Roofing in Irving Park, Victorians and Bungalows
Old Irving Park Victorians and classic bungalow blocks need different materials and different flashing detail.
What goes wrong on roofs in Irving Park
Irving Park is two roofing neighborhoods. Old Irving Park contains a concentration of large 1880s to 1900s Victorian and Queen Anne homes with steep pitches, turrets, cross gables, dormers and extensive decorative detail. Some of the most complex residential roofs on the Northwest Side. The rest of the community area is largely bungalow belt and two-flat stock: shallow hipped roofs with wide eaves, and low-slope roofs behind parapets. Frame cottages and mid-century infill fill in around both.
On the Old Irving Park Victorians, the work concentrates on valley detailing, dormer and turret flashing, and masonry chimney counterflashing cut into aging mortar. These roofs have a great deal of flashing linear footage and that is where they fail. On the bungalow blocks it is the familiar finished-attic ventilation and ice dam pattern. The two-flats bring standard parapet and membrane termination work.
Irving Park sits on the Northwest Side, covering 60618 and 60641 and 60634, so the roof detail above is specific to these blocks rather than to Chicago as a whole.
What gets called in around Irving Park
On the Old Irving Park Victorians, the work concentrates on valley detailing, dormer and turret flashing, and masonry chimney counterflashing cut into aging mortar. These roofs have a great deal of flashing linear footage and that is where they fail.
Roofing questions from Irving Park
My Old Irving Park Victorian has a lot of flashing. Where does it usually fail?
In the valleys, around the dormers and turrets, and at the masonry chimney where counterflashing is cut into aging mortar. These roofs carry a great deal of flashing, and that is where water gets in long before the shingles wear out. A careful flashing inspection is worth more than new shingles here.
Why is Irving Park described as two roofing neighbourhoods?
Because Old Irving Park’s large Victorian and Queen Anne homes and the surrounding bungalow blocks are entirely different roofs. One needs flashing and material skill on steep, complex roofs. The other has bungalow attic and ice dam issues. Say which part you are in.
Should a chimney be repointed before the roof is redone?
If the mortar is crumbling, yes. Counterflashing is cut into the mortar joints, and it will not hold in failing mortar. On the older Irving Park homes, getting a mason to repoint the chimney first means the new flashing lasts as long as the roof.
Can the original detail on an Old Irving Park home survive a reroof?
Generally, with a careful crew. Cornices, cresting and decorative trim can usually be protected or removed and reinstalled. Ask the roofer how they will handle the detail on your house, and look at examples of similar homes they have done.
Adjacent neighborhoods
- Portage ParkNorthwest Side
- AvondaleNorthwest Side
- Albany ParkNorthwest Side
- North CenterNorth Side
Roofing estimate in Irving Park
Give us the address and what the roof is doing. 60618 and 60641 and 60634 and the rest of the Northwest Side are covered, and the estimate is free.