Piqued

Nancy Sherer

This time of year I get to the 'no excuse is good enough' stage in yard work. Clearing clogged drains before autumn rains can't be put off. With only a few weeks left of warm, dry weather, I had better finish water-proofing the deck. Climbing on the roof to scrape off the moss and apply moss killer looms. Practically all of my summer chores involve delaying water damage.

Especially important is keeping water outside when the torrential rains begin. Overflowing gutters mean bailing out the driveway which puts me on the roof at least four times a year to scrape out fir needles and pine cones. But the most alarming problem, the one I figured out after getting the roof re-shingled and having the flashing replaced, is because architects don't understand rain in a rain forest.

It isn't just my problem. I've watched my neighbors replace the roof three times in twenty years. Driving through Bellingham neighborhoods, it is common to observe roofs with plastic sheeting weighed down with cinder blocks. Judging by how I solved the problem, I'm willing to bet that most home owners suffer in silence.

Oh, you want to know what the problem is? Chimneys built less than six feet from the peak of the roof. I'm not sure that six feet is necessary because I'm not an architect, but I know that three feet is not enough. When the October rains pour down, chimneys form a dam where water backs up and siphons under the flashing. The same problem occurs if we get a little snow which, since this is Bellingham, will be followed by rain. Chimneys near the roof line don't allow runoff.

When I figured out what the problem was, I jury-rigged a solution from metal shelving parts. I don't know what they are called, but with a little duct tape to keep them in place, my problem was solved. It might catch some neighbor's eye, but it's subtler than plastic sheeting and cinder blocks or water damage. Turned out to be even more permanent than I hoped for. It holds from year to year, sometimes without tampering. Which is more than I can say about the metal tiles I Blackjacked to the chimney opening to keep the raccoons out.