New Roof

Monday’s blog post commented on the high winds my city has seen as March approached, and I mentioned that my house has lost shingles. Yesterday (Tuesday) my roofer came by to replace missing shingles. I watched him go here and there on the roof, replacing shingles I hadn’t known were missing. It didn’t take him long, but by the time he was finished I had decided I was losing shingles too often on windy days. It might be time to replace the shingles. With oil prices going up, the price of asphalt shingles will only go up. Plus, I don’t want to worry about calling a roofer or wonder if leaking rainwater is rotting the roof supports after every windy day. I asked for a quote and his price was reasonable. I gave him the go-ahead. He showed up this morning with his crew. By noon the old roof was history.

My roofer said the old roof could last another seven or eight years if I didn’t mind replacing a few shingles now and then when the wind blew hard. But I do mind. And the roof has become unsightly. A dark mildew, some kind of fungus caused by humidity and rain, grows on the gray shingles. Four years ago I had it removed by applying bleach  through a pressure washer, but the fungus has returned. And as shingles torn off by wind are replaced, the new shingles stand out because they are lighter in color than the surrounding stained shingles.

For the new roof I’ve ordered dimensional shingles, also called architectural or laminated shingles. Dimensional shingles are two layer, unlike the single layer traditional shingle. The exposure of the top layer has random notches taken out, and the bottom layer is adhered to the top layer, giving the shingle a three dimensional appearance. Heavier than traditional shingles, they’re supposed to be more durable and more wind resistant. At least, that’s how they’re advertised.

Now it’s 5 PM and the roofing crew is almost finished with the job. How do you like the new shingles?

What’s that you say? You don’t like them?

Relax. They grow on you. Like a fungus.