Upon stripping the existing flashing we encountered the usual case, the rubber membrane did not extend up onto the door step. The door step was simply covered with metal flashing which will not seal the door step from leaking, it serves an entirely different purpose. It is the rubber membrane the serves the purpose of sealing the roof. The purpose of the metal flashing is to protect the rubber cap on the door step. The rubber cap is a membrane which features ceramic mineral granules on its surface to protect the membrane from UV exposure and thus material deterioration. When the client walks on the door step, the granules will eventually loosen and lead to premature deterioration in the material. A metal flashing is installed to prevent this. Another reason for the door step rotting is condensation from the lack of rubber membrane on the door step. As you can see from the image above the door step was clearly leaking and rotting.

To repair the problem we removed the rotten wood in the door step and rebuilt a new door step. We then ran the rubber base membrane over the rebuilt step extending the rubber as far as possible towards the door. Subsequently, we installed the rubber cap membrane over the base running it as far as we could under the door. Ideally, if possible the door should be removed, the membrane extended under the door and then the door should be re-installed over the membrane. In this circumstance it was sufficient enough to run the rubber cap under the door step and lower the cost to our client. We then installed a metal flashing that extended a few inches under the door to protect the membrane on the door step. Finally, we caulked the area where the door step and door meet. The metal flashing serves the other purpose of allowing the caulking to have a solid surface to me applied to. The caulking now rests against the metal flashing on the door step and the door. If the flashing was not installed and caulking applied onto the rubber cap the granules on the cap would eventually loosen as discussed and so would the caulking, eventually leading to leakage.

To finish the project aesthetically we covered all the existing wooden frames and fascia which featured wood with peeling white paint with black aluminum flashing. We also installed new a new eavesthrough and downspout. The charcoal cap on the flat roof, black laminated asphalt shingles and black aluminum flashing match nicely for a clean look.