Weather reminds us that autumn will inevitably yield to winter. Frost. Flurries. Cooold nights… Probably soon-ish, at least for short intervals. And yet the threat of colder, wetter, even snowier and icier days ahead is 100% less concerning than it was a year ago. We’d only just begun our foray into Rosslyn’s icehouse rehabilitation. And we were racing the weather. So, from the cozy comfort of a wonderful, weatherproof icehouse, I offer you a flashing flashback to one year ago.
In those early weeks Hroth was morphing, construction plans into progress (i.e. demo, material orders, progress punch lists, etc.) He and Pam were communicating and coordinating with me long-distance while I was in Santa Fe.
The first two images in this post — sketches and notes created by Hroth — illustrate our plans for skinning the icehouse with the existing 2-ply T&G cladding, 1-1/2” ZIP System insulated panels, trim, and clapboard siding. As we “ciphered” through Tiho’s drawings, the as-built conditions, and the underlying goals, we needed to finalize a flashing plan. I had spec’ed copper flashing to be consistent with what we used on Rosslyn’s house rehab a decade and a half prior.
Part and parcel of the ZIP System is a proprietary flashing that ensures weather protection. But to safeguard this once-upon-a-time utility building we were rehabilitating into a handsome work+life flex space, I wanted to strategically integrate copper drip edge at the transition from framing to original stone foundation. Although we also used custom copper drip edging above windows, doors, etc. those were simpler and more straightforward. You can see in the progress from the first to the second drawing that we were working our way toward a solution so that we could design the copper flashing for fabrication.
In the photograph above, you can see what we came up with. So simple. So functional. So beautiful. It’s all in the details!
There were additional challenges with this copper flashing that you may have picked up on, if you study the two sketches above. Because this historic building has inevitably taken on some bows and bulges, settling and other irregularities over the years, we needed to design and tolerance for the disparity at along the north and south foundations between the frame building and the stone foundation. These are the fun parts of historic rehabilitation!
A year later, I rest much easier knowing that this entire building — from copper flashing to window and door apertures, from hydronic radiators to forced air backup heating — is perhaps better prepared for winter than ever before. Thank you, Hroth. Thank you, Pam. Thank you Peter, Supi, Tony, Eric, Matt, Justin, and everyone else who helped transform this historic outbuilding into one of my favorite parts of living at Rosslyn.
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