This is an Asphalt Roll Roof, the reason people call it a rolling roof because when you buy it, it comes like a roll. The materials are made of an organic felt sheet or mat, asphalt, and faced with granular stone aggregate.

Installation is with flames and melted asphalt so you should have heavy-duty gloves and boots,

  • Clean your roof area and remove objects and debris
  • Make sure all metal flashings on roof edges and areas with wall and roof connections are installed before you start rolling your roof
  • Before rolling the felt sheet on the roof, remember it is heavy so you might need help to carry it on the roof
  • Use a torch flame to heat up one side of the roll and press it down with your boots to install them on roof sheathing or on an old roll
  • For cutting the roll in the desired size, you can use a utility knife

The average service life of this roof is 10 years, which means every ten years you should renew it by adding a new roof on old one or new roof sheathing. This type of roof is a popular choice for a flat roof or low slope one. Compare to Asphalt shingles, it is cheaper, easy to install, and less durable, 20 years for Asphalt Shingles.

As Inspectors, we examine,

  • Roof Appearance, to find out how many years roof can protect your roof
  • The overlap between two rolls next to each other, to make sure it is wide enough so water cannot penetrate through those joints or overlaps (Red Arrow)
  • We also look for gaps, holes, cracks on it for any potential source of water penetration