Contractor say: Cracks in upstairs terrace flashing make small waterfall downstairs.

Which is exactly what happened at 2:30 a.m. this morning.

First 30 minutes: Discovering a crack in the 2nd floor terrace, holding paper towels to the area underneith the crown molding (thanks Nifs!) and trying to find something to cover the crack with to slow/stop the flow of water. The early ideas for crack repair were:

• Duct tape. Result: tape didn’t stick to wet stucco
• Melted candle wax (hoped to provide a more immediate weather proof seal). Result: no double boiler and not enough candles.
• Bricks and garbage bags. Result: foiled by small pools of water on the terrace.
• Sack of concrete. Result: best option available (at the time it was really the only one we had)

Next 45-60 minutes: Hefting a 95lb bag of concerte from the basement and “patting” handfuls of dry concrete into the area the crack covered (all this in the freezing rain). Doesn’t sound too bad, but the crack ran the length of the terrace (12-15 feet).

Leak is stopped, I have unfinished concrete slapped to one side of the terrace and a pair of loafers and a winter jacket are covered with concrete. After moving the remaining concrete into a garbage bag to prevent it from becoming a permanent part of the terrace, I call it a night.

Got in touch with Veragood construction this morning and thankfully he’s willing to stop by tomorrow morning to give an estimate on the job it’ll be to fix the flashing and ensure no internal damage has been caused to the walls of the room below. Shoveled and mopped the excess concrete off the terrace and went into work.

Not the best of fixes, but during a 3 a.m. rain storm, finding silicone caulk and drying the affected area isn’t an easy thing to do.

Additional Links:

http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/map2.cfm?CurrentPageID=1&State=NY

http://www.simplyinsulate.com/content/tips/hiring.html

http://www.ase.org/content/article/detail/1825