Greystone and Two-Flat Roofing in Logan Square
Masonry parapets throughout, and that is where the water gets in long before the roof surface fails.
What goes wrong on roofs in Logan Square
Logan Square is greystone and two-flat country. The boulevards carry substantial greystone and brick homes and mansion-scale buildings from the 1900s and 1910s, while the surrounding blocks are dominated by brick and greystone two-flats and three-flats. Nearly all of it is low-slope behind parapets. There are also frame cottages and workers houses, many raised, plus a heavy volume of recent deconversion and gut-rehab work that has added roof decks and new penetrations to buildings that were never designed for them.
Parapet and coping failures dominate. On the boulevard buildings, decorative cornices and elaborate masonry detail complicate the roof-to-wall termination and require careful counterflashing rather than surface sealant. Gut rehabs are a common source of leaks here because new HVAC and plumbing penetrations get cut through an existing membrane and detailed poorly. Rear porch and addition roofs are a consistent second source.
Logan Square sits on the Northwest Side, covering 60647 and 60618, so the roof detail above is specific to these blocks rather than to Chicago as a whole.
What gets called in around Logan Square
Parapet and coping failures dominate. On the boulevard buildings, decorative cornices and elaborate masonry detail complicate the roof-to-wall termination and require careful counterflashing rather than surface sealant.
Roofing questions from Logan Square
Why does the decorative cornice on my boulevard building make leaks harder to fix?
Elaborate masonry and cornices complicate the point where the roof meets the wall. The flashing has to be counterflashed carefully into the masonry around the detail, and surface sealant against ornament is a temporary fix at best. It is slow, skilled work, which is why boulevard buildings cost more to keep watertight.
My two-flat was gut rehabbed. Why is the roof leaking already?
Gut rehabs often replace the interior and much of the roof but tie new work into old parapets and flashing that were never redone. The new roof leaks where it meets the old masonry. Ask whether the parapet flashing and coping were addressed during the rehab, because that is usually where the problem sits.
What does coping do on a parapet?
Coping is the cap along the top of a parapet wall. It sheds water off the top of the masonry and away from the joints below. When its joints open with age, water goes straight down into the wall. Keeping the coping sound protects both the roof and the masonry beneath it.
Is it worth fixing the masonry and the roof at the same time?
Often, yes. On older greystones and two-flats, a parapet that has been leaking for years has usually damaged the masonry too. Doing the masonry and the roof together means the new flashing goes into sound wall, and you avoid paying to open the roof twice.
Adjacent neighborhoods
- AvondaleNorthwest Side
- Humboldt ParkWest Side
- BucktownWest Side
- Irving ParkNorthwest Side
Roofing estimate in Logan Square
Give us the address and what the roof is doing. 60647 and 60618 and the rest of the Northwest Side are covered, and the estimate is free.