# Building First Cricket



## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

This is my first cricket attempt on a chimney. Wondering how wide you guys build your crickets. do you go full width of the chimney or less? Also, what do you cover the cricket with? It is an asphalt shingle roof. I am going to cover with water and ice and then rubber roofing. Thanks.


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

In most cases, I will use a 4' level to get my ridge height at the chimney, then make my rafters long enough to get the valley to finish just a bit beyond the finished surface of the chimney. They get I&W first, then typically asphalt shingles. In some cases, they will get a soldered seam copper pan.
You may be able to make out this one to get an idea.


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## dakzaag (Jan 6, 2009)

Usually the crickets I deal with are covered with the same material as the rest of the roof. Around here that means it is asphalt shingles with few exceptions. 

The cricket is always as wide as the chimney to prevent having a catch area behind the chimney, which is the purpose of a cricket in the first place. :thumbsup:


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

If you go too long, you see little triangle pieces past your chimney. If you go too short, you create a possible trap of ice/snow/rain. The surface of the plywood should plane a valley to the point of the finished siding or just a tad more.


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

Ok. No problem going full width. It is only 24" wide anyway. Do you guys seal all your shingle nails on the cricket or just roof it normally? Also, I figured I would try to match the existing pitch of the roof depending on how my shingle courses ended up.


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## mtp (Feb 13, 2005)

I bet it leaks....


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

We'll see about that.


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## Framer53 (Feb 23, 2008)

Morning Wood said:


> We'll see about that.


 
Don't forget the I&W before the shingles.:thumbsup:


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## steves (Feb 8, 2007)

Crickets are the simplest thing that I see most guy's strugle with.
I just mark a level line from the roof to the center of the chminey, measure the legnth of the ridge, (level line) and from the center mark to the bottom corner of the chim.
Cut 2 triangles from 3/4 ply, hold them together flat and nail the ridge from both sides. Pull the bottom corners apart, drop it on the roof, beat to fit and nail it to the roof ply. Keep it small enough and you can jump all over it with no deflection.
Cover it with I+W then cover with whatever roofing you have on the rest of the roof. A good cricket shouldnt be seen from the ground.


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

steves said:


> beat to fit


:laughing:

Is that a technical term?


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

shanekw1 said:


> :laughing:
> 
> Is that a technical term?


 That is actually the generic definition of "Persuasive fudging":thumbsup:


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

loneframer said:


> That is actually the generic definition of "Persuasive fudging":thumbsup:


I have a hammer that I call "The Convincer", special for persuasive fudging.


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

I have at least four different sized Hammers in MY box!


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

MALCO.New.York said:


> I have at least four different sized Hammers in MY box!


Yea, but, are any of them called The Convincer?

:laughing:


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## Metrojoebarbs (Mar 10, 2007)

I bought a gift for my wife called the "Punisher" once.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

metrojoebarbs said:


> i bought a gift for my wife called the "punisher" once.


tmi


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## HSConstruction (Mar 21, 2009)

My BFH is known as the persuader.


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## WNYcarpenter (Mar 2, 2007)

Just did it yesterday...on a 12/12....36" chimney.

I cut two 2x4's 24" long with 45* seat cut. Held them 1/2" back from the side of the chimney, let them cross and then I scribed them to mark my plumb cuts. 

Cut my pieces then nailed the triangle together. Marked center, n tapconned to brick. Leveled back to the roof for ridge length...18" so no rafters were needed.

then measured one side for the ply. cut ply and used that piece to scribe the next piece. assembled, I&W. Then shingled like I would normally, just on a smaller scale.


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

shanekw1 said:


> I have a hammer that I call "The Convincer", special for persuasive fudging.


 Mine is affectionately referred to as "The Equalizer"


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

When I was using one, it was called _The Reason_.

As I would swing, I would chant, "Because I said so, Damnit!"


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

Metrojoebarbs said:


> I bought a gift for my wife called the "Punisher" once.


:laughing:

FFS.


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## carpentershane (Feb 9, 2009)

loneframer said:


> Mine is affectionately referred to as "The Equalizer"


 

The hammer I use to "gently persuade" I call "The Great Equalizer"

My bro in law has on of the Tbone hammers and we tagged it "ExCalibur"


The levels I use I named in order of accuracy from ball park (torpedo) to 'dead nuts on' (78") :w00t:


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## lavrans (Jul 6, 2008)

WNYcarpenter said:


> Just did it yesterday...on a 12/12....36" chimney.
> 
> I cut two 2x4's 24" long with 45* seat cut. Held them 1/2" back from the side of the chimney, let them cross and then I scribed them to mark my plumb cuts.
> 
> ...


Next time you might want to keep wood off the brick. I believe there's a 1" or 2" space required. Even if not, Brick should be considered "wet". the flashing will span and keep the system weather-tight. I'm assuming your mason installed counter-flashing already.

But, generally a good plan.

I can generally pre-cut everything and take it up. Pitch of roof tells you the cut on the little mini-ridge, level cut is the rafter cut. Angle for the rafter-to-roof is same as roof pitch. Ridge length is width of chimney minus 1" or 2". Rafter length is 1/2 ridge length minus 1/2 ridge width multiplied by run-per-foot. I might reduce by sheathing thickness, too, depending on visibility. Sheathing is a right triangle with 1 leg equal to length of ridge, the other leg the 1/2 ridges x run per foot equation. Easy.


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## 21gun (Aug 4, 2009)

lavrans is a sharp dude, love to watch a guy precut and go up and nail it all together to fit, thing of beauty.

The only thing i didn't seem to see any place on this thread was how to shingle it proper. The rubber roofing doesnt sound like a good idea tho, IMO, for the fact that the sadddle roofing should go under the main shingles, thus youd have to cut your main shingles before nailing into place. But it's do-able i guess, just takes time. Plus i have seen alot of rubber roofing chewed up by ***** and squirrels. but they'll eat shingles too if there looks like food under them. Without wishing failure on any one... there is a good chance it might leak. If you're not a really good shingler.... i'd ask a buddy to come roof it for ya. And counterflashing is most important. Sealing your nail heads aint a bad idea, but if youre using rubber.... which nail heads are you talking about? I got lost there a bit.

Going the same pitch as the main roof is a great idea, but not necessary. Steeper is ok, better than less pitch, but you dont want to put alot of surface area on it either, more flashing on the chimney, more wood, to be perfectly honest, i got some flack for my picture post on another thread for not installing a cricket on a 4 foot wide chimney. If you need to know the code for the whole planet, it is all over that thread for you to read...

"What can you do with a metal brake" is it's title... in gen discussion or off topic... i cant remember.

Do yourself a favor if youre' not a strong shingler and call a buddy that is.

For the fella that had all the right stuff to do it and do it with some style, i'd recommend a solid sheet of copper and an iron and solder... one piece formed saddle with built in counterfalshing notched into the brick. Seal the notches with Geocel 2300 and fuhgettit. But one must be a pretty well versed goeometrist (Made that one up i think) to get it perfect in one try. Copper's -spensive...

Good luck.


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## Joe Carola (Jun 15, 2004)

mtp said:


> I bet it leaks....


Why will it leak?


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