I was at a job in a 1950s Cape Cod in Hartford and the way the original roof was flashed around the chimney completely changed how I handle those details now.

The old roofer had used a single, continuous piece of copper that was folded and soldered into a perfect custom pan, which I'd never seen done outside of a textbook before, and it hadn't leaked in 70 years.

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_ross3mo ago

Yeah, that old way of doing things can really make you feel dumb. I spent a whole afternoon last year trying to piece together a modern flashing kit with a dozen parts, and it still looked like a hack job. Seeing a seventy year old piece of folded copper that just works is a special kind of humble. Makes you wonder what we're doing wrong now that they had figured out back then. I guess sometimes the best trick is just doing it right the first time, even if it takes more skill.

stella3073mo ago

That "doing it right the first time" thing feels true for so much stuff now.

spencerl322mo ago

Planned obsolescence drives our whole economy now. That copper piece lasted because nobody made money when it didn't fail. Today's stuff is designed to be replaced, not repaired, and that's the point. Calling it a loss of skill misses the real goal, which is selling you another kit next year.