Lessons from a Scupper

We're renovators. We've owned seven homes and (two cottages). We've seen stuff happen with houses of all shapes and sizes. We  KNOW stuff. Warren, especially, knows all kinds of stuff about homes and the behind the scenes mechanics that make them work - heating, cooling, foundations, insulation, eavestroughs, flashing, and air flow.

However, we've had an experience with our own home over the past few weeks that show how - even when you think you know what you are doing - repairs can emerge and knock you on your a#s! We didn't see this one coming!

Here's what happened to us. We moved into our renovated home last December when we enjoyed a mild winter, with little snow and an early Spring. No real issues in terms of snow, ice management. All was well.

This year is another story. We had plenty of snow in Ottawa - and ice - and more snow. Throw a few periods of melting and you've got a bit of a mess for a flat roof like ours. Long story short we had some ice dams, and then we had some leaks from run off from flat roof. Where our eavestrough met our roof - there was a gap not easily seen by our roofers (or us!). When we had an ice dam, the melted snow/water found it's way into a minuscule gap behind our siding and into our East wall ... all the way down to the basement! You can see bit of the exterior trail here.

You can see the thing called a "scupper" here. It is supposed take the water off the roof (with flat roofs you need an extra scupper, on top of an eavestrough ..) In case you don't know what a scupper is ... Many of our clients have or are entertaining the idea of flat roofs. They have a cool look we love, but our climate is not always friendly to these types of roofs. You just need a good roofer to tell you how to deal with them. (Thanks Todd Fenton from THF Roofing from  for fixing ours!)

We had so much snow that we couldn't even see this small gap up on the roof  - and had to shovel it all out of the way to see our way to repair things. Meanwhile, during our March break trip to Mexico ..... the water came in and found it's way into our basement ceiling, floor and presumably, our walls ....As Warren says, water always finds the path of least resistance.

Luckily for us there's insurance! My Mom, who is staying in our downstairs guest suite while she waits for her new condo to be built ... is now  a displaced person. She'll be spending some time in a hotel while we rip apart her suite - new drywall, new flooring, new insulation. She's moving out - along with a good deal of her worldly possessions. Sorry, Mom.

Meanwhile, as a family that has (ahem) moved a few times .... here is a funny one that could have been posted by someone we know (not mentioning any names ..).

Endless Winter - Trials and Tribulations

It's been a long winter. A  looonnnggggg winter.  I am rather grumpy about it by this point - and I'm originally a Prairie girl, used to MUCH colder winters than Eastern Ontario brings. This one's just been so ... varied. Cold, then snow, then icy melts, than more cold - then throw in some wind. We are shoveling endlessly (well, that's the royal "we") .. it just seems more tiresome than usual this year. Here is what our street looks like ..

But for homeowners, winter can be a more serious issue than something to complain about. Winter in Canada means snow, and snow melts, which means water. (Same applies to ice). And water - always - means big trouble for our homes. Water damage can be deadly (and costly!). Over the past few weeks, we've had to deal with a few issues relating to cold and water. We had frozen pipes at our Arlington Woods project - causing us to rip open a ceiling that was almost ready for paint and final touches. This is so irritating for homeowners. They get so close ... and then need to take a few steps backwards. All was well within a few days .... Luckily, we had a worker on site over the weekend who noticed the leak, so we were able to help the homeowners with it quickly. Far worse damage could have been done if it had gone unnoticed!
It's hard to know - especially in older homes with questionable insulation - what might freeze in desperately cold weather, but often a reno is a great opportunity to figure this out! At our Delmar Street project, we actually turn off the main water source each night when it's cold. Just to be sure.

At our own house, the fun continues as we struggle with our flat roof. Warren spends an inordinate amount of time on our roof - shoveling.  We think (but can't be sure because it's too icy up there!) that

When we had a warm spell a few weeks back - as lovely as it was - we had leaks in our walls. Warren did some investigation by flashlight and has identified (we think) the problem. Melted snow is making its way behind our siding somehow - we can't see the flashing due to snow build up - but think there is a crack or hold somewhere. The water is finding its way through whatever channels it can find and coming into our drywall. It's bizarre where it ends up. Hopefully Spring will solve this mystery once and for all and we can make repairs and avoid this for next year.

We also had some ice dams ... indicating our roof needs better ventilation. This is our first real cold winter in this house. Last winter we had just moved in, and it never really got cold. We weren't able to test our attic insulation and ventilation. We now have some work ahead to make some improvements. This just goes to show that even long after a renovation - there are new discoveries about how a home ticks. Even for professional renovators - our homes always have these little surprises!

And to end on a upside .. here is a much prettier shot of winter skating on the canal in Ottawa - just a few steps away from our roof problems!