Roof restoration on houses 124 and 126

In Spring 2007 we restored the historic cedar shingle roofs of 124 and 126 Elfreth's Alley. These two c.1755 buildings are owned by the Elfreth's Alley Association and are the only two open to the public on a regular basis. 

In March and April 2007, the Elfreth's Alley Association installed new cedar shingle roofs on 124 and 126, the houses where the Museum, Museum Shop, and our offices are located. The buildings were built c.1755 by Jeremiah Elfreth as speculative real estate investments. House 126 was condemned by the City in 1936, prompting the Elfreth's Alley Association and the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks to purchase the building and preserve the streetscape. The house was condemned once again in 1957, which led the EAA to restore the building as a museum and their headquarters. House 124 was also threatened with demolition, but was not condemned. The Wetherill Paint Company owned the property and rented it to tenants. In the 1940s they announced their intentions to demolish the building because it had become too difficult to find reliable tenants and the house was too expensive to maintain. EAA secured a long term lease on the property and took responsibility for finding tenants in an effort to preserve the streetscape. EAA purchased the building from Wetherill in 1966 and rented it to tenants until 1997 when it became part of the Museum.

The existing roofs were installed in the 1960s and had started to leak, causing damage to the plaster ceilings in the garrets (attics) and to the dormers, windows, and rafters. (Photo 1) Construction drawings were generously donated by Richard M. Cole & Associates. Philadelphia-based construction firm Cherokee Construction served as the general contractor and Apple Roofing installed the new roofs. Benner Painting will finish the job by painting the new metal flashing, the existing standing seam metal shed roof on the rear of 126, and the windows and side walls of the dormers.

Because each of the buildings on Elfreth's Alley is listed in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, plans for this project were reviewed and approved by the Philadelphia Historical Commission before work began.

Removal of deteriorated shingles 
The deteriorated asphalt and cedar shingles were removed by hand in just three days. The roofers exposed the lath and sheathing boards on 126 and the wooden sheathing on 124. (Photo 2)

New sheathing, lath, and rafter repair
In some locations the sheathing boards and lath needed to be replaced because it had deteriorated and could no longer hold nails. The roofers carefully removed the old sheathing and installed new pine boards and furring strips where necessary. In some locations, particularly the front and rear of 124, the 18th century rafters had rotted from moisture penetration and need to be repaired. The workers left the historic material in place and sistered new boards to them to support the new roof. (Photo 3)

New flashing
The seams and edges of the roofs, including the pent eaves on both buildings, were covered with new, hand bent metal flashing. The photograph at left is of the pent eave between the first and second floors of 124 before the new shingles were installed. (Photo 4)

New pole gutters and downspouts
The existing copper pole gutters and downspouts were removed and replaced with new hand bent pieces. Pole gutters are made by wrapping a sheet of metal over a piece of wood. Water is drained either by creating a through-cornice drain (shown on the right side of the photograph on 124) or via a scupper box as seen on on 126. (Photo 5)

Repair/reconstruction of the existing dormers
The sidewalls of the two dormers on 124 and the one on 126 were badly deteriorated and needed substantial reconstruction. The wide pine planks were removed from the sides of each while the new metal flashing was installed. Where possible the existing boards were reinstalled or left in place. New pine boards were installed where the wood was too rotted to be reused. (Photo 6)

Repair to historic dormer windows
The casement windows on the dormers of both buildings had sustained significant damage from water penetration and need to be stabilized before they could be painted. Sections of rotted wood were removed and replaced with dutchmen, small pieces of new wood, where necessary and the rest of the deteriorated wood was injected with two part epoxy. (Photo 7)

Completed roof restoration
(Photo 8) 

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Philadelphia Historic Commission