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Posted: Sep 09, 2007 07:39 AM
voiding roof warranty
Mason,
I recently recieved a phone call from the roofing contractor on a job I priced and he stated that if I spray the under side of the roof deck with foam it will void the roofing materials warranty.

Is there any way to spray with foam and not void the roof warranty? I know proper venting is one possible solution, but I am trying to keep the cost down. Is this warranty issue just with just this one shingle company? Are there companies that will warranty when foam is sprayed?

Thanks
mason
Posted: Sep 09, 2007 09:32 AM
Most shingle manufacturers will warrant shingle roofs with sprayfoam installed to the underside of the roof deck without ventilation. But there are still a couple of shingle manufacturers who do not.

The theory was that the insulation would not allow heat to go into the attic and would increase the shingle temperature, thereby reducing its life expectancy. But, the researches determined that many other factors affected the shingle temperature much more than having insulation to the underside of the roof deck, such as:
1. Climate, How hot is it? Arizona vs Minnesota for example
2. Orientation: Which direction does the roof face, east, west, north or south
3. Color of the roof, dark colors absorb heat, white reflects.


Researchers, engineers and building scientists such Carl Cash, former Chairman of ASTM Main Roofing Committee and Anton Tenwolde of the American Forest and Paper Association, and Joe Listiburek of Building Science Corporation have demonstrated that installing insulation to the underside of the roof deck without ventilation does not affect the life of the shingles and that there is on average only a 2-3 degree F temperature difference of the shingles even in the hottest of climates.

Carl Cash reported that a shingle manufacturer could not legally void a warranty based on not ventilating the insulation installed to the underside of the roof deck. He stated that a warranty exclusion has to be reasonable and consistent with other policies of the warranty.

If order to be consistent, they would only be able to warrant shingle roofs in climate zones similar in temperature to Minnesota, painted white and only facing north. He said he would love to testify in court in opposition to a manufacturer trying to enforce that warranty.

So, let the roofing contractor know that there are other shingle manufacturers, (such as Elk and others) who specifically state that sprayfoam applications are acceptable.

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