Half Crickets

:) We all get these. I find them with 'square' box folded pans all the time.

Several years ago, I changed that format and just realized I should share it. I generally use 24"-30" 'tall metal. At the inner point, I measure up about 7"-8" behind the chimney for that bend and the same for the wall. Here is the deviation. Off the chimney fold, I lay the square at that 8" wall mark, then att he upper end of this pan, I mark it on the OTHER side of my square' This puts everything 2" out of square. Ooops, right? Not really.

All of them are 'box-folded and the top edges get locked together with excess metal from the folds. Here's the finished, out of square half cricket.

"If there is such a thing as a kickout flashing for vinyl siding, installers up here haven't discovered it." lol

I know what you mean woody. I get lots of calls where the flashing let the water go in behind the siding at the bottom of chimneys and sometimes walls.

A lot of times its the old masonite siding and the stuff is badly ruined.

With vinyl its easy. Just cut a horizontal slit in the vinyl at the bottom ( stopping at the point where the cut surpasses where the flashing will be and let the very bottom "only" of the flashing come outside of the siding.

There was a time when I had never used any kind of I/W etc. for anything. And to my knowledge my roofs and/or repairs still did not leak.

But after seeing the long term effects of many different situations for years I finally came to the realization that this stuff does indeed have its useful purposes.

I showed the pics of the above chimney wrapped in storm guard to the homeowner and he was absolutely thrilled about it. His exact words were " Oh Wow, you covered that whole area that's been so troubling to us all these years, That's great".

He don't know that it will never see a drop of water because the flashing job is so tight. lol

Storm guard or I/W is also great to use vertically anywhere a valley lets out onto a lower roof.

But I admit the main reason I use it is to appease my clients.

wywoody Said: Tinner, your crickets are all exempt from condensation issues? Interesting.

Actually, the perfect material to conduct corner-folding experiments isnt felt, paper or anything that creases. Use a synthetic like Titanium 30, you get the walls tight and the corner will fold itself into what works.

You know, I never see signs of condensate under a chimney pan. It must have something to do with inside moisture. My carport sweats terribly and i can only credit it to the grass. But, I never see condensate inside my canoe lying in the yard. I found one of my roofs sweating terribly and water leaking out fro under the felt. Do you suppose it's the hour long hour soaking showers the girl takes, with the bath vented into the attic? B)

tinner666 Said: Cant get much neater unless I dont bend it at all. Even then, copper has distorted reflections like leaded glass has. Once it dulls in a few days, it looks good.

Here's a close up for you. The last step was also cut incorrectly down to the crease for some reason. (We all know you never cut that any lower than the thickness to the last shingle or tile so the can can sit on it with no gaps.) There is a 3-4" tall slit between the last step and the back pan on each ot these relying solely on caulk.

When folded all the way into the chimney, it closes that corner from wind blown rain. This technique dates back to before felt, I&W, or even caulk and is fool proof.

You know, I can't remember ever using storm guard or even felt on one of those. :) I buy a roll every now and then for large areas of roof when doing metal and know it'll be open for a while, but I've never wrapped a chimeny or wall.

You can't tell in the pic but the storm guard is turned 3 inches up the chimney, in behind the siding all the way around the chimney.

This one had a wooden half cricket already built. There was no rot so I just re-used it.

Heres an example of folding metal. The seams were folded and tonged up and then I pushed the whole roof up to the wall. No cuts to fail.

Frank, the dark one I can't see (but then seeing is no longer one of my great strengths) I do see that you have covered the crinkly stuff with the reglet piece in the later pic. Yours with the water bottle is not less "clean" than the one with the tape measure (seems that one was never fully complete anyway.) and in the old days, we used to flash skylights with comp in a somewhat similar way without using any metal whatsoever.

Copperman's folded outside corner made me think of Jim Fixx's book, "Games for the Super Intelligent" which I still have a copy of. Every once in awhile I will drag it out and painstakingly prove that with half the intelligence and four times the time and effort of your qualifying Mensa type, I can work just about any puzzle in there. The way that feels is usually a mixed bag, to be honest. An almost perfect balance of pride and shame. Very strange. A little disconcerting to discover the next time that I have forgotten how I did them. Some of those metal dangly puzzles where you have to get the rings on and off can be nasty, too. At least with those you know that if worse comes to worst, you could heave them through your neighbor's window while screaming at him to take a shot at it if he thinks he's so damned talented. Of course if your neighbor is not a guy, you would just have to suffer in silence. "Ma'am, do you suppose there is any way to get this (blasted) thing apart? I think they surely must have welded it together like this. Pardon me if I sounded a little angry."

Anyway, heading onward and upward, I took up the outside corner challenge and got two different techniques to work, both utilizing multiple folds which basically function as pleats, water shedding with no cuts. Not that simple to do. The steeper the saddle, the easier the corner. Whatever Copperman evolved as a technique is no doubt a credit to his art, I have no doubt of that.

I did it with paper, but I think I could reproduce it in metal (with considerably more work.) Love this kind of stuff. Don't get me wrong; I like utility too, and at its core that is spiritual, but this is the type of thing that can take something totally into the realm of expanded consciousness. (and no, I'm not comparing it to beer.)

Oh, I should have mentioned that both those neat ones weren't mine, and yes, they were bad leakers. :ohmy:

copperman Said: I have spent my life trying to figure out how to fold metal not cut it. I have it down to a science. I can even do a outside corner with just folding it. try wrapping you mind around that one. It can be done, no cuts at all. Maybe some day Ill share how ;)

Me too. Snipping is a last resort and seldom ever done.

I have spent my life trying to figure out how to fold metal not cut it. I have it down to a science. I can even do a outside corner with just folding it. try wrapping you mind around that one. It can be done, no cuts at all. Maybe some day I'll share how ;)

For some reason, I can only upload one pic at a time. Here's another one neatly done.