I'm finally to the point where I'm installing shingles on my garage. Things were a bit iffy at first (trying to figure things out from square one), but now I am starting to feel semi-confident; nearly half the garage is done (and the house comes next).

Questions:

1 - Can I install the shingles if they've gotten wet? Do I need to make sure they dry out first? I see what seems to be a darker color on the backsides due to moisture content and they feel wet. I stored the shingles on pallets in my backyard, covered with a white cotton canvas (non-water proof). As I've worked my way thru the stack of bundles (each enclosed in plastic) I'm finding that somehow moisture has seeped into the bundles. I'm in my early 60s; first time shingling so I'm laying shingles at a snail's pace (hopefully getting faster as I go). So, I lay a few shingles out and they seem to be pretty well dried out by the time I nail them. Denver; not overly humid; temps ranging around 70-85.

2 - What should a person look for when making sure they don't get stuck with a bunch of reject shingles? I wonder if I got stuck with some sub-quality shingles? I bought 60 bundles of Malarkey Alaskan after reading some pretty good comments about them. The supplier didn't have all 60 bundles so two different batches were delivered at the same time. About a third of the bundles seemed a little lighter and stiffer (like they'd been sitting under heavy stack pressure for a long time in the far corner of some lot; getting "the life squeezed out to them"?). I've been installing the questionable shingles on my garage and they seem okay (the self-sealing tabs seem to working fantastically ) - I guess, but I have no experience in knowing what to expect from a brand new shingle. Still, they seem a little on the stiff side and I'm wondering if improper storage, etc will result in a shorter life span? The bundles of questionable shingles seemed lighter, slight variation in packaging, but same name.

Installing on top of Grace Tri-Flex.

thanks

 

Grace tri-flex has a perm rating of .54 and thus is a vapor barrier. As such you do not have to worry about the moisture of wet shingles getting to the wood sheathing and casing any problems... it will force the roof to dry to the outside. If the shingles are wet they will likely dry out quickly when exposed to a little sun and wind. Shingles are not air tight even when sealed down so they will dry out just fine. Plastic wrapped bundles often get wet inside... probably because the plastic is also a vapor barrier and it traps the moisture inside the package where it can't get out.

The biggest problem when getting 2 batches of shingles is color. If that seems fine, I wouldn't worry about any of the other things you mentioned.

 

Thank you XSleeper!

As for mixed color - by the time I move on to shingling the house I will probably have a couple bundles left of the older style. Maybe, just to be safe, I'll kind of "shuffle" them in with the new ones and use that mix on the back of the house.

"Shingles are not air tight even when sealed down so they will dry out just fine."

That's good to know.

Watching the weather report - I see we are getting a little rain over the next several days.
Aside from the safety factor (Tri-Flex supposedly is a little slippery when wet) I guess I can shingle in a light rain?

We've all heard of those stories of the old retired guy who falls off his roof.
I bought a fall-prevention kit (harness, rope & hand release and roof bracket); been using it and pretty comfortable with the idea of slipping around a bit - as long as I can properly apply those shingles in a wet environment; don't want to lose my momentum since I'm finally now making some real progress.

 

You could... I probably wouldn't want to.

 

I wouldn't put shingles on in the rain.

I don't go on the roof in the first place without a pretty good reason anymore.

 

if i,m not mistaken the sq. footage of a 2 story house is different from that of a single story. how is that?

 

Golfer:

Are you asking a question pertaining to the theme of this thread or are you trying to ask your own question here?

What you've typed makes little sense.