Facts to consider when choosing a roofing material | Seattle Times

Have you at any time puzzled why asphalt shingles are the go-to solution for most properties in the United States?

If you vacation internationally, you could have found that other international locations don’t share our passion for asphalt. A couple subscribers to my e-newsletter live in Europe, and they have told me that asphalt shingles are deemed affordable and are frowned upon. Europeans imagine their roofing resources need to be very long lasting, and that asphalt shingles tumble small of that standard.

The principal problem driving the attractiveness of asphalt shingles in the U.S. is charge. A beautiful slate roof may past 200 decades, but how lots of of us can find the money for one? Asphalt, on the other hand, is a significantly less high priced material, and it can be mounted promptly, which holds labor fees to a minimal.

But what if you merely really don’t want asphalt shingles? What are your options?

I bought rid of my asphalt shingles when my roof started to fall short right after 9 yrs — despite its 30-yr guarantee. I was so indignant that I solicited feedback from audience of this column and my publication, and I swiftly discovered this phenomenon was pretty popular. This led to a book I wrote, “Roofing Ripoff,” which appears to be into the shingle field and the issue of failing roofs.

I changed my asphalt shingles with a synthetic slate manufactured from virgin polymer plastic. I estimate my roof will very last 100 a long time or much more. One more selection is metal roofing, a category where by I’m observing considerable progress. A neighbor of mine a short while ago installed a new metal roof that seems to be quite awesome. Each shingle is created from painted aluminum. A metallic roof could final for hundreds of several years, as aluminum is extremely resistant to corrosion.

No make any difference what roofing material you decide on, I really encourage you to consider some time to read through the set up instructions for that item. A lot of companies have very good how-to-install movies that you can observe.

Comprehension how your roof was set up will assist you make certain your new roof doesn’t leak. Dependent on my 40-moreover several years of setting up roofs and speaking to homeowners, I’d estimate that 95{7e5ff73c23cd1cd7ac587f9048f78b3ced175b09520fe5fee10055eb3132dce7} of all roof leaks transpire at or around roof flashings. A flashing is a transitional roofing material that connects a roof to a little something which is not the roof.

When you fully grasp how roof flashing need to be mounted, you raise the odds of your No. 1 purpose: obtaining a leak-proof roof. You can find out much more about flashings at GO.askthebuilder.com/flashings.

Tim Carter has worked as a dwelling enhancement skilled for far more than 30 yrs. To post a query or to find out far more, visit AsktheBuilder.com.