After one hundred and sixty some odd Factoids, I saw this topic and was inspired to finally write my first article on a topic involving the building trades. I’m a contractor who is doing my fall-back thing right now (commercial fishing) since my business got killed in the housing market crash. I love to build. It’s actually a bit emotionally uncomfortable to write about construction, because I miss it. Weird–talking about shingles, for a guy like me stirs up all sorts of memories and emotions. That’s the problem you’ll find with reading my articles. You just want to know what the best roofing material is, and learn a little about the technicalities of re-roofing a house. I give you war stories, sob stories, and bits and pieces of my life story. As a matter of fact, by the time I get to two hundred Factoidz, I think I will have a complete autobiography within them. Bear with me; I will give you understanding of roofing methods and materials…somewhere in all of this.
Thirty year architectural shingles.
There is the answer to: What is the best roofing material? By best, I mean overall, in most applications. Sure, there is slate, a natural and much- higher-priced roofing material. We have houses all around New England that have slate roofs that are well over one hundred years old. But they cost over $1,000 per square, installed. A "square" is equal to one hundred square feet. An average roof is about eighteen "square". (that’s not a typo, it isn’t said "squares".) They are over three times more expensive than a standard asphalt shingle job, but they do last over three times longer. So I guess, prorated by life expectancy, they are equal in price and value. But of coarse a typical suburban raised ranch is going to look preposterous with a slate roof! So back to it: The best overall roofing material you can use on your house is asphalt architectural shingles.
Architectural shingles started becoming popular right around the time I started my construction business in 1992. They are also known as dimensional shingles. These types of shingles have now replaced three-tab shingles as the standard in the residential construction industry. Three- tab shingles look like laid brick in a basket weave pattern–that is, every vertical seam over the middle of the block below:
There are three-tabs, each about twelve inches long, to each shingle…hence the name. Dimensional, better known as architectural shingles attempt to look like shake shingles. Shake shingles themselves are usually red or white cedar; wooden shingles. You see them mainly used as siding, however you still see cedar shingle roofs today-very rarely. It’s a very rough impersonation but it is a very nice effect. I like the look very much. Check it out for yourself:
Like night and day when it comes to appearance, huh? Now this next bit of advice is for the contractors and the do-it-yourselfers: Although architectural shingles are more expensive than the three-tab shingles, they are a labor saver. They will shorten the time you will spend on that roof. It is as important as it is tricky and tedious to snap lines-that is, to use a chalk line to mark a long line on the roof in order to line up the shingles. When you use three-tabs you have to concern yourself with keeping the slots between the tabs lined up in the vertical direction as well as keeping the shingles straight horizontally. Even when you become proficient at it, it’s still extra time.
So why would someone go with three-tab shingles? I can only think of two logical reasons: If only one roof of a complex of other separate roofs needs replacing and you want to match the other intact roofs. Though I wouldn’t be against considering a mismatch until all the roofs could be updated to architectural. The only other reason: The roof can’t be seen, like on the first house I built. it was only a seven pitch, and it was on top of a hill high above the road. The roof wasn’t visible.
The illogical reasons that bring about the installation of the inferior quality roofing material is largely based on what I call "cheap-skate rental property owner / slum-lord mentality". They don’t hear "looks better than . . ." or "lasts longer than . . . ." They only hear "costs less than . . . ." There was one amazing customer that my friend Dr. Greenberg introduced me to. I remember that I did a small project for her, a door replacement and some odds and ends, you know "While-ya-s"–as in "While ya up there doing the roof, go ahead and repoint my chimney." (a good idea to do this masonry project while you’re up there). She and her late husband were survivors of the Holocaust. I heard stories of things they did that I thought were very heroic. She was someone who didn’t waste an ounce of breath haggling over what was already a fair price. To be like this classy customer, it’s important to have an idea of what is involved to complete your project and the amount it should cost within a 20% range before you start soliciting bids. If you feel comfortable with the first contractor and he is within the price range, hire him.
Roughly:
Layover - $150.00 per square materials and labor (you can only have a max of two layers. Three is against code)
New -$175.00 per square materials and labor
Strip and re-roof -$300.00 per square materials labor and disposal.
Don’t waste your time, or a couple hours of some hard-working small businessperson’s time that they could spend with their families instead, just so you can have you obligitory "three bids" that every yahoo on the Internet says you must get. That’s BS. More on real life info on hiring a contractor to come. . . .
I’ll wrap this up with a couple more points about roofing material:
Ice and Water Barrier- This is something else that changed while I have been in the construction business. It is now required according to code, like six nails to a shingle. This is a roll of sticky thick material, like roll roofing, that goes along the roof up three feet from the gutters. This keeps the water out when ice dams form at the gutters fro
m melting and freezing snow. Make sure that you or your roofer installs this stuff.
Ridge Vent- There are different types of this stuff . . . contractor’s choice. I have no favorite. It’s more the theory of keeping your roof ventilated that is crucial. A roof should be installed so that there can be plenty of air flow under the sheathing (in the attic) so that the temperature is the same above and below the shingles. With a roof, if you want it to last for years, it’s all about proper ventilation.
Proper vent- This is a foam trough that pushes the fibergalss insulation out of the way in order for the air to flow from the eaves up to the ridge vent. Remember, air flows out of the ridge vent (the hottest point) but it must have a way in. There are many ways to do that.
Vented drip edge- This to me is the best solution. It is drip edge, which you must use anyway, that has ventilation louvers all the way down its length. It lets the air in without having to drill any holes in your eaves.
That really is all there is to it. Roofs are more labor intensive than they are complicated. It isn’t a bad project for a physically fit do-it-yourselfer. Be careful, though. My Dad did his own roof and fell off and broke his leg: double-compound facture (both bones ripped out of the skin!) Gnarly! If you decide to hire someone, remember that they are busting their ass and risking their ass to keep your ass dry. Be nice to them. Let them slide for killing your shrub. Remember, you can’t make an omlette without breaking some eggs!
