Curtis Smitley our veteran writer of all things roofing pours it out here on the topic of Roof Life. Why roofs last and why roofs fail.
The first factor in determining the life of a roof is the materials used during the installation process. Simply put a better shingle will last quite a bit longer than a substandard shingle. It’s a known fact, that most modern products have a built in death date and some manufacturers of cheap shingles are looking to sell shingles a lot more often to unwitting customers than others are.
And human nature makes it totally possible for them to get away with it.
If you want to get 20 or 30 years from your shingles you need to start by buying a shingle that has what it takes to last that long. Normally this won’t be the cheapest shingle you can get your hands on. Consumers would be wise to look to the mid price shingles so that they can see some quality in the product. If you want maximum life from your shingles then the higher end products are what I would advise.
After quality of product we have the only other factor involved which arguably is the most important factor and that is the quality of the installation. Back in the day it was typical for a roofing company to give 2 prices on their estimates. One to tear the roof off and install a new roof. The other was a price to roof right over the old roof thereby saving the cost of tearing the old roofs (yes I said roofs in the plural sense) off and disposing of them.
As hard as it may be to believe that was the way it was done. I’ve seen up to 5 roofs layered up with the first roof being an old metal roof with an added 4 layers of shingles on top of them on a 70 year old home.
Most building codes allow up to two layers of organic or fiberglass asphalt shingles nowadays but still, it’s rare to see a professional company going over an old roof.
If you do go over the old roof then you’ve killed the life of the new one.
Longevity is increased dramatically when the old roof is removed before installing the new roof. The new substrate is flat without any protrusions that might cause early shingle failure. And the shingle hugs it tight so that it doesn’t flex or bounce any when rain, sleet, hail, hit it. That in effect make the shingles and the roof itself last it’s full life.
Some other things to increase the life of a roof are to:
- Keep any overhanging trees free of dead branches so that they don’t fail and damage the roof.
- Stay off your roof and don’t be walking around on it any more than absolutely necessary. You’ll wear the sand off and cause early failure.
- Keep it mold and milder free with bleach. This is effect makes your home look better too.
- Never power wash your shingles. It removes the sand and kills the life of your roof.
- Keep your roof ventilated so that it stays cool as possible. heat kills shingles.
- Keep your gutters clean so that water doesn’t backup in valleys and rot your wood substrate.
My name is Curtis Smitley of Louisville KY. And I’m sticking to my story!