to roof the roof

[darkoshi]

I just got called "sweetie" again, by a woman on the phone. I'm 39 years old and still getting called "sweetie". ::amused::

I was calling to make an appointment for routine service to my air conditioning unit. I'm hoping that once I see how it is done, I can do it myself in the future.

I'm on vacation this week.

Now I still need to make some calls to get quotes for a roof replacement.

I was considering getting a metal roof, because of the beneficial energy and environmental aspects. They're supposed to keep the attic cooler, thereby reducing your A/C use. And since they are metal, they're recyclable at the end of their supposedly long lifespan. But I'm not convinced that the standing-seam kind of metal roof will maintain a good appearance over a long time-span. I've seen many standing-seam roofs where the colors have faded or the finish has started to look weathered.

So I was considering the smaller metal tile shingles. They look nicer to me than the standing-seam kind of roof. But it seems that metal tiles can be easily damaged, if you ever need to walk on the roof. Most websites say to read the manufacturers' special instructions for how to walk on the roof. Walking on a metal roof is also more slippery and dangerous than on an asphalt shingle roof. If the shingles aren't installed right, there are risks of leaks... and my guess is that not many roofers around here have much experience with metal shingles.

So then I was considering the regular or architectural asphalt shingles again.

I remember seeing a shingle that was metal but covered with some kind of asphalt-like coating, on an home improvement TV show... but I haven't found any info on those online.
Update: I found out that they are called "stone coated metal tile" or "stone coated steel".


Now I came across another new thing - "synthetic polymer-based" shingles.

Sigh. I thought I was decided, but now I'm not anymore.

Another issue is whether I've got enough attic ventilation. That can cause asphalt shingles to fail early. I've got aluminum soffits, with vented slats every few yards. I was wondering whether the solid aluminum slats could all be replaced with vented slats, to increase ventilation. But I've now discovered that the aluminum soffit was installed over an older wood soffit. The vented aluminum slats are on top of the old vents which were in the wood soffit. So adding more venting would require dealing with *both* the aluminum and the wood soffits. Sigh.

It is so hard deciding what to do.

Comments

roof mounted power attic ventilator

[(Anonymous)]

Consider a roof mounted power attic ventilator.

Re: roof mounted power attic ventilator

[darkoshi]

I've got a mostly hip-type roof, without a long continuous ridge-line. Based on what I've read, you are correct that having a powered ventilator is a good idea. And my roof does have one.

But if there aren't enough soffit vents, the fan won't ventilate as good as it should. Based on some calculations I did, the original vents in the wood soffit might have been sufficient. But the vented aluminum soffit pieces which were put over the old vents have much smaller holes, so I'm thinking that the venting has been much reduced from what it was originally. When I'm getting quotes, I'll see what the roofers say about the vents.

Also, based on what I read, you aren't supposed to combine ridge vents with a powered ventilators, as that may pull in air from the ridge vents instead of in through the soffit vents. It looks like I have 2 small sections of ridge vents in addition to the fan. So that might be a problem too.

Re: roof mounted power attic ventilator

[(Anonymous)]

Based on my experience with roofers is all they want to to is replace the shingles and move on. Additional soffits can be added, but the might consider that a job for a carpenter who may not want to do a small job or coordinate his work with the roofers.
I also have a small ridge line vents on a hip roof with a thermostae controled roof mounted ventilator. The ventilator keeps the attic 10-20 degrees cooler that what I had without it. But you are right, you probably need more soffit vents to draw the air up. There are also different size ventilators. Depends on the size of your attic as to what size you need. Larger is not necessarly better. The roofers I consulted with didn't know anything about this; most didn't speek much English either. My self research also indicated that the ventilator shouldn't be installed with the ridge vents. The roofers disagreed and I ended up with both. Appears to work well with both. The important thing is to get the hot air out and increase circulation.

[(Anonymous)]

An extremely important consideration you haven't mentioned is mold. If you have a water leak in the attic and poor ventilization you may have a mold problem too.