Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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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.