Hi-
I’d love some advice from the pros out there. We have a brand new roof put on our 100 year old stucco house. The issue is the old flashing needs to be replaced but is up the wall (where roof edge meets dormer wall) about 8 inches. That is a huge gap of stucco that would need to be removed and then restucco’d. We are not interested in the counterflashing with a raglet method due to awkward appearance. My contractor is suggesting we put the new step flashing up the stucco wall BEHIND the old flashing a few inches (2") because removing the old flashing completely will be a disaster for the stucco job later. He insists this will be enough water protection but wants me to feel secure about it. What do you think? What am i missing?
Thanks for your help.
Two inches won’t make anyone happy…
Typically we either cut out the stucco and lay new flashing against the house, then have a stucco guy come in and fill the cuts with new stucco. The bad thing about this is that the new stucco tends to form a hair-line crack along the existing stucco, allowing water entry.
Or…(our preferred method) is to lay the new step flashings up the existing stucco wall and then come down with aprox. a 4" counter-flashing that is cut into the stucco and dropped down covering the step flashings. We use all copper. Although this method can be unsightly it is the best for keeping you dry. Keep in mind the copper can be painted to match the house.
Grace Ice & Watershield over the old step flashing & then install the new step flashing “over” the Grace I&W Shield & old step. Then bury it all in stucco. You never said what kind of roof system? Metal? Shingle? Tile?
If you can get the step flashing between the wall of the house and the existing stucco and up 2 inches without damaging the stucco that would be effective and look nice.
If he can get the new flashing 2 inches up the wall that should be fine. However, I don’t see that being an easy job. Worth a shot though. I agree with Tar Monkey that the best way is counter flashing painted to match the house. I don’t think it looks unsightly at all, as long as its not made overly tall. I have had bad luck in the past trying to patch new stucco with old stucco.
Hi There,
I’m not sure how much rain fall you get or how heavy your snow accumulation is there but here, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, I would be nervous to install a 2" step flashing. Generally step flashing is **at least **3.5", 1.5" may not seem like a lot but that is nearly double the size, which means double the protection. The risk involved also depends on the pitch of your home, if your roof is very steep there is little to no chance of water backing up from heavy rain fall or ice damming occurring so your probably safe, but if your roof is low sloped I would be very weary of going forward with the method your considering. Really the best way to approach this would just be to do it properly and remove the Stucco or counter-flashing over-top to Guarantee a proper seal, there’s always going to be possible issues when your installing something where you can’t see everything. Your roof is your largest asset and investment why take risks, deal with it and do it right now and avoid yourself the headaches and possible interior damages later.
That being said however, if your adamant about going ahead with this method, I would make sure that high quality ice and water shield, preferably Gaf Storm Guard or Grace be ran up the wall as far as possible, and not just flat on the roof surface. Also, the old flashing must be as flat as possible, nailed down and free of any shingle granuals to make sure the ice and water seals tightly.
Learn more about the issues with bad step-flashing and improper techniques on our website,scroll down to the Marks of a Pro section.
cheers’
John Ward
Certain Seal Roofing
Your Ottawa Roofing Contractors
1044 Meadow Park pl
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
k1k 0m5
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