Expert: Dan Merrill - 7/17/2008

Question
I saw an ad for EuroSlate(www.euroslate.ca) slate style shingles made from recycled tires. They have a 50 year warranty which would be great. I have a summer cottage in Wisconsin that will be needing a new roof shortly, and am researching roofing that will outlast me(hopefully at least 30 years). The one story cottage  has approximately 9 squares of shingles on it and the roof pitch is around 5:1. Can these shingles be installed on top of one layer of asphalt shingles?  Would you know anything about this type of roofing and approximately what they cost per square installed? Thanks for your help! John

Answer
We have used the EuroSlate/EuroShake products. You will want to check with their sales department, they did have production problems with a new factory last year, I am unsure if all is well yet. Last summer they were quoting 4-6 month lead times.

You may also want to check out EnviroShake, it is also made in Canada with recycled materials that include crumb rubber (ground up car tires). This seems to be a good consistent product.

Most materials will allow you to roof-over a single layer of asphalt, but we do not do it. All our roofs are "lifetime" products and it is near impossible to install a good, solid quality roof over an old asphalt roof.
I can't remember the last time we tore off an old roof and didn't find some rotted decking. A high quality lifetime roof needs a good substrate/foundation to live up to it's potential.

Costs have been rising to extremes, I have no idea what they would be today. Last summer EuroShake and EnviroShake were both quoting around $250 per roofing square for just the shingles + S&H + site delivery + installation. S&H could be significant since the products will come from Western Canada.
Both these products are easy to install and are DIY friendly if you are interested in saving some money.

Good luck,

Dan