the trickle effect

The 1925 plans for the house specified a crenellated parapet over an open-air stone room. Later owners enclosed the stone porch, added windows, and topped the flat roof above it with a deck. As any builder will tell you, that’s a recipe for water infiltration if the deck isn’t properly drained. When the Marcellin–Littles moved in, the stone room was constantly moist, with water trickling down the walls and compromising the oversized windows. But as the floor of the parapet was protected by a membrane coating, how was the water getting in? The stone merlons (pier-like structures) stand directly atop the walls below. When restoration masons opened them up, they found reservoirs of water that had trickled in through voids in the mortar. There was nothing to prevent the water…

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Old House Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2024

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