Job Example of Step and Counter-flashing Installation
What We Do
On this project water was running down the brick wall behind and into the owner’s kitchen because their step and counter flashing had rusted out and was no longer protecting the area where the slate meets the wall.
We extracted the slate bordering the wall and then removed the old corroded metal flashing. We installed ice and water shield as a temporary protective measure in case it rained on us while we were working, which it did.
Then we installed copper step flashing, L shaped flashing sandwiched between two pieces of slate, to prevent water from getting into the crevice where the slate meets the brick wall. To prevent the water from riding behind the step flashing we installed counter-flashing which is screwed into the mortar reglet, space between two rows of bricks, and overlaps the step flashing. Lastly we caulked the mortar reglet with bronze solar seal caulk to match the color of the copper once it turns.
The size of the counter flashing was determined by the preexisting counter flashing. This way we didn’t have to grind out more mortar than was necessary. The step flasing overlap each other by 5” and counter flashing side lap each other by 3”. We caulked the verticals on the counter flashing as well to prevent a sideways rain from getting behind the counter flashing.
Because of the decking replacement and chimney tie in this project took us 3 days to complete.