Deteriorating Granules - InspectionNews

Eric Shuman · #1 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 03:54 PM

I have been seeing this off and on for some time and am wondering if this is a manu. defect that anyone knows of, or if this is just how this type of shingle begins to wear.

The granules start deteriorating at the edges and the fiberglass begins to show. It is easy to spot on a sunny day as the edges reflect the light.

Thanks,

Eric

Chad Fabry · #2 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 04:40 PM

Looks like it was roofed on a hot day by careless workers.

Scott Patterson · #3 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Shuman

I have been seeing this off and on for some time and am wondering if this is a manu. defect that anyone knows of, or if this is just how this type of shingle begins to wear.

The granules start deteriorating at the edges and the fiberglass begins to show. It is easy to spot on a sunny day as the edges reflect the light.

Thanks,

Eric

That's a good sign that the roof needs replacing. The edges receive the most wear from the water running off the roof, this is usually the first place to show wear. I would think that if the abrasions were from a haphazard installation it would not be as widespread as in the photo, or down to the fiberglass.

Jim Luttrall · #4 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 05:06 PM

Pretty typical sign of wear around here. The granules fall off exposing the fiberglass matt causing UV damage and drying out the asphalt which causes more granules to fall off. It will typically be worse on roof faces with full direct sun exposure.
Be careful if you walk, the ganules will likely give way and you can take a fast trip to the ground!

Chad Fabry · #5 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 05:11 PM

Scott could be right.

I based my opinion on the fact that there's no curl,
no wear below the drip line, everything everywhere is nice and flat and the roof is in Texas. From what I've seen of Texas roofs they look rather fried after 10 years. I can't imagine that too many survive the UV assault to mechanically wear out.

Tim Moreira · #6 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 06:54 PM

Here's one from a few weeks ago. Nothing was curling that I saw.

Chad Fabry · #7 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 07:01 PM

Well then, that's why Yankees shouldn't comment on southern roofs.

I was down south after the hurricanes and looked at 1,100 roofs and never saw one like that.

Tim Moreira · #8 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007, 07:16 PM

Chad,

Quote:

Well then, that's why Yankees shouldn't comment on southern roofs.

Isn't that how the South was won!

I don't know about that.

This one didn't curl but was definitely toast. All of the plumbing boots looked pretty much like the one I posted.

The fire place chimney was pretty busted up too.

The rest of the house was similar. This was a looooong inspection.

Nice folks who moved in 35 years ago and never did much of anything in terms of up keep.

Obviously they had replaced the original roof at some point but this one was gone too.

Richard Rushing · #9 (**permalink**) 04-03-2007, 07:52 AM

Eric,

This is definately a manufacturing issue. Although the shingles are probably 10 years old, they are certainly much more advanced in the deteoriation process due to poor quality.

If this was a deteoriation issue due to wear, the issue of granule loss would be more uniform over the slope. By comparison, the manufacturer-related granule loss is much more advanced at only a few areas.

Chad, if the shingle installers had damaged the roof covering during installation, the damage would be discolored blackened. The whitish oxidation to the mat surface indicates that exposure has been there for quite a few years.

Richard

Eric Shuman · #10 (**permalink**) 04-03-2007, 07:55 AM

The interesting thing on this roof and one or two others I have seen recently is that the granules at the centers of the shingles were not loose and in good shape. Usually when I see this, as Jim said, all granules are loose and you can hardly walk on inclines or you will slip on the loose granules and bust your butt.

This roof and the others were under ten years old with 30 year warranties. The above photo was the worst area, most had just the slightest of shining edges. That is why I was wondering if it was possibly defective shingles.

Thanks for the replies.

Eric

Eric Shuman · #11 (**permalink**) 04-03-2007, 07:57 AM

Thanks Richard,

I posted right after you and didn't see your post until after!

Eric