Training: HKC Roofing Cincinatti
I was contacted by Henry Mitchel of HKC roofing in Cincinatti to provide some up-training to their roofing crews. They are growing their historical and crat roofing operations and felt it was time to add some traditional seaming knowledge to their toolkit. 5 crew leaders were pulled off their regular duties to spend a week …
Slate roof with inscription, copper standing seam details.
Self-builds are the best way to a traditional building. This client in Titusville, PA had the building framed by an amish crew using an archaic method: ballon framing. This means the “shell” or outer walls run from the foundation all the way to the roof plate, and the platforms are “notched” into the walls rather …
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Solo slating: on location
In 2016: I was contacted by Fayetteville, AK entrepreneur and self-taught builder Andrew Marks to spec, design, and install this 80-plus square slate and copper roof. Andrew and his wife Karen were building this home almost completely alone! They sourced a framer, masonry, and mechanical contractor but they were doing most of the work themselves.
Copper Roofing in the Bahamas
One of my first commissions when I started touring in 2015: This medieval-inspired copper standing seam in Lyford Cay. This material is 22oz annealed and was formulated specifically for the extreme conditions in the caribbean.
French Style
This roof was the second stop on my tour that started in 2015. The client, Sarah Polzin is a director of training for the National Parks service. We had been introduced through my demonstrations for Preservation Trades Network. Traditional metal roofing in the french style: This is the built-in gutter, with a pleated corner. The …
Decorative Copper: Victorian
My first commission, nearly 18 years ago in Louisville, KY. I had spent the year prior studying Neubecker and working on my own house: a Sear’s Kit bungalow from 1927. After completing the ridge cresting/finial project I got my first experience repairing slate roofing. This tower featured “peach bottom” slates that had been damaged by …
Decorative Copper: Euro gutters, cross finial, and chimney caps
2007: I put an ad on craiglist, left my day job, and plunged head first into into contracting. My next commission was in a romantic revival suburb: “Senaca Park” in East Louisville. Later that year, I would do 2 more chimney caps, in the neighborhood for former KY governor Matt Bevin. I do not care …
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Cornice work: porch restoration, built-in gutters, and architectural design
This was my first project involving carpentry. I had done the built-in gutters on my own house, and labored for another contractor in the district to gain some experience the year prior so I felt confident. If the original roofers had used Euro methods, and the porch had never been wrapped it is likely that …
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Slate Repair
One of the great things about slate roofs, is their ability to be repaired, without throwing out the whole assembly. In 2008 Louisville was hit with a major wind storm which caused some gargoyles to fall off the secondary tower on St. Boniface Catholic Church. The going price for salvage slates was very steep. For …
Round built-in gutters
This was my first traveling job, in Hodgenville, KY. This gutter was a mess! Mostly due to lack of maintenance. If it had been kept up it likely would have survived a lot longer. Most of the time, when you see built-in gutters done by modern craftspeople, they cut a profile pan into segments. You …
“The Plaza” condo assn. at St. James Court
Posted 10th November 2008 by Kurtis I’ve been working with the residents of this condo building for some time now to navigate the waters of the local landmarks ordinance with the intention of removing these hideous and poorly built entryway awnings. These things were assumed by the landmarks committee “experts” to be original, and therefore in need of …
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Training: National Parks Service
In 2015 I left Rhode Island, and Casa Buena Builders to bring seamed roofing to the english-speaking world. I had been studying at night, bringing my skills up with folding and joinery; while working full-time in historic preservation, remodeling, and slate roofing. My favorite project of the tour that year was this seminar I was …
Working Drawings
Working drawings: different from architectural drawings are used for fabrication or assembly. They are intended to be used one time in the shop, and be lost in the process. This makes pattern making before the days of large format scanning and photocopy very expensive and time consuming. We can now digitize each pattern before it …
Louisville, KY Properties:
1420 Hepburn Ave 1329 S. 3rd Street 1333 S. 3rd Street 1468 s. 2nd street Saint Boniface Catholic Church 1611 s. 4th street 1454 s. 4th street 119 w. Ormsby street:
Traditional Standing Seam Roof
This project was designed and fabricated onsite from raw coil. We found an asbestos “slate” style roof existing. The asbestos was dismantled, bagged and passed down fully encapsulated for disposal. Decks were re-nailed and prepped with breathable synthetic underlay (best of both worlds) Roof material is 28g galvanized with a phosphorous/zinc dip for paint bonding. All painting …
Trad Building 