Ask the Builder: Which roof is absolute best in existence?

Have you ever ever puzzled why asphalt shingles had been the go-to product for many homes in america? Should you commute across the world, you’ll have spotted different international locations don’t have the affection affair with asphalt as we do. Why do you suppose this is?

I’ve moderately a couple of subscribers to my loose weekly e-newsletter who reside in Europe. They have got advised me on a lot of events that asphalt shingles are thought to be reasonable and frowned upon. The ingrained mentality for plenty of Europeans is that roofing fabrics will have to be extraordinarily sturdy. They’re anticipated to ultimate for plenty of many years.

The problem for nearly everyone seems to be cash. Whilst you might in point of fact desire a surprising slate roof that can ultimate 200 years, you’ll’t have enough money one. This is the reason conventional asphalt shingle producers have cornered the roofing marketplace. Asphalt is reasonably priced and will also be put in briefly conserving hard work prices to a minimal.

However what in the event you don’t need asphalt shingles? What are your choices? I kicked them to the curb when my 30-year-warranty asphalt shingles began to fail after 9 years. I used to be so indignant this came about to me that I determined to research. I did a countrywide survey getting comments from readers of my syndicated column. I briefly found out the failure I used to be seeing in asphalt shingles used to be common.

This is the reason I wrote a guide, “Roofing Ripoff,” investigating the shingle business. It is usually why I changed my asphalt shingles with a man-made slate constituted of virgin polymer plastic. I estimate my roof would possibly ultimate 100 years or extra.

Whilst writing my guide, I additionally made a wonder discovery that lets you prolong the lifetime of your asphalt shingles by way of many years. Extra on that during a second.

I’m seeing vital enlargement within the steel roofing class. A neighbor of mine simply put in a brand new steel roof that appears really nice. Every shingle is constituted of painted aluminum. This roof may ultimate for centuries, as aluminum may be very immune to corrosion in central New Hampshire. Should you’re interested in aluminum roofing and reside close to the sea or a sea, you higher be sure it has a unique coating to forestall corrosion.

It doesn’t matter what roofing subject material you select to make use of, I urge you to take a position the time to learn the set up directions of the product sooner than you communicate to roofing contractors. Those directions aren’t exhausting to grasp. Many makers have just right how-to-install movies you’ll watch.

I’m now not asking you to do that considering you’ll be putting in the roofing. I’m suggesting this as a result of you want to know the way to verify your new roof doesn’t leak. According to my 40-plus years of putting in roofs and doing autopsies over the telephone with house owners such as you, I’d say that 95% of all roof leaks occur at or close to roof flashings. A flashing is a transitional roofing subject material that connects a roof to one thing that’s now not a roof. You’ll uncover a lot more about flashings right here: https://GO.askthebuilder.com/flashings.

As soon as you know the way roof flashing will have to be put in, you build up the chances of your No. 1 purpose of getting a leak-proof roof. As an example, you’ll watch my detailed step by step video of the way a plumbing vent pipe flashing will have to be put in. Watch it right here: https://GO.askthebuilder.com/flashingvideo.

I display you within the video the most productive flashing to make use of, as the typical one used my many roofers has an inferior rubber seal that cracks and splits after a number of years of publicity to ultraviolet gentle.

Now, about that discovery I alluded to previous: It might jointly save house owners such as you masses of thousands and thousands of bucks over the years. Based totally upon exhaustive analysis of medical journals, I felt that I used to be the primary individual on the planet to discover the truth that copper atoms bond to asphalt molecules and save you crosslinking.

When too many asphalt molecules crosslink — oxygen from the air encourages this — the asphalt turns into stiff and brittle. This is the reason asphalt shingles curl and why they lose their talent to carry onto the ceramic granules that quilt shingles.

Energetic photons within the solar’s ultraviolet rays blast copper atoms from cast copper. Those copper ions wash down the roof, bonding with the asphalt and combating the crosslinking. For this reason, it is best to place about 9 or 12 inches of uncovered copper up on best of aspect of your roof.

Every time it rains, the copper atoms damaged off by way of the photons wash down onto the asphalt permitting them to hyperlink to the asphalt. In case your asphalt shingles are in superb situation, you’ll upload the copper and get the similar receive advantages.

(Subscribe to Tim’s FREE e-newsletter at AsktheBuilder.com. Tim now does livestreaming video M-F at 4 PM Jap Time at youtube.com/askthebuilder.)