I’ve done it. I didn’t enjoy it. I now avoid it.
IMO, a frozen shingle is just as fragile as an extremely hot shingle. Handle with care. Makes for slower work.
But the roofs I did in the cold seem OK. But they were about ten years ago, so still young.
Not to mention that winter roofs tend to be a lot slicker a lot longer than spring/summer/fall roofs. Be carefull.
And it is a royal pain to have to sweep the snow off before you can get started in the morning. Cover with a tarp the night before.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
Replies
HA! I see I avoided the actual question!
I don't think the seal down is impeded normally. Though I do recall someone posting long ago that if there is enough wind blown dust between shingle installation and shingle seal down that the dust can get blown under the shingles and prevent seal down.
Haven't experienced that myself, but it seems plausible.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
That was me. Don't know how long ago. The only time I have seem them fail to seal was in West texas. if you have ever been there, you know what a dust storm can do. not that common in most places.Brittle shingles and poking nails right thru the shingle is the most critical other than handling carefully.Also, to leave a bit of space for expansion on my coldest day shingling, we were laying T-Locks and went to the cafe` for coffee mid-morning. Overheard someone say, "Well, looks like it has warmed up to minus fourteen degrees now..." The sun was bright and shining and we were working with bare hands so had no idea it was so cold
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If the shingles get sun on them within a few days, everything should be fine. Store them flat proir to installation or they may not lay right. I've roofed all winter long for 20 years and have never had any problems. It's all common sense. Watch out for morning frost as mentioned above.
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"I've roofed all winter long for 20 years and have never had any problems. "You lucky dog! No ice and snow down that far south, eh?
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"I've roofed all winter long for 20 years and have never had any problems. It's all common sense. Watch out for morning frost as mentioned above."Frost? What's that? How we wish it would get that cold. It only gets -20 in Iowa.
Like seeyou said, just a little sun seems to melt the "tar" enough to seal them. Even in winter, even in Michigan, there seems to be days where it warms up and the sun comes out enough to seal them. At any rate, when I did framing we also did many roofs and did them in winter as well as the hottest days of summer. One problem we did have is on a house on Sanford Lake where a storm blew up on the weekend after we shingled and blew off about a third of the shingles (they hadn't had a chance to seal and one guy was only putting three staples in each shingle--I don't recommend staples BTW). Last year a roofer shingled a roof on my house in December during some very cold weather--I've (knock wood) had no problems with them.
I had a friend of mine who used to use a propane "weed burner" to seal them down after he laid them in the frozen weather.
I used to laugh about it, but it worked great!
I believe there is a fine line between a good seal down and starting the roof on fire.
He was also cooking the volatile oils out of the shingles, aging them and shortening their life
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His customers exhibited two of the three things you mentioned above!
I thought I'd bring it up in case any of the thousands of DIYS reading here might try it.
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I have done alot of roofs in the winter here in southern Michigan, never had any blowoffs. I use 5-6 nails per shingle in the cold.
Problem is we don't see the sun for months here during winter. The shingles seal mostly from heat loss from the attic space. With the occasional drop of sun.
If the roof is a tear off, strip the entire roof and dry it in as normal. Have the lumber yard bring your shingles to you when the house is nearly papered.
I request the shingles to be put inside one of their storage barns when I pay for them, they show up less stiff and frozen together that way.
"The shingles seal mostly from heat loss from the attic space."What are the insulation requirements where you live?
Edited 10/1/2006 9:36 am by gb93433
Just because their are codes doesn't mean that all homes have been brought up to date with them.
I have seen numerous houses with little or no insulation in the attics.
DId one last December, 'cause I "had to". Unless you like frozen digits and having the range of motion of the 'Micheline Man' tell 'em you'll see 'em in the spring.
If that's not an option this is what I'd do: Store ALL materials in a heated space - shingle bundles, roof cement, etc. Take to the roof ONLY what you can put down in an hour (or so). My roof was only a 200 sq. ft. hip on a one story porch addition so not that big of deal climbing up/down the scaffold.
If there's no access to a heated space - basement for example - set up a torpedo heater in the garage to warm the materials.
just my two cents
Brian
Pittsburgh, PA
brrr...just reading this thread is making me want to go grab a another cup of coffee...Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
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By the way, I bet Stephen Hazlett would have some tips in the area of cold weather shingling - all of his articles seem to be in the coldest times of the year. It's tough to read, they make you feel frigid, even in the comfort of your living room!Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator