Consumer Reviews of Rubbur shingles

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Date created: 2011-09-08 Name: Larry J
Location: Rush City, MN
Model: Hi-Tek Rubber

Satisfaction Rating:

Review:
"Hi-Tek Rubber Shingle Issues"
My Hi-Tek Rubber Shingle Story. My encounter with Hi-Tek Rubber Shingles started with my desire to find a replacement for the 35+ year old asphalt shingles that were currently on my house. I wanted something that was not too common, looked nice on an older house of unique architecture and would last a long time. The slate rubber double lifetime warranty shingles offered by Hi-Tek rubber seemed to be a viable option. So I visited the office/showroom in Isanti Minnesota twice and made a trip to the factory at the old school in Ogilvie Minnesota. I asked many questions during these visits and looked at the charts of the cost comparison of the Hi- Tek rubber shingles lasting 100 years to the 15 year asphalt shingles. In the factory Hi-Tek explained this vulcanizing process and the extreme long life of these shingles. After these visits I decided to go with this product. The shingle I purchased was the red slate. During my previously visits to the showroom and factory, Hi-Tek explained that these particular shingles may fade a little, but no problems other than this fading. They would be a very durable shingle and last a long time. I accepted this possibility of fading and purchased 20 square for my house on October 25th, 2006. Installation of these new shingles started the following summer. Due to the ?extreme long life? the installation guide recommends either copper or stainless steel for valleys and flashing. I elected to go with stainless due to its durability, robustness and having some familiarity working with stainless in my line of work. The singles were installed using stainless steel screws and the valleys and flashing sealed with high quality silicon rated for outdoor use. The first part of the roof looked beautiful when finished. This project would take me a few years, doing a section of the house each year. In the first year the shingles did fade, and perhaps more than I expected, but still looked really great and perhaps the fading matched the houses age (1967) and character. On the fifth year, (the summer of 2011) I really looked forward to finishing my roofing project, having put a lot of care into this installation thinking this would last far longer than I would ever have a need for. However when I got to the point of where the first shingles installed in 2007 on one side of the ?A? frame would meet the other side I am doing this summer, I was shocked and horrified by what I was observed on the shingles installed less then 5 years ago. The ?double lifetime? warranted Hi-Tek rubber shingles were cracking and had significant shrinkage. The cracks in this short of a period of time are a big concern to me, and I can only guess something is wrong with this batch. Also the considerable shrinking is causing the shingles to tear by the outer screws holding them in place. Below are some pictures for examples of this problem. Every shingle installed only 5 years ago is showing the same symptoms to varying degrees. The shingles appear to develop dark spots that than lead to surface cracks shown in the following examples. These are only a few examples as nearly every shingle has cracks starting. Examples of a few more cracks: There are many more cracks, but this gives an idea of the problem. Here is what the new roof looks like, before any of the problems start, and it is very nice. I only wished the product held up as advertised. (Note 7.5 inch spacing used) So far I am unable to contact the Isanti office of Hi Tek Rubber (office where I purchased the product from) to resolve this problem. If this obviously defective product turns out to be from a bad batch and I can get a timely replacement product from Hi-Tek Rubber, (that can last as advertised) I would still highly recommend this product. However if this turns out to be an engineering deficiency endemic to the Hi-Tek Rubber shingles, then that is another story. The verdict is still out. I would be interested in hearing from others that read this review and that have installed Hi-Tek Rubber shingles, to hear how their roof is performing. I can be reached via email: [email protected] (and if requested I can send a copy of this review in pdf format since I cannot get the pictures to work here).