Afraid to put new asphalt roof on my house
Barb13
| Posted in General Questions on
My insurance company is requiring me to replace my 20 year old roof or they will cancel my insurance. I am chemically sensitive and have been reading about reactions to the asphalt shingle smells. I’m afraid I won’t be able to live in my house for a while,
Is there any brand of asphalt shingle that has a lesser smell?
I have a small 100 year old house and don’t know that it would support a slate or a metal roof.
Any suggestions for mitigating the chemical smell?
Thanks.
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Replies
If you are concerned about the "asphalt" smell of shingles, I would consider moving to a metal roof. Weight shouldn't be a concern; the thinner gauge metal roofs that are common today should be comparable to the weight to asphalt roof products. Costs will probably be higher with metal; this can be especially true if the roof is complicated with dormers or other details that result adding labor to the installation.
Randy
That’s good to know. I will check that out now as an option.😊
I think you’ll be more than okay (weight-wise) with metal. Just make sure that the tear off goes all the way back to the wood sheathing.
My experience is that asphalt shingles weigh more than most metal roofing products.
If you have to go with asphalt for price reasons, make sure you avoid conventional asphalt-saturated roofing felts, and go with a higher quality synthetic felt. Having been up on a roofs where asphalt-saturated felt was used as the underlayment, the smell that comes off of the felt on a hot, sunny day is what bothered me most.
Thank you for that thoughtful reply!
I will ask about it when I get an estimate.😊