Asphalt shingles and why they fail (part 2)

Storage and transportation of asphalt shingles.

If you have ever had a roof re-shingled, you have probably noticed what happens when the shingles arrive. We call it loading the ridge. For convenience sake, all the shingles are run up a conveyor belt to the top of the roof. This is done for several reasons. The most important reason is labor time. If all the shingles are staged at the ridge of the roof when its time to start installing the new shingles, they are positioned to be slid down to the installer with the nail gun below. As he works the courses up toward the ridge, the use of gravity does most of the work for the installers. However, when this massive weight is stacked on the ridge, the excessive weight can cause slight damage to the roof structure. When all that weight is stacked on a central point along the ridge, pressure is driving the ridge down and in some cases, the ridge will separate from the rafters. In most cases, the damage is very slight and causes no permanent harm but it can be avoided. In the old days before conveyor belts, we had to huff the packages of shingles up a ladder to the work area. Although this is a best practice, you won’t find any roofers today are willing to do this technique. It is just simply a lot of work. So, that being said, before you load your ridge with thousands of pounds, take a look in the attic and make sure you have roofing components providing support. It might be a good idea to get the roofing contractor to sign a release to transfer the responsibility of loading the ridge to them before the shingles are stacked on the top of the roof.

If shingles are improperly stored, they may become defective when installed. It is a good idea to get a few things in writing when having a new shingles roof installed.

1. Have the installer to give you the name of the supplier so you can check the date the lot of shingles were manufactured. Verify the lot number on the shingles are the the shingles the installer is having delivered. The shingles should be no more than 4 months old.
2. Keep one of the paper wrappers that the shingles are packaged in. The installation instructions are printed on this package. When you sign the bid, which is a binding agreement, get the installer to agree to install the shingles according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions and hold them to it. Either hire a real estate inspector or inspect the roof yourself to verify the installation was done according to the instructions. If not, hold back the balance of the payment until you are satisfied.
3. Make sure the property is cleaned up to your satisfaction when the job is complete. Look in trees and around not only your yard but your neighbors for debris. Have them clean up their mess before you finalize the job with the last payment.
4. Keep any left over shingles. If you have wind damage to a few shingles over the next few years, you have extras from the same lot so matching will not be a problem.

Overall, you will probably get a superior installation if you follow these guidelines. Watch for the last two segments of this series for more information on why shingles fail.