Jeff Doubét shares how Génoise roof eaves detail is being installed on a Spanish Colonial Revival roof. How a dog house Spanish chimney was framed in steel studs before being plastered.
Today’s brief site visit is in Montecito, California where a team of roofers are installing the beautiful clay roof trim detail known as Génoise. Often seen in high-end homes in France and Italy, it was an architectural detail this homeowner sought to recreate.
Installation tips for Decorative Génoise Eave Roof Detailing
Below you can see the infrastructure built for the Génoise detail. A notched shelf was installed during the wood framing stage of construction. Standard lumber was nailed on the flat, then weatherproofing and exterior stucco.
With the plaster eave shelf completed, the roofers plan the layout of the Génoise pattern. Red clay roof tiles are precut into 3 different lengths. They start on the bottom with the shortest pieces, then stack + adhere each piece with cement as they go.
Here the roofers are busy cementing a section of Génoise detail into place. You can see a completed row in the two story section above them. That row is also capped with the first row of starter tiles for the full barrel tiles of the actual roof.
Creating A Santa Barbara Spanish-style Gable Roof Detail
For gable sections of this home, another detail is being installed. It is a classic Santa Barbara Spanish Colonial Revival architectural detail commonly used throughout town. The roofers have installed the edge roof tiles prior to stucco detail.
This photo shows how a brown coat layer of stucco is being applied. Note how the plasterers are forming “shadow lines” in the plaster by aligning their stroke marks directly off each barrel roof tile. The forthcoming final coat of plaster will blend all into a seamless finish.
On the second story of the house you can see the completed Génoise detail in combination with the completed roof.
See and learn more about Plastering the Exterior of this Montecito Spanish Colonial Revival home. This photo shot through a pair of majestic oak trees- a view of the roofers as they continue to make progress on their work of art.
Fabricating the Spanish Colonial Revival style CHimney
The Spanish Colonial Revival Chimney “Dog House” style structure starts as a chimney cap. Fabrication of a metal tray shroud covers the chimney framing “Box”. Once this new metal tray is formed, the seams are soldered for a lifetime of weatherproofing. The dog house portion of the chimney design is then steel stud framed on top of the tray. Then, the sides and top are infilled with sheet metal.
Some boutique roofing companies in town have metal forming shops. They will know how to build the metal structure your architect specifies. The structure above will get additional weatherproofing, and have expanded metal attached so the exterior stucco will stick.
Special Techniques for Building A Spanish Colonial Revival style CHimney
Here are temporary plywood template guides the general contractor made for the chimney openings. The exterior plasterers use these when applying multiple layers of plaster to the chimney.
ABOVE: the expert plasterer meets with the lead roofer. The photo shows how the roof eave is completely finished as an exterior plaster element that the Génoise detailing will be attached to.
More Design and Photo Resources for Building Custom Spanish Homes
A direct link for all of the other blog posts with Spanish-style chimney photos and info.
A direct link for a more in-depth look at how to install a Santa Barbara Spanish-style roof.
A direct link to see how the team of expert plasterers developed this Santa Barbara Mission Finish.
Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Montecito, CA. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish home design project. Scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.
