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I’m helping re-roof a friend’s home in Washington State. The house is surrounded by Western Red Cedar trees which drop tons of needles. He has decided on architectural asphalt roofing. The question was wether to go with the 25-year shingles or the 40-year stuff. A couple of contractor friends have recommended the 25-year roofing since the cedar dropping shorten the life of the roof anyway. They say either quality of shingle will only last 20 years here anyway. My suggestion to cut down the trees was not appreciated by the wife. Any opinions?
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Read the warranty that goes with the shingles...Labor is expensive and shingle cost to me is the wrong reason to pick particular a shingle or roof material.
I always try to install the longest lasting shingle that the customer can afford....
near the stream,
aj
*a lot of the better shingles come with a fungicide also..and a copper strip at the ridge will leach a fungicide that will reduce the effect of the debris..better is longer.. my house... it'll be 40 year Hatterasbut , yes, cut back the trees....
*Ditto AJ's and Mike's advice. Plan on cleaning the the roof yearly .....it's the price you pay for having trees near the house. I can recall a couple of jobs where a tree nursery sprouted in the valleys.
*Mike,My supplier informed me in the past to order earlier for shingles with built in fungicide.His story was that some of the manufacuturors only include the fungicide at certain plants so the supplier needs lead time to ship the shingles from those specific plants.I am not sure if copper strips inhibit fungus. I do know that zinc strips are marketed for that purpose.Good Luck All,Stephen
*stephen...we do almost 100 % certainteed.. and the lines we use , like Hatteras, come thru with the fungicide.... i thought the zinc strips were the way to go too, but stanley niemec, the wood science guy,says that copper works even better than zinc.. so ok with me,, i can get all the copper i want ..and the zincs were always hard to find....
*AAACK! I could never imagine building extra toxic chemicals into someone's house! We all research our building products very carefully before we install them, so why purchase a chemical fungicide that you can barely pronounce nevermind know what it really is. And what is this stuff going to do to the garden? What are you going to do if you find your 7-month old putting dirt in its mouth from a spot just below the downspout? Are you going to feel okay because the Government gave it a "Safe for Public Use (and corporate profit)" label on it? I would be equally cautious with metals. Don't poison your home more than we already do, please. How about making some shakes out of those cedars? That way you could say you're not taking the trees away, in a manner of speaking.
*teo......are you all right ?do you have any idea what we're talking about ?we're talking about copper... gimme a breakit ain't formaldehyde
*ditto what Mike says...near the copper pipes that the drinking water streameth out of,aj
*i What are you going to do if you find your 7-month old putting dirt in its mouth from a spot just below the downspout? Turn yourself into your State division of youth and family services! Besides, most children are 'hes' and 'shes' not 'its.' And guess what they give you if you eat too much copper? - That's right, ZINC.
*Sheesh, you guys. Sorry I wasn't too clear, but I was reacting to the talk about chemical impregnated shingles. My point is that we are poisoning our own environment so CASUALLY, it really bugs me. Further, as builders, we have a greater responsibility to KNOW the products that we use because we are trusted by our clients that raise their families inside of them. The impact of toxic chemicals on a home should be a big consideration, not just the lifespan of some shingles. Jeff, It's been a long time since someone criticized my pronoun use. I suppose you keep your kids locked up in one of those "play-pens" all the time. Hell of a way to get a first impression on life.On the subject of copper..Of all the skoolin I took, chemistry was hell for me. I guess that's why I don't understand how a metal as innocuous as copper, that we use for our drinking supply, could possibly be harmful to fungus. If it can kill while dilluted in a rainstorm, why does it not affect our delicate insides?
*teo,as already noted copper is in your water supply.Chances are you have also tasted water from galvanized pipes so I guess zinc is in your water also.Zinc and copper are both contained in my CENTRUM multi vitamins(which I keep forgetting to take).If YOU take the time to research the topic before crying "the sky is falling" I think you will find the anti-fungal agents in the types of shingles Mike and I are talking about are less toxic than the asphalt the shingles are primarily made of.In fact I will bet a dozen donuts that the anti-fungal agents are a form of zinc or copper.In further response to the original poster,I suspect the acidic leaves or needles will have as large an impact on shingle life as fungus.If the roof has any valleys where this type of debris will collect,I would suggest an exposed metal W valley flashing which will collect a lot less debris than a closed cut valley.Good Luck All,Stephen
*Teo...no fungus growing in you is there?...See...your copper pipes are good for you!...And that's actually the reason why I will not use PEX plastic for a drinking water supply...because researchers are already saying more slime can be found in PEX than in copper...The difference is the copper....Copper good...near the stream,ajtaking my Centrum...thanks for the reminder steph...
*Thank goodness we've discovered all that delicious earth-improving pesticide.b finally beating nature in my clorine bleached socks, eating my iron fortified dinner, drinking my safe zink-protected glass of water.
*... and listening to 'heavy metal?'No, teo, no playpens here, never tried one. But I do know that kids that eat dirt have a disease called pica and need to be treated by a doctor.
*Ironically enough, the sky is falling (ie the ozone layer). Wether it is due to sunspot activity or our industrial addiction is a matter of debate. Until the debate is decided, I simply cannot risk my children's future on the gamble. I choose to use processed chemicals or any process created to kill living organisms less and less. Of course, the compromises abound, but no one will ever convince me that a fungicide is a better idea than sweeping one's roof once a month, and I will always suggest the latter in a discussion. Those of you who choose to agree with the Government standards of "acceptable risk" I leave to Darwin's theory to ultimately decide.
*teo...your name befits your post....We need more of you on the planet the the unibomber thinks much in the sasme vein also...near the stream,aj
*Actually teo,sweeping off the roof once a month is an incredibly BAD idea.Using a bristle broom on asphalt shingles will prematurely age the roof by scrubbing off the protective mineral granules.A once a month sweeping would rapidly turn a new roof into an old worn out roof.It's a roof,not a floorGood Luck All,Stephen
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I'm helping re-roof a friend's home in Washington State. The house is surrounded by Western Red Cedar trees which drop tons of needles. He has decided on architectural asphalt roofing. The question was wether to go with the 25-year shingles or the 40-year stuff. A couple of contractor friends have recommended the 25-year roofing since the cedar dropping shorten the life of the roof anyway. They say either quality of shingle will only last 20 years here anyway. My suggestion to cut down the trees was not appreciated by the wife. Any opinions?