September 4, 1909





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





441





TO REMEDY LEAKY SLATE  ROOFS.

A person with experience in' slate roofs describes some of
the causes of roofs leaking and suggests remedies for the
difficulty in the Illustrated Carpenter and Builder, of London.
He believes that there are few, if any, roofs that. do not at
some lime or another allow water to enter the interior of a
building, staining the ceiling and doing other damage. He
affirms that the two leading principles in- connection with roof
work are the pitch of the roof and the manner of covering it;
that the flatter the pitch the larger must be the slates and lap,
and vice versa.

On more tlian one occasion when the writer has had to re¬
pair .a roof that looked perfectly sound, he afflrms that he has
been told by the tenant that the leak appeared only after very
heavy rains, and on removing a few slates over the defective
part he has not found any broken or cracked slates to cause
the leak. In such cases thfe roofs were usually flat pitched,
the  slates  small,   and the lap insufflcient.

"To remedy tbe defect." he reasons, "and where appearance
is no object, an easy way out of the difficulty, and one tbat
does not involve stripping the roof, is as follows: Remove about
a dozen slates centrally over the spot wliere the rain has
soaked through. If the existing slates are 16 ins, by S ins. or
20 ins. by 10 ins. procure some larger slates, trim down to fhe
same width as existing slates but not the length, so that the
extra length will give an extra lap to that portion of the roof
affected. If, iiowever, tlirough weakness of roof timbers, a
part of the roof has become concave on the surface the rafters
should be furred up and the slates reflxed. Another and very
frequent cause of leakage is where the roof abuts against the
walls. It should be remembered that a great safeguard against
leakage at this point is the insertion of a tilting fillet at the
time of constructing the roof previous to covering in. It helps
to keep the rain from percolating beneath the slates or flashings.
The tilting fillets, though very essential, are in a good many
cases omitted. They should be flxed at the junctions of walls
and roofs as well as at the undereaves. There can be little
doubt that flashings make the best flnish at these points.
Cement fillets do not, generally speaking, last long. The
vibration of the roof in stormy weather causes the cement to
become detached from the slates, leaving a gap for rain to
enter, as the fillet has a better key and adheres firmer to the
brickwork than the smooth slates. It would be better for the
fillet to be oblong rather than angular in section, so that the
greater part is on the roof. Were the fillet composed of lime
and hair gauged with cement it would be an advantage over
the usual cement and sand,

"T'he bond of slating should be regular throughout, as any
variation has a tendency to allow rain to enter tlie roof, es¬
pecially during heavy storms,

"In order to economize slates sometimes the undereaves are
composed of small pieces of slates just sufficient to break the
■joint, etc., but this should not be allowed. Rain falling on a
roof increases in volume as it gets nearer the gutters and con¬
sequently the undereaves course should be composed of full
width slates as well as any other part of the roof, for if not
ao constructed it is liable to allow the rain to flnd its way to
the interior of the building.

"A good sound slated roof requires:.

"(a) Tilting fillets at gutters and' at junction of walls.

"(b) No cement fillets but proper flashings wedged and
pointed to the brickwork or stonework,

"(c)  The  bond   properly  kept throughout,
."(d) The lap regulated according to the pitch of the roof,"





DEFECTIVE PLUMBING.

The question of defective plumbing is ever an important one
to the average property owner. In this connection a writer in
the Metal Worker observes that it has long been 'dimcult to
fix responsibility for damage done to plumbing flxtures in a
premises—the tenant or the owner; that it is so in almost
everything else around a house. There have been cases ac¬
cording to his argument, where a tenant has a grievance against
the landlord of the property he rents and as a revenge he has
.deliberately injured a copper lined bath tub, broken the closet
.valve, seat, or done some damage to place the owner to an
expense and possibly cause him to replace the fixtures with
new ones. "No doubt tenants have in some cases desired bet¬
ter or more modern bathtubs and flxtures," he asserts, "and
thought the only way they could get them waa by such dam¬
aging. The agent, if he notifles them to move, receives an¬
other jab by the tenant putting rags, scrub brushes and other
things of this character down a closet, necessitating a good
bit of work for the plumber and the expenditure of quite a
little for the owner before the plumbing appurtenances can be
in operative condition again. The landlord always, of course,
has recourse to the civil courts for redress, but, again, he has
an expenditure of money, and so on It goes."

The truth of the above cannot be denied, but cautious real
estate agents invariably investigate the class Of people who
request the lease of their buildings and thua save themselves
considerable concern as well as much money for their clients.







