Your roofer doesn't want you to know...

Missing Shingle Granules...

"My roof granules fell off, I need to have my roof replaced".  My mom told me of the problem on the roof of my childhood home.  I asked why she believed that was the case.   "I can see the black tar instead of the granules on a big section of the roof" she told me.  At first I wasn't sure what she was seeing until she told me that she had roofers out to give quotes on replacing the roof.  The quotes ranged from $7,000 to $10,000 and my mom, being on social security, wasn't sure how she would pay for the new roof, and why her old roof only lasted 8 years when it was a 20 year shingle.  I needed to investigate!

I asked if there had been a hail storm?   No... no hail storm...
I asked if there had been excessive snow that winter?  No... no more than normal for Kentucky.

"But the church and school roofs are also loosing their granules, and money needed to be raised to replace those roofs as well."

Scratching my head, I sensed something was wrong. 

Why would so many roofs fall apart?
Why would granule loss not be consistent across the entire roof?

Granules are overgrown...

I investigated further and found that a black mold, or roof stain caused by Roof Algae, has been spreading across the US since 1978. 
What my mom thought was the tar UNDER the granules being exposed turned out to be Roof Algae ON TOP OF the granules!

I asked her to talk to the church and school and have them investigate whether the granules were overgrown or missing.  Overgrown!! The granules were there all along, but hidden by an over growth of Roof Algae.

So why were roofers going to willingly replace the roofs?  Well, Mom asked for a quote to replace the roof.  She didn't ask if the roof NEEDED to be replaced.  So when the roofer provided the quote, whether the roof required replacement didn't matter. 

The rest of the story... your roof can be cleaned!

A roof cleaner was all my mom needed; same for the church and school.  The black stains, or spots, on a roof are commonly thought to be the tar under the roofing granules, exposed because the granules fell off.  The real story is, the roof stains are a hardy algae that have grown over and hidden the shingle granules.  Roofers know that over 40% of roofs are replaced because of the appearance of the roof, mostly roof stains, not functional failure.  It's your basic conflict of interest story.  Roofers sell shingles and roofing services, not roof cleaning.

The source of the roof stains?  Its actually a form of hardy algae that feeds on limestone.  In the 1970's shingle manufacturers began using limestone instead of cotton rags.  It has created a problem that is spreading across the country beyond the humid southeast.  Shingle manufacturers estimate that 80% of homes are affected.

An entire segment of home maintenance has grown out of this roof stain situation.  Roof Cleaners or Roof Cleaning Businesses can remove stains from the asphalt, cedar, or wood shingles restoring your roof to its original color. This cleaning also enables your roof to last its full lifetime.  The problem is so widespread in Florida and other coastal areas, that home owner associations are mandating annual roof cleaning.  For an eager individual it's a great low cost business to start.  Roof cleaner products are also available online for Do it yourself homeowners.