Why do flat roofs hide behind Spanish Revival parapets?
Many Olmos Park homes from the 1920s and 1930s look like tile roofs from the street, but the tile is often just a band along the top of the walls. Behind the parapet sits a nearly flat roof that drains through small scuppers or clay canales. When those openings clog with leaves, water backs up against the walls and finds its way into the rooms below.
We start by clearing and testing the drains, then look at the membrane and the inside face of the parapet. Cracked stucco on a parapet cap lets water into the wall from above, and it shows up on the ceiling looking like a roof leak. Depending on condition, the low section may need a flat roof repair or a new modified bitumen system turned up the walls and capped properly.
Scuppers sized decades ago can't always keep up with a modern cloudburst. Where it makes sense, we enlarge them or add an overflow outlet, so one clogged drain doesn't put water inside.
Steep Tudor roofs need flashing that's built in, not smeared on
The Tudor homes along Olmos Park's winding streets have tall gables, cross gables and chimneys that interrupt nearly every slope. Each of those joints depends on step flashing and counterflashing set into the masonry. On many of these houses, past repairs buried the metal under roofing cement, which cracks within a few summers and channels water behind the stone or brick.
We remove the patches, cut new counterflashing into the mortar joints, and fit step flashing piece by piece along the wall. It's slower than another tube of sealant, and it's the part of flashing work that actually stops repeat leaks. Slate or tile around the area gets lifted by hand, set aside and reset once the metal is in.
How does heavy rain above the Olmos Basin test your drainage?
Olmos Dam was built to protect downtown from floods, and the basin behind it is a steady reminder of how hard rain can fall here. Homes on the slopes above it shed a lot of water in a short time. Gutters, downspouts and scuppers that look fine in a drizzle can overflow in a summer storm and soak walls and foundations.
We check where each downspout discharges, look for gutters pitched the wrong way, and match outlet sizes to the roof area they serve. If one corner keeps spilling over, gutter repair with guards is often a smaller fix than you'd expect. We handle similar tile and estate work over in neighboring Terrell Hills, and one visit can cover the tile slopes and the flat roof behind them.
