I have a house that some genius roofed with white shingles. Here in the Southeast, that’s a recipe for instant mold/mildew/algae growth, and the roof, while physically sound, looks like hell. I’ll be putting a new roof on within a couple of years (a few additions are planned), but in the meantime I’d like to mitigate the house’s ugliness a little.
One friend in the business suggested a roof stain, on the theory that if you can’t make the roof bright, make it all uniformly dark. Great idea, but I can’t find anything on the net except for stain removers, which I understand are hit-and-miss, at best. Behr makes a roof PAINT, but they say right up front that it makes the surface slick, and that’s not acceptable.
Anybody know of a roof stain manufacturer? I know it seems like a crummy approach, but I’m just trying to buy a little time and make the house look better.
Thanks!
-Jonathan Ward
Replies
i'd go with the paint
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
No way to bleach or clean it and then apply some kind of biocide?
Steel,
Ive been there before, I figured roof applications would be best, and I didnt mind the idea of getting a few more years out of it. I didnt want a silver roof, so I got some driveway sealer and added a little more water... got another 8 years out of the roof.
crazy, but short fix.... dont forget if you go black, it will increase the interior temp a bit.
Man, that's inspired! That coal tar pitch emulsion (i.e., driveway sealer) is impossible to remove. As far as prep goes, i bet i can just hit the thing with a blower and go to town. Plus I can probably color the whole roof for about 30 bucks. Great idea!
Just stir occasionally and make sure it is mixed well, I split the batch in a few 5 gal buckets, anchored a rope and tied it to the bucket handle. It will sit fine at the roof angle. I also used a brush that fit in the bucket, also remember no matter what you use to go slow at the edge, you can get it off the siding if it sprays, but its a pain to have to chase it.
-zen
Where's Beckman? He's kind of the expert on stained roofs isn't he?
"Where's Beckman? He's kind of the expert on stained roofs isn't he?"ROFLMAO!!!It did take me a sec....!!!If the roof has the appearance of being stained, then you do not have enough livestock up there. Increase the stock, and soon the entire roof will take on a rich patina.Cows really speed things up.On a more serious note (if you can get more serious than cows on the roof), if you coat the roof with driveway sealer, you might expect to pay a bit more for the tear off when the time comes.Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.
You won't have much luck staining the roof. The granules on the roof are essentially glass and are not very absorbant.
Your best solution is to spray the roof with dilute (I'm thinking about 4:1) chlorine bleach. (Be sure to use fresh-from-the-store bleach, and use buckets or plastic bags on the downspouts to catch the runoff so it doesn't damage plantings.)
If you want to prevent recurrence, place 2-3" strips of zinc, copper, or galvanized flashing just under the edge of the cap shingles, so it's about 1/2 exposed.
I just popped back here, just for clarification, when I did it, as I said in the first post it was water soluble and I cut it. It was about the thickness of paint, I didnt frost the roof. When it was done the shingles were still separate, it wasnt like a hair piece.
lol