BRYAN  L. KENNELLY.





WHO'S WHO IN REAL ESTATE—XII!.

the rapid and substantial growth of the metropolis of the
country during the past generation and the growing im¬
portance and magnitude of realty operation, has had a tendency
to direct public attention to that, class of men who are recog¬
nized factors in the industrial growth and development of the
city;  and in the above connection no one possesses a grander

heritage or transacts a larger
business than Bryan L. Kennelly,
the popular real estate auctioneer,
broker and appraiser, whose com¬
modious and elegantly fitted up
offices are located at 156 Broad¬
way. For over half a century
the name of Kennelly has been
prominently associated with
realty operations in New York
City. Mr. Bryan L. Kennelly be¬
ing a son of the late W^llliam
Kennelly. who was born in Ire¬
land, and educated at Mt. Mel-
lory College, and started at the
age of sixteen in the law office
of Thomas Addison and Richard
Emmet, at 45 William st in 1844
and subsequently, in conjunction
with Mr. William Emmet, who
was a son of the immortal
Thomas Addis Emmet, opened a real estate office at 7 Pine
st under the flrm name of Kennelly & Emmet, in July, 1847,
and where Bryan L. Kennelly so successfully maintained the
enviable reputation gained by his lamented father during the
latter's long and honorable professional career.

Bryan L. Kennelly graduated from Manhattan College in 1884
and occupies at the present time identically the same important
and leading position in the real estate world as his father did
before him, being the real estate appraiser for Comptroller
Metz, City Ciiamberlain Martin, etc. Many of the most im¬
portant real estate transfers wliich have taken place of late
years have been conducted with eminent success by Mr. Ken¬
nelly, among which may be mentioned the sale of the property
at the corner of 5th av and 51st st to the Union Club; the sale
of almost the entire north side of olst st, between Sth and
Madison avs. He has also conducted some of the largest sales
at auction ever made in the city, conspicuous among them being
the Osborne Hotel, Herald Square Hotel, Empire Hotel, the
New York and Northern Railroad, the Indianapolis, Decatur
& Springfield Railroad, the Fort Lee Ferry, the famous Em¬
pire State Race Track, Wallach's Theatre, Bijou Opera House,
the Casin«, Empire Brewery, the Aldrich estate, which amount
to nearly $5,000,000, and which holds the world's record for
the largest auction sale of real estate every made in one day,
the Adams estate, the Automobile Club of America, and many
others too numerous to mention.

He is well and favorably known in financial, commercial,
political, social and professional circles, and ia a valued mem¬
ber of the Real Estate Board of Brokers and the New York
Real Estate Exchange Salesrooms, where he occupies the same
stand that his father ocoupied forty years ago. He was one
of the organizers of the Deal Golf Club and is also a member
of the following clubs: Manhattan, Lawyers, Baltusrol Golf,
Apawamis Golf, American Yacht, New York Athletic, Auto¬
mobile Club of America, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Army and
Navy Club, and Is a trustee of St, Patrick's Cathedral, a di¬
rector in the Little Missionary Day Nursery, St, Joseph's Day
Nursery and Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor, and is a.
director of the Night and Day Bank and a director in the
Night  and  Day  Safe Deposit  Co,





EXIT THE BUGLE MAN,—If there is one thing that tenants
and property owners have to be thankful for this year it ia the
anti-noise law which recently went into effect. The ordinance
provides that no peddler, vender or huckster, who plies a trade
or calling of whatsoever nature on the streets and thoroughfares
of New York City, shall flow or use, or suffer or permit to be
blown upon or used, any horn or other instrument, nor make,
or suffer or permit to be made, any improper noise tending to
disturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood for the purpose
of directing attention to his wares, trade or calling, under a
penalty of not more than $5 for each offence. The principal
sufferers -v,'iH be the old clothes man, the scissors grinder, the
wash tub mender and the umbrella man who usually toots a
sharp bugle.





WHEN DIPLOMACY COUNTS.—It may truly be said that
quick, decisive action, ia what you need around the glue room
when important jobs are under way. This applies with equal
force when a dispute occurs over some point at the passing of a
title. Don't get excited! Use tact, and 8 times out of 10 you
will have earned your commission as a reward. The long list
of failures in the rea! estate brokerage business are due more to
the lack of diplomacy at such times than to any so-called dearth
of buyers   and   sellers.     Practice  this   and   note  the  result.