Buying shingles for National Register of Historic Places homestead in Carolinas

Buying shingles for National Register mansion

Buying new shingles and incorporating them into a project is hardly unusual. In this project, the owner decided the upper roofs’ shingles just needed a solid application of primer and two coats of Wearcoat, a long-lasting, shiny coating that resists fading. On the lower three roofs, she decided on new shingles on two of the three areas.

 Each project seems to teach a new technique that can only come for hands-on experience. For example, the owner asked if primer was truly required for the new metal shingles from Berridge. In the past we had coated Berridge shingles with primer or urethane. Stumbling over an obvious “I don’t know”, I checked with an expert. Yes, primer is almost always needed due to a treatment the shingle manufacturer uses on the new surfaces. If not applied, the topcoating will appear rougher and tend to split as the temperatures change. Another tidbit my crew chief and I tucked into a gray cell.

More than buying shingles

This mansion holds memories for the owner. One memory is the last conversation the owner held with her grandmother in this stately mansion just north of Morganton, NC.  After the grandmother’s death,  the house fell into the hands of a “crazy relative”.  The “crazy relative” allowed the home to fall into disrepair.

Now, through the efforts of the granddaughter and the historical society, this place is quickly returning to its former beautiful state.  We were pleased to be selected to restore the embossed tin shingles, an old metal roof.  The owner selected a variation of the traditional red tint, called “Apple-a-day”.

Later this year, we hope to work on the lower roofs. The work will include blending in the new Berridge shingles planned for over the kitchen and dormer.  No doubt, this plan will change as work on the house progresses…it is exciting to see a corpse of a house rise to a level that one says “ooh”  and “awe” to the improvements.