Is this Roofing error pretty common?

[DerbyDad03]

re: Or walk along with a caulking gun...

To quote Mike from an earlier post "That is really inefficient."

If Mike felt that switching from nailing to cutting was a waste of time, just imagine how he'll feel about having to switch to/reload/ carry around a caulking gun.

[JIMMIE]

When my roof was replaced they ran a bead of roofing cement down the starter row. They gave me a great install on the roof. I cooked the BBQ and kept gallons of iced tea made for them and put the stereo outside. Treat your roofers right. I met the guys that did my roof in NC a few years later in NY. They were staying in the same Holiday Inn I was. They had a contract to roof the Carrier Building. Small World.

Jimmie

[DerbyDad03]

re: When my roof was replaced they ran a bead of roofing cement down the starter row.

Why?

[aemeijers]

I was thinking of that as more of a chore for the gofer kid I see on most roofing crews around here, who humps armloads of shingles to the guys doing the placing and nailing. Even with roof delivery, there is a lot of carrying going on. (and on residential, you can't set a whole skid in one spot anyway...)

-- aem sends...

[Mike]

re: Or walk along with a caulking gun...

LOL ...... I'm sure for a person roofing a place once every blue moon, the efficiency doesn't come into play.

I sold my business to a younger guy, as a going business. I stayed on at his request, as a foreman. He operates 5, 3 man crews, and has a support staff of 4. It's actually pretty large, for a roofing company in my area. At times there will be 2 crews of 3 working a job, if the job is large enough where people don't get in each others way. He's in business to make money, and pays even the grunt help very well along with benefits. He couldn't do what he does in the way of pay & benefits, if the crews didn't operate at peak efficiency. I have to tell ya, I look up to this younger person, as a very wise business man. My business was on a much smaller scale, with a total of 4 people.

[RicodJour]

I have seen roofers install most things on a roof incorrectly at one time or another, so the starter strip is no surprise. What does surprise me is that no one has mentioned starter shingle rolls. One roll is ~33' long and has the adhesive in the right place. Much faster than cutting off tabs or dealing with individual starter shingles.

R

[Mike]

Now there's a product I haven't seen in these parts, for at least 5 years. Not one of the 4 suppliers my boss deals with, carries it anymore.

I remember when just about everyone decided to jump on the bandwagon in the manufacturing of this.

Did you ever use it?

Here are some of the takes from the guys at my employers. We had a meeting way back, when they wanted the crews to try this rolled starter out.

• Extremely awkward to use, you need 2 guys to install it, when using on a steep slope application.

• Manufacturers even recommend to cut into 18' lengths, lay out flat, at above 50 degrees, b/4 installation. What happens if you don't have 50 degrees? Lay it out b/4 installing? This is almost like watching paint dry.

• Watch for cracking when using in cool/cold weather.

• Cost factor, you get/got 33 ft, compared to 48/51 ft of a starter strip bundle. The 33 ft is roughly 20% greater per package to start with, and you get approx. 30% less material.

• If attempting to install by self, using a roof hatchet hand nailing, good luck trying to hold the roll so it doesn't fall off the roof, while you have several nails in one hand, roof hatchet in the other hand. You need a

3 hand. I never got to give it a try with a coil nailer, that might've have been more fun.

• It's like trying to install shingles, which have been draped over the peak. You must pull it taunt at all times, in an attempt to get the waves out.

• Some have/had a peel & stick, so you do not have to use fasteners. Cost inefficiency out the ying yang, because they charge more.

• When you get to the end of the roll, you might as well cut it off & toss it, they wrap the rolls so tight.

• B/4 you get your first course of shingles across the run, you have to see where the end of the roll fell. Otherwise, you might end up with the seam of shingle, falling on top of or near the seam of the rolled starter. Of course you can use a hook blade to cut it, because you won't be able to cut it from the back side with a straight knife. You can run the straight blade across the granual surface, might as well toss the blade because now you've dulled it.

I'm sure I left other stuff out, kinda got the CRS going on.

Other than that, it probably is an ok product. 8-)

[RicodJour]

Them? Yes.

Or one guy who's tied off and not afraid of heights. ;)

Like most roofing products that are temperature sensitive, you keep them in a warmer area until you need them. Granted this is not always possible. Then again roofing isn't always possible - sometimes it rains or snows or the wind blows really hard.

Like a fair bit of roofing materials.

Or use the self-adhesive stuff.

I, for one, never taunt my roof - not a wise thing to do when it's hanging over your head like that.

You make it sound like the roll stuff is ridiculously priced. An average roof would require about $40 of roll starter.

I guess your options are limited in Nome with that last little bit. :)

A roofer with a hook blade - who woulda thunk it? You do seem to have a bone to pick with the stuff to quibble about such things. I figure anyone who is up on a roof can figure out how to offset seams - otherwise they should be on the phone and not on the roof.

Yep. It's not a panacea, but it's another product in the roof edge arsenal. Like I said, I was just surprised that no one had mentioned it while discussing the starter strip options.

R