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Has anyone used the newer synthetic materials that look like slate or shake? A couple that come to mind are Hardie and Owens Corning which are lower in price than the Crowe or Ecostar rubber recycled material types. The latter, also, do not have full fire rating for fire areas like in-land California. However, I was told by a roofing supplier that the Hardie and other products of that kind that are cement based should not be walked on if you are over 200 lbs. Not only do you have to sub to a roofing specialist but he can’t be a fat one or a ex-linebacker. Has Fine Homebuilding ever done a comparison?
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Raymond: Try a Gerard roof. It is steel, coated w/ acryllic crushed rock. Guaranteed for 50 yrs against 1.75" hail and 120 MPH winds. Totally fireproof. Comes as tile, shake, shingle. Having one put on new house this week. Looks great. Costs great, too, but it will be worth it. Gerard is in CA, Brea, I think. They have a web site that gives all the poop on it, including contact info. Oh, yes, only weighs about 1.5 lb/sq ft. Been fun watching the crew. They put it on from the top down.
Don Reinhard
*b WBA At Your ServiceAny ballpark sq ft prices on any of these products ? Looking for material only.
*Gerard Roof prices: Cannot give you a good number, even though I am having one put on as I write. We have a 40X24 house w/a 15X17 extension behind it, overall plan is shaped like a "T". Has a Gambrel roof w/ 5 dormers. Not very standard. The crew has been working nearly two weeks on it, but lost at least 2 days to rain. Cost a bit over $8K. They do not sell their materials; you must have them install the roof. After watching, I can see why! That roof is worth the cost; it should be indestructible. Don Reinhard
*Tim, let's start with the better basic new type of shingles that weigh about 295 lbs per square (100 sq ft) and cost about 65 to 85 cents per Sq ft; then there are the new celotex trilaminate and the new GAF country estates which cost about $1.25 per Sq ft and weigh in at 400 to 425 lbs per square. Hardie, Owens Cornings and other slate or shake-like cementatious materials cost in the range of $1.65 to $2.25 per Sq ft depending on the manufacturer.Hardie is the lightest claiming a weight of about 350 lbs per square but most other brands are right up with the mulltilayer shingle between 380 and 425 lbs per square. The new re-cycled rubber of Authentic Roof and Echostar weighs about 2.5 to just under 3 lbs per square foot and cost $299 per square for the Authentic and $255 per square for the Ecostar. I.m leaning toward the cementatious because of cost, fire rating (CA project), and better look but I don't like the recommendation that you not walk on them if over 200 lbs. There are times when you have to walk or stand on part of the roof for maintenance. That's the dilemma and I wanted to know if another contractors had some "feet-on" experience with Hardie or Owens, or ???? since the manufacturer always allows margin when giving "do not do" numbers. Appreciate any leads since real slate or clay tiles are out of the question for cost and weight reasons. New earthquake rules make you think twice about the weight on the roof especially for existing foundations (re-models).Ray L
*In Europe I installed a synthetic, fiber reinforced roof slate distributed under the name, ETERNITY I'm not sure if they import any in North America but it is a durable material and can be walked on by a 200 pound roofer. All the installations I saw used purlins as the substrate and a combination of nails and hooks to attach the tiles.
*vasse - It's Eternit. After what happened to Supradur I continue to be suspicious of fiber cement. The word I've heard on the rubber slates is that they tend to curl - any similar observations?Jeff
*I used Liftime concrete rooftile on my house and garage. 950# sq. and about $180 /sq. Not possitive on the cost as I got a deal at $80 buying direct , they don't do that any more. You can walk on the lower third according to the mfg. I have stepped on the whole shingle just don't put all of your weight right in the middle as is has the least support.
*Jeff -I was going to ask you about the Supradur problem, but I found a link to the bankruptcy filing that filled me in as much as I wanted to know:http://nrca.net/technical/files/supr0895.pdf
*Dear Jeff,Thanks for the spell check that my computer checked as well. It seems to think that half of my message is something other than what I'm trying to say. I've heard the rubber slates "riffle" in the wind like someone was shuffling a deck of cards. Granted it was a stiff wind...
*Dura-Loc, like Gerard, is a granular-coated metal roof that looks great to me. I was quoted about $450 a square for the Gerard and $350 for the Dura-Loc. In any case, my subdivision developer would not allow either of them since they didn't look like the regular shingles used by all the other houses. Forced me to save over $200 a square initially, but who knows how much it will cost me down the road? Metal Home Digest magazine (free trade publication) is loaded with info. on metal roofing.
*Do any of you have an opinion or any experience with GA's Country Mansion shingles? They are much more expensive than what I usually install. Are they really worth it? Thanks. Travis
*Travis, I think you mean GAF's Country Mansion new multilaminate shingles. I've been promised a look at the first one going in near Brentwood (Of O. J. fame). They look good on paper and I've been told by the Architect I work with they are a fall-back for remodelers that want the look of slate or shake but "fall back" to shingles after they get the cost for Ecostar, Hardie, etc. Even though the price is about double the cost of thin, basic shingles it's still 1/2 the price of the rubber recycled type (Authentic and Ecostar) and about 50-60 cents per Sq Ft less than the cement based type (Owens Corning, Hardie, etc.). GAF claims they go on faster (larger) but no % given. They just may be a big seller unless the economy dives (R word).
*O.K., another newbie trying a second time to get through. Heres the deal. Ihave a ranch house with a hip roof. I want to put a front porch on it with a shed roof. Can this be done without it looking hideous? Or would it be better to convert the hip roof to a gable-end roof, the kind of roof most often seen with shed porches? Any help, advice would be appreciated Thanks Sore Thumb
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Has anyone used the newer synthetic materials that look like slate or shake? A couple that come to mind are Hardie and Owens Corning which are lower in price than the Crowe or Ecostar rubber recycled material types. The latter, also, do not have full fire rating for fire areas like in-land California. However, I was told by a roofing supplier that the Hardie and other products of that kind that are cement based should not be walked on if you are over 200 lbs. Not only do you have to sub to a roofing specialist but he can't be a fat one or a ex-linebacker. Has Fine Homebuilding ever done a comparison?