Tim Gentry, Vice President of Technical Services, DaVinci Roofscapes
Watch out… we’re just weeks away from the start of another hurricane season. As we all know, Florida has a bullseye on it for severe storms coming in from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Last year was a painful hurricane season for Florida, with both Hurricanes Florence and Michael causing extensive damage to homes and commercial properties. As a roofer, you’ve probably been involved in widespread re-roofing projects during the past several months. You can offer your customers greater peace of mind when recommending they select synthetic slate and shake roofing materials.
In our opinion, the only people slightly at ease after a hurricane hits are those who have invested in composite slate or shake roofing products.
Here’s a great example: homeowner George Fleet in Port St. Joe decided to put a synthetic multi-width shake roof on his home in 2016. Just days after Hurricane Michael hit his area, he contacted our company. George had the only house left standing on the street. While some neighboring homes did manage to remain intact, their roofs were extensively damaged. But not George’s roof. There was not one synthetic shingle missing from his roof after the horrific storm.
“Every home in my neighborhood had roof damage, except for mine,” says Fleet. “Some houses lost the entire roof and were blown out; others had structural damage with broken windows and lost foundations. The damage is so severe. We know it will take over a year just to clean up all the debris.”
George adamantly believes that his DaVinci roof played a major role in saving his home. “When I returned from evacuating to my family’s house in Atlanta, there stood my perfect home,” says Fleet. “There were only three or four roof tiles that lifted a bit, but I can fix that easily. It’s a blessing that this roof did exactly what it was designed to do – protect my home from a hurricane.
“I selected the DaVinci product for both its appearance and durability. Now look at it… this roof has survived a category four storm and still looks great!”
Protection from Mother Nature is the clear benefit of using synthetic roofing products in Florida. Several manufacturers create weather-resistant composite slate and shake roofing tiles to withstand many types of severe weather. Some products are Class 4 rated for impact resistance (UL 2218), Class A rated for fire (ASTM E 108) can handle severe winds up to 110 mph (ASTM D 3161), and some meet High Velocity Hurricane Zones (HVHZ) criteria for winds rating up to 180 mph.
These products also have Miami-Dade Code Approvals and ICC-ES (ESR – 2119). And yes, they’re also resistant to salt air, sea spray and fading from the sun’s powerful rays. Plus, the most reliable synthetic roofing resists cracking, mold, algae, fungus and insects.
What makes synthetic roofing products so durable that they can meet (and in some cases exceed) industry standards? It’s all in the manufacturing process.
“At our operations in Kansas, we use engineered polymer compounds for all our products,” says Michael Cobb, President of DaVinci Roofscapes. “These polymer compounds are created with fire retardant and the most advanced UV and thermal stabilizers available. They’re specifically formulated from virgin resins to assure consistency and to stand up to the tough conditions roofing tiles are exposed to in all climates throughout the year.”
Homeowners Mary and Larry Anderson discovered just how important investing in a synthetic roof can be back in 2017. Excitement over completing their coastal dream home in Jupiter turned to concern when Hurricane Irma came pounding ashore.
The Anderson’s 9,000-square-foot-waterfront structure sustained no damage from 90-plus mph winds and several inches of rain. They credit strong construction and the use of reliable building products, including composite roofing tiles, with keeping their home safe during the storm.
“We just finished construction a few weeks before Hurricane Irma hit,” says Larry Anderson. “We know the DaVinci composite tiles are made to meet Miami-Dade Code approvals, but we didn’t think they’d be tested so soon. There wasn’t a leak at all… this roof held up extremely well to Mother Nature.”
In today’s competitive marketplace, there are many manufacturers offering synthetic roofing tiles or a version of them. Here are some tips for finding a durable, long-lasting product for your projects:
1. Check the thickness of the tile. The thicker the profile, the more durable. And, a thicker tile is more visually appealing since you’ll see more details of the tile on the leading edges from almost any viewing angle.
2. Ask what the tile is made of and get ready to be surprised. Some companies manufacture synthetic roofing out of recycled materials, such as tires or milk bottles. The variability found in recycled materials can possibly compromise the long term viability of a roof. Look for roofing manufacturers that use virgin resins in their tiles. This assures that high standards are met for quality and durability.
3. Make sure the tiles you select have color “through and through” so there are no issues of advanced fading or “weathering away” the color.
4. For Florida roofing projects, make sure to ask for products with an advanced UV stabilization package. While all outdoor building products fade to a varying degree, seek out a proven synthetic roofing product that will provide the best possible color performance over time.
5. Check out the warranty. Find a product with a “strong and long” warranty that will impress your customers. Ideally you’re looking for 50 years on the synthetic roofing tiles.
Most synthetic slate and shake roofing products can be installed following standard industry practices. Roofers should always review and follow the specific instructions recommended by individual manufacturers.
There are some positive surprises for roofers installing synthetic roofing for the first time. You’ll find that some companies ship the roofing shingles in pre-sorted bundles by size and color. That’s a huge time saver on the jobsite. Next, because it is lightweight, composite slate eliminates the time and expense of reinforcing the roof structure that is otherwise required when using quarried slate, concrete or clay tiles.
From my perspective, there are a few tips you can use to make a synthetic roofing project go smoothly and reduce headaches.
1. Use copper, stainless steel, or hot-dipped galvanized nails. These are the best for reducing nail corrosion and enhancing the long-term performance of the roof system.
2. Be careful with your chalk lines. Blue chalk is probably the better choice over red or black (red chalk will almost certainly permanently stain synthetic tiles). When it says “permanent chalk” on the bottle, you should believe it. And the big hint when installing composite roofing tiles in a staggered application is to snap lines on the underlayment and then lay the tips of the tiles to those lines rather than marking the synthetic roofing materials.
3. Avoid wasteful tile cuts for valleys by finding the correct angle and cut your synthetic tiles with a circular saw. Then use all the accurate valley cuts and the leftovers to finish the hips.
4. Ask for help. Synthetic roofing manufacturers are there with experience, installation videos and one-on-one training to assist you and make your composite roofing projects successful.
Tim Gentry is Vice President of Technical Services for DaVinci Roofscapes and has decades of roofing experience. Before joining DaVinci Roofscapes in 1999 to help develop the company’s composite roofing products, he owned Gentry Roofing for 20 years and installed hundreds of roofs in the Kansas City area.