Permanent Squirrel Damage Solution
How to replace a tasty lead cap with galvanized steel
The Problem:
What is it with squirrels and roofs? They can’t seem to keep their teeth off them. We inspect hundreds of cedar roofs in the Twin Cities area each year. Time after time we find the same types of damage. Lead cap plumbing vent ashings such as the one here (A) are common targets of the squirrels zeal for chewing. Lead cap ashings are also commonly used on asphalt, tile and slate roofs with a similar outcome. If you look closely you can see all the teeth marks.
The Solution:
We have resolved this sort of squirrel damage in a few ways. The most obvious solution is to replace the entire lead cap with a new lead cap. This is the easiest solution but the problem is that once your neighborhood critters develop a taste for lead it seems that they just can’t help themselves. They
will contiue to come back and chew cap after cap. We came up with the below solution on one such roof. After being called out three times to x the same leaking ashing we decided to employ a more permanent, albeit expensive, solution.
Five Steps to a Permanent Plumbing Stack Flashing
1. Remove old lead cap assembly.
2. Fit galvanized sheet metal lid.
3. Trim sheet metal to a donut with tabs that are about 3/8” inside the dimention of the inner and outer pipes.
4. Crimp the metal tabs down to grip the stack ashing and dive into the cast iron plumbing stack.
5. Sit back and admire. Oh, but be careful sitting back because you are still on the roof.
