OT: Ondura Roofing

[Jennifer@Indy.USA]

I'm curious to get opinions from anybody who has had any experience with Ondura roofing. We are considering using this product to re-roof our lake house and 3 bay detatched garage. My two brother's and myself would be doing the work. It comes in either sheets or tiles. It sounds and looks like a great product. I first heard of them at the Indianapolis Home Show. Any pros or cons that you may know of would be terrific to hear. Thanks!

Jennifer

http://www.ondura.com/residential.htm

[Bruce Walton]

Looks like an interesting product. Does it really need to be painted, or is that just an option if you want to make it look pretty?

The web site says it can be installed over two layers of roofing. That may be true, but it won't necessarily meet local building codes. You probably should check with local building department. I'd suspect that in Indianapolis that you couldn't put it over two roofs, but in Brown County that you probably could. Don't know for sure, but you probably should check it out.

Looks like it would be a lot easier to install than shingles. Just the weight alone would make me want to try it out over shingles.

How does the cost compare to shingles?

[Bob Nazro]

Jennifer,

I have used Ondura on 2 of my barns and will use it on my new shop. One barn is an overlay over rolled roofing and plywood and the second barn is just Ondura layed down on stringers. I like the product. It goes down fast and it's self sealing with the Ondura nails.
You need a few pieces of plywood about 2'x3' to lay on the roof to let you walk on it. I also used the clear panels for some sunlight in the barn. You need to predrill these panels for the nails. Snap a line for each corse of nails and it will look great when you finish. I didn't do that on the first roof I put down and from the ground it looked like I had a few too many for lunch. You need to be careful when handling the sheets. They are lighter than you think and you don't want to crease them while you move them around. Lots of colors to chose from.

[Lee Schierer]

Thatch is more environmetally friendly, more pleasing to the eye and every time you cut the lawn, you can renew the roof. What more could you want in a roof?

[Chris Damm]

If you have trees nearby you might want to rethink your roofing choice. I used it on a barn in the late '80's and had problems with falling branches puncturing the roof. Chris

[Stan Thigpen]

Is this material a corrugated product made from a petrolium (tar) and fibre base? If so, I think that I have seen it at the Big Box. When I looked at it, I wondered if it would be strong enough to walk upon on the roof. It seemed to be just somewhat more rigid than composition roofing formed in a corrugated configuration.