Marc_ely

In all the years I lived in the UK I never once heard of anyone replacing the roof of their house. Well maybe one guy, but it was thatched.

Yet over here I see regular conversations on the nextdoor site about replacing their roof. And not just shingle roofs, but ones made of clay/concrete tiles too!

Is this because the houses are made of sticks where I live? If that's the case, then do the roofs on the houses over on the East coast made of brick last forever?

Just curious.

tom169

You can have a house made of bricks here with a shingle roof that lasts 15 years or one with slate that lasts "forever".

Norri

I have a tile roof on my house in AZ, we had the roof replaced not so long ago, the tiles for the most part were re-used the problem was the felt underlay which deteriorates with the heat.
It boggles my mind how the guys are able to work on the roof in the AZ summer I'd quit before lunch.

zzrmark

'Forever' might not be too long a time if a Cat 4 hurricane breezes through. We might finish Irma repairs in the locality before the next biggish one prepares our next year's work, but only if it blows in late. There are still a good number of roofs round here sporting the telltale blue tarpaulins...

zzrmark

This Brit can manage 100F and high humidity, gallons of water is the key to survival. Most of our work is aluminium though, shingle roofs are a pain, literally. The heat burns through the soles of workboots meaning you can't stand in one place for too long and sitting on hot shingles will blister your butt (or any other loosely clothed/unclothed body part that contacts the stuff)...

ddsrph

How are British roofs constructed? I think they mainly use concrete tiles but what is the sub structure? Whether a brick/block house or a wood framed is not the roof itself wood? Do they use trusses and plywood decking or something heavier for the decking? I just built a new house using block and brick for walls but roof is wood trusses with plywood deck. I went with asphalt shingles due to cost and wanting to get it dryed in fast. I want to do better at replacement time is reason for my questions. I will probably go with metal or some kind of light weight tile.

steveq

British roofs are rarely covered with plywood. The usual construction is trusses and laths to support the tile system, which is usually clay, rarely concrete, and occasionally real or synthetic slate.

ddsrph

I did something similar on my garage but not the house. On garage I ran two by fours at 90 degrees to trusses on two foot centers then covered with OSB.
Why couldn't people here just order some British tile and use it instead of asphalt shingles? There are similar products here already from concrete tiles to slate. On a reroof the only thing standing in the way could be cost.

zzrmark

Bit of a while since you were last in the UK? Concrete tiles are really common, probably for the last 30 years and real slate is rarely used on new builds, even refurbs tend to get composite 'slates'.

I don't know why US concrete or clay roofs would need regular replacement, perhaps shoddy quality material or workmanship. The trusses always strike me as a bit lightweight, especially when considering that along with the normal weight of the slates/tiles there's the added weight of loads of OSB boards, but people don't seem to moan about trusses collapsing. OSB usually needs replacing after a while and whilst pricey labourwise, tiles are mostly reuseable.

tom169

There is a good chance that a roof system made for shingles can't support anything else.

ddsrph

I think that's true especially where trusses aren't even used. Many complex roofs just use two by sixes and 1/2 inch osb. I have built two houses and a few garages/car ports and always used trusses and in most cases ask for them to be made for two foot centers then put them on 16 inch centers. There are a lot of light weight roof tiles now and some good looking metal shingles's that come in 12 to 18 inches by 4 foot pieces. I like them and may put on my roof when I need replacement.
I made my 1200 sq foot house with a simple gable design and wonder what some people are thinking with their complex roof shapes and flimsy two by six rafters with osb.

zzrmark

You'd have to be mad to put anything else on such roofs, most of them have some worrying flexing going on when I'm stomping on them.

tom169

Don't get me started on how some home owners opt to layer new shingles on old.

Ripping off our old shingles was only a small fraction of the price.

zzrmark

Yup, I don't understand why people think their shingles need renewing (let me hazard a guess at leaks) without checking the integrity of the OSB underneath, which can only be done by removing the old crap.

ddsrph

ZZ
Maybe you could give me some advice. My house and roof is new, about two years old. Trusses are on two foot centers with 5/8 osb with clips. Roof is simple gable ends with asphalt singles on 6/12 pitch. Before it gets in need of replacement and I get too old to do it myself I would like to replace with metal shingle look panels. They are steel 24 or 26 ga. and come in pieces about 48 long 12 to 18 wide. Not sure of exact size. I would work my way up from bottom removing only enough shingles that I could replace in a day and therefore avoid rain problems. You use a starter strip at bottom and the panels interlock as you move upward. Are you familiar with these? What would you recommend that I could install in a similar fashion.