. You want to do this for a number of reasons. One being that you are taking an incredible load off of your roof (measured in tons). The most important being that shingle manufacturers will not guarantee the roof if you don't.

2) Plywood overlay is not needed. Your roofer will try to sell you this because it makes his job immensly easier (at a cost to you). The original roof planks on these homes are five quarter Douglas Fir. That is, they are a nominal one and one eighth inch thick (heavy duty). Adding a sheet of flimsy 3/8" roof deck offers no added value. He might also tell you that you need it because the breathing gaps between the planks (ours are 1/4") will cause problems. In fact this is good for shingles of any kind. It allows them to breath. Think of it this way: How did the roof get along this way for the last 100 plus years?
3) Make sure that the perimeter of the entire roof gets at least one coarse of felt paper applied (the whole roof can be done for a small additional cost). The reason for this is two fold: It is minimum code and it protects against a winter condition called "ice damming". These buildings are particularly susceptible to this because of the low pitch on the back roof.

4) A very modern and very good material called "water and ice" (a semi-cured rubber sheet material) should be used on the lead edge of the back roof, in all valleys and around all roof openings ie. chimneys, gables, skylights etc.

5) Many of our roofs have inadequate ventilation. A good rule of thumb is to have three vents for each unit. You will be surprised at how cool this makes your home in summer months. Always make sure to put them on the back slope because they are not the most attractive thing to look at from the street. Same goes for skylights. Never put them on the front roof! They absolutely kill the historical integrity of these buildings. If, for example, you want a skylight in your front room you can still put it on the back slope because the back roof actually covers most of your front room.

This is pretty much everything you need to know in order to make an informed choice. Remember...Knowledge is power.

Within the last couple of weeks we have collected quotations from several contractors. Prices for individual units (quoted as per above) range from $2,500.00 to $3,100.00. These prices are actually better than they were a couple of years ago. Some contractors offer 30 days to pay.

Done right, you will be proud to have a better looking house, a better looking row and a better looking block. Best of all, you will have a higher resale value than those units with just another added layer; ugly, unlevel butt seams and all.

If this is the year to re-roof, this information is good to know. If you need more information post to this author. Glad to help. Happy roofing!