Ondura

[acox]

I've seen some old posts about this but wondered if there is anyone knowledgable about it. Inspected a house today with this stuff. The website says it can be applied over the old roofing - says it is better for the environment because the old shingles aren't pulled off and thrown into the landfill!
The homeowner obviously installed it. If they'd pulled the shingles off, they would have seen the decking that is delaminating and leaked.
Also, the building permit to install it is expired - they never had the final inspection back in 2004. Wonder how that might affect a sale...

[Bobby Hamilton]

I've delt with this in the past. Always seemed brittle and easily damaged. IMO I wouldn't have walked it for fear of damaging it. Also noticed in your photo that the color seems to have faded in several areas and its only 6 years old.

[acox]

Yes it is faded. It isn't brittle - actually flexes when walked on. If I hadn't walked it, I wouldn't have seen the crappy job on the roof penetrations...

What kills me though is the hype from the manufacturer that it is better for the planet - only because you can install it over up to 2 layers of shingles, thus the old shingles don't go to the landfill.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

I have installed it on small jobs..... and yet it can be damaged when walked on.
Like metal, slate and tile roofs, I inspect it from a ladder and recommend that a professional roofing contractor familiar with this product (and as proper equipment) to do a more thorough inspection. If they wanted me to thoroughly inspect it than I would raise my fee to cover the rental fee of an articulating boom.

Usually the people that purchase it are the ones who hang out at Lowes & Home Depot too much.......Im not sure if they are even carrying it anymore.

[Doug Edwards, CMI]

Biggest problem I have seen with Ondura is most of the time it is homeowner installed and we all know what happens there. That's right, they don't know what in the thaw they are doing and actually create problems where none may have existed before they got their hands on it. Our local Lowe's still carries it but on the whole I don't see much of it in the field.

[Bob Elliott]

I saw that stuff at Home Depot last month.

[iniquette]

Yup, it's still available. I looked up some stuff on it as I had an inspection with it on last year. I don't recommend walking on it either, as it can be brittle. I know of a few roofers who tried to get it to take off here and the interest just wasn't there. The few who did try it, said it wasn't worth the hassle either, lengthy install process, and too tedious I guess. But there may be roofers out there who swear by it, you never know.

[Bob Elliott]

Just took my vehicle in for servicing today and noticed I had the Ondrea install guide in the back seat.
Apparently it gets soft as putty in heat and brittle but hard in the cold.