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rolled asphalt roofing

crosscountry | Posted in Construction Techniques on October 11, 2008 05:42am

OK, now that I’ve ‘maintained’ an unheated pole barn shed by replacing every pole, 1/2 the rafters, and about a 1/3 of the roof sheathing, its time to ‘maintain’ the roof. (Would have been easier to tear it down and rebuild, but the shed is grandfathered under the county’s building codes).  I was planning to use rolled asphalt roofing, as it seems to fit the personality 1930’s shed.  But even though it’s hard to picture it with shingles, everyone seems to recommend them…especially since its only 400 sq ft of roof. Is rolled roofing appropriate in this case and could I expect more than 10 years…given its just a shed? There also seems to be some who recommend not tearing off rolled roofing….but since 1/3 is already gone, shouldn’t I  tear it off and put #15 felt down? Thanks.

 

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  1. Piffin | Oct 11, 2008 06:13am | #1

    Yes tear it off.

    What pitch?

    better to use double coverage than roll roofing.

    Better yet to use Polyglas seal'n'stick modified or similar

    Plain old 90# roll roofing gives you 5-10 years at best

     

     

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    1. junkhound | Oct 11, 2008 03:49pm | #2

      Plain old 90# roll roofing gives you 5-10 years at best

      Cabin roof with white 90# lasted from 1980 till now on 7/12 slope. (See FHB, Nov 1990 great moments for application method<G>, "a ten year roof"). 

      Putting arch shingles over the roll roofing, no need for tear off as it is still flat, just starting to look deteriorated and wind caught one corner. .

       

      1. Piffin | Oct 11, 2008 04:13pm | #4

        That is extreme. I'll bet you several things are true re that one.The steep pitch helps keep water and snow shed off it quickly.It is in the shade most of the day protecting it from UV damage.Moss is doing the same.You do have minor damage that you are unaware of already. 

         

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  2. junkhound | Oct 11, 2008 03:50pm | #3

    That said, if your slope is greater than 4:12, shingles are much easier to apply. 

  3. crosscountry | Oct 14, 2008 05:46am | #5

    Just to close out my rolled asphalt vs shingle discussion question. I ended up going with shingles. If I could have convinced myself just to lay some rolls over the old, I'd have gone that route. But to use rolls as manufacturer recommends with 8" 'starter' strips and cementing all edges, it seemed just as easy to go with shingles. Last time I used roofing cement in quantity, it took me longer to clean up than to put down the shingles.  Looks more like a garage than a 1930's shed, but at least I won't have to do re-do the roof in the near future. Thanks for the advice.

     

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