roof shingles

[badgolferman]

Why are roof shingles textured? Is it so people won't slip off them when walking up there? It seems smooth shingles would be better so leaves and such won't get caught in valleys.

[clare]

The stone surface ir to protect the crappy tar-paper the substrate is made from. Without the gravel the shingles wouldnt last 6 months.

[micky]

Then what about those new plastics they have that are smooth and untearable. Could they cover the tarpaper with that, or would it be too expensive.

[Jerry.Tan]

I'll never use shingles again. They are a lot of work to install, and in 15 years or so, they need to be replaced. Steel roofing is the way to go. Costs a little more, but will last 50 years or more.

One drawback on steel. If it's wet or covered with dew. DO NOT try to walk on it. I learned that the hard way. Luckily it was only a shed with about a 7 foot fall to the ground, and I landed on soft muddy ground. (I Still cussed a lot though, and then I had to go wash muddy laundry and myself).

I think the OP was not referring to the granules, but rather to some of the more expensive shingles that have a texure, for example, some look like a wood grain. That is only for appearance. But some of that kind of shingle is thicker and lasts a little longer than the plain ones.

I've never had those textured ones, but I could see where they would trap leaves and debris more than the plain ones.

[clare]

They are not UV stable either - so they need to be covered with something - and the "gravel" works very well for that. What have you got against what has worked very effectively for over a century?? Afraid you'll strip the skin off your butt using the roof as a naked tobogganing hill?

[clare]

I had the "architectural" multi-layer shingles the second last time I had my roof done. 25 year shingles lasted under 18 years. If I had it to do again I would have put on steel or aluminum shingles/tiles. No way I'd put sheet steel on my house. Thinking of putting it on my shed but I'm not fussy on having 14 feet of snow come sliding down on me when I go to get the snow-blower out!!!

[Sasquatch Jones]

You're probably talking about non-wood shingles. But FWIW, the difference between wood shingles and shakes, is that shingles are sawed and are mostly used on siding, where shakes are split and last much longer - and more expensive.

My house has cedar shakes that were old when I moved here 20 years ago. They would have been the 2nd roof - house was built in 1962, so I'm guessing they are 25-30 years old. They have been very easy to take care of and I would install them again if I had the chance & if the code allowed it, which is doesn't.

I have walked the roof every year, replacing 1/2 to 1 bundle for less than $100 a year. Code here is "no new wood roofs" but OK to repair/replace up to a certain amount at a time. I don't know off hand what the time period is, but I'll find out if I decide it's worth it.

In fact.... this is a perfect multi-weekend project for the lovely wife! She wants to add an upstairs room, and this would be a good way for her to see what upstairs living is like before spending all that money.

[songbird]

if you go out and buy the cheapest shingles you'll get what you pay for (short useful life). the better shingles will have two or even three layers and are good for quite a long time.

the extra thickness protects the lower layers from sunlight/uv damage and also general wear from people who think that they should walk on the roof all the time. generally, avoid walking on the roof.

if you have a lot of debris build up on the roof that is a good sign that you have trees too close to the house or are in danger of being smothered by the neighboring hillside. seek further remedy...

they do make thick rubber roofing layers with uv protection which work well for flatter roofs and we have a few spots of that. they are supposedly good for 25+ years, so far we're good, the el-cheapo shingles didn't do well at all and just barely made it their rated lifetime. we upgraded those to a much thicker single with a very thick underlayer of rubber/plastic to keep ice/water damage from backing up and getting through. so i hope this roof will outlast me if i stay here longer term. a steel roof was 5x the cost (too many cuts for a hexagon shaped roof).

songbird

[Percival P. Cassidy]

We've been in our current house 11 years. I have no idea how old the roof is, but it looks fine: no curling.

I used 25-yr shingles when I redid the shed.

Every few weeks or so I drive past one particular house that has a steel roof that seems far too shiny. I would find it far more acceptable if it were truly matte.

BTW, I don't know what the currently preferred roofing materials are in Australia these days, but 30 years or more ago, steel was the cheapest, followed by cement tiles, with terracotta tiles being top of the line; I never saw "shingles" at all.

Perce

[Jerry.Tan]

They make "snow stops" for steel roofs. They are plastic things attached to the lower end of the roof that does not allow the snow to slide down.

Personally, I would not use them, I WANT the snow to come off the roof before it gets too heavy and does damage. Snow comes off of steel roofs much easier than shingles, (unless the roof has little pitch).

If there's a door below a steel roof, where the snow could fall on you as you slam the door, then just put the "snow stops" above the door. Or do what I did on my shed. I built an awning over the door. It sticks out about 4 feet, and is about 6 feet long, so it covers the whole door area and a little more. Made it from 2x4's and the steel left over from the roof. It's fairly flat compared to the roof. Not only does it prevent large amounts of snow falling on me, but it protects the door from rain damage, avoids having a huge pile of snow against the door (after it slides off the roof), and you can enter the side of it when it's piuring rain, and not get soaked. And in the hot summer sun, it's a shady place to take a break!

It cost me almost nothing to build. Just some left over 2x4s and left over roof steel. I did however paint the 2x4's on the underside to match the building and protect the wood too.

[bob haller]

there are 50 year guaranteed shingles, costly, but 50 years is a long long time.

few people buy them, when younger they cant afford them, and when older figure they cant get their moneys worth, they will die of old age before getting their money out of the pricey roof.

[songbird]

they were not that much price difference when we did a roof replacement, but it makes a lot of difference who does the work. if you get people who don't know what they are doing it won't matter because leaks will destroy the decking and cause problems long before the 50 years are up.

the damage we ended up with from the cheap shingles degrading and the poor installation of the original builder could have easily been prevented with a better shingle and someone who knew WTF they were doing (saving thousands of $ later).

during any work inspect the job and how the workers are doing things. keep a written record and pictures of any issues. buy the best warrantee and underlayment upgrades you can get. never do business with a new company that hasn't got good references that you can see the results yourself. in my various quotes we had a few companies come in with very rediculous prices and when i looked at their work on several places it was very shoddy and they reportedly left a mess behind. other business rating services can help too during a search for a roofing company.

almost anyone can put down shingles, but there is a fairly good amount of important skills to have if the situation is unusual in any way (flashing around fireplace chimneys, edges of the roof, wrong pitch, gutters, underlayments, vents, repairing problems properly, etc.).

alas, the initial design may be poor and it could take a long time to figure out how to remedy problems. i won't get into our specific details, but some days...

songbird

[Ed Pawlowski]

Last time I used 30 year shingles. Next time I need a new roof I figre I will use a couple of those blue plastic tarps as they may last as long as I need them.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Have I made a big mistake having 100 year metal tiles, LOL! When owner gets old and most likely may sell the house. Having good roofing on the house could be a plus selling feature.