Should I keep leftover shingles?

[Ak Jim]

When I did the garage addition I also redid the rest of the roof. The shingles came from the company, Pacific Homes, as part of the garage package. There are 10 bundles of shingles leftover. Should I keep these incase I need to repair a section of the roof or get rid of them? If I get rid of them is there someplace i could donate them to? I'd like to not have to have them laying around, I tend to be a bit of a pack rat and am trying to get rid of stuff.

 

[HoosierB]

I've always kept my leftover, packaged shingles. Granted, I've never had 10 left and I know that plays into this due to storage space required!! I do know that manufacturers come and go as well specific shingle types and colors which has always driven my decision.

Habitat for Humanity Restore's are a great place to donate too.

 

[cullen]

Keep them. I used my extra for shed I built so it matches my garage.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've always kept some (about a bundle or 2). I've used most of them to either repair the roof or other projects (a dog-house, and a small shed like structure for garbage cans).
I've never had 10 bundles left over from a job.

 

[firebirdparts]

I keep them. In their defense, they package easily.

 

[Ak Jim]

Keep them. I used my extra for shed I built so it matches my garage.

This is an excellent point. Currently have a shed but am thinking of building a small wood shed to keep fire wood dry.

 

[mike93lx]

They **** to move around so if there isn't a great place to store them, donate to Habitat for Humanity. I've never needed to do repairs and if i kept any for a shed, i wpuld invariably be just a little short

 

[Moose97]

I'd hang on to them. I've found many uses for leftover shingles over the years.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I've kept them but they never got used - they just laid in a corner of the garage until they fused together into one big lump.

 

[toolmiser]

I would keep one bundle for repairs. Yes I've used them.

 

[MrSurly]

This is an excellent point. Currently have a shed but am thinking of building a small wood shed to keep my spare shingles in.

Fixed that for you.

 

[MrSurly]

One of my benches is really 24 concrete blocks, shaped like bags of concrete with a plywood top.

Fixt

at least that's how it works when I try to store them.

 

[gnpenning]

If you plan to build a shed keep all of them. If not one or w should be plenty for spares.

More importantly how did they charge you? If they based it off what they ordered (by the square) you paid to have those shingles installed. I would be having a conversation about it with the installer.

 

[ilovevocs]

Keep them and keep them all.

Unlike siding that is synthetic shingles use mineral granules; When a supplier looses a vein the color changes. The new blended mixes are much more tolerant to this condition, however, 10 years from now its highly unlikely that you will find a match.

That said the new sealing technology is amazing but it has allowed Manufactuers to reduce shingle weights. The sealing technology is so good the reduced weight shingles have better performance than the heavy weight predecessors.

Upside - fewer blow offs.

Downside - Maintance. Shingles are difficult if not impossible to remove without damaging them; Making repairs or modifications more difficult.

Ex - Often an entire facet will require replacement to repair step flashing at a dormer. With the older shingles only a few coarse adjacent to the the dormer would require removal. This is attributed to the technicians inability to remove shingles from the assembly while intact. They are so well adhered to each other yet so thin.

 

[rlitman]

I've kept them but they never got used - they just laid in a corner of the garage until they fused together into one big lump.

There is that issue. Also, they get more brittle over time, so by the time you want to use one in a repair, it's usually too stiff to nail up without cracking.

 

[nh_yota]

Save a bundle for repairs and donate the rest if you don't have a need for them such as a shed or dog house roof. In my experience any roof repair that requires more than a bundle of shingles is extensive enough to warrant a full tear off.

The also have a shelf life so it's a waste if you save them all for many years.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Keep them, that would be my father's advice who was in the roofing business for 30+ years.. Just make sure that you store them FLAT.

In reality, you shouldn't need to keep more than one or two bundles for a repair, but as per a suggestion above, you now have the base for a small plywood top. More horizontal space to attract clutter...

So I'd say it comes down to two paths -
1. Keep one bundle for future repairs - this is the maximum de-clutter option. Chances are you will never use that bundle. I've kept a couple of bundles from the last three roofing jobs - never used them. Donate the rest to Habitat - or take them back and get a refund if you can - and donate that money to Habitat.
2. Keep one bundle and build a shed so you can store more ****. Or protect your firewood. Or build dog houses for your friends and neighbors.

 

[bwringer]

I'm sort of in the "keep one bundle" camp, but maybe that's not really needed either. If you need a repair ten years from now, they're not really going to match anyway due to weathering, and the stored shingles are quite likely to have become a useless brittle lump by that time.

I'd get a good clear picture of the label and print it out so you have some shot at a reasonable match in the distant future, then donate the lot while they might still be useful.

 

[NUTTSGT]

This is an excellent point. Currently have a shed but am thinking of building a small wood shed to keep fire wood dry.

All the more reason to keep them.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Keep at least a bundle, you never know when a limb is going to destroy a section. It makes it a lot better if they match..

 

[kbs2244]

If appearance is a concern, keep them.
They have lot numbers for matching and it can be impossible to match them even a year later.

 

[Jinks]

8 or 9 years in I found a leak in a poorly applied flashing. Took out about 1/2 a square of decking downstream. No way was I going to match shingles even with the codes, but I have several bundles so no problem. Forward a couple of years & two hurricanes, I've lost about 15/20 ridge cap shingles. Same problem, no way to match color. Of course two bundles of ridge cap left over saved the day. None of the patches matched for the first few months, until they sun faded in. Now my 12.5 year old roof looks just fine. I'm glad I kept my left overs..........

 

[machsnell]

Keep them. Be a hoarder just like the rest of us.

If you keep them you will stay in great shape moving them and relocating them to a better spot not in the way. Probably you wont need them.

Throw them out and you will need them within a year.

Think of it as insurance or a heavy good luck charm.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Legion Prime]

This is an excellent point. Currently have a shed but am thinking of building a small wood shed to keep fire wood dry.

Actually that is exactly what I did. I found a design that said to use some sort of roofing primer, I said nah I don't think that's going to cut it. I ended up being two shingles shy so I had to buy 2 more bundles because I'm building a second wood shed as well but everything matches and I'll bet folding money that it will fare better than whatever roofing primer is.

 

[Ak Jim]

Well I decided to keep them. I organized under the back deck so there was room for them. I figure I'll keep them until next fall and reevaluate the descsion. I do have room to build a small wood shed. We do have a wood stove that we don't really like use too much, just consider it a back up heat source of the power goes out or the boiler quits working.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

 

[spudley]

Well I decided to keep them. I organized under the back deck so there was room for them. I figure I'll keep them until next fall and reevaluate the descsion. I do have room to build a small wood shed. We do have a wood stove that we don't really like use too much, just consider it a back up heat source of the power goes out or the boiler quits working.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

A guy on another thread used leftovers on a wood shed he built. Problem with that is he doesn't have any left if the need arises for repairing the existing roof. I kept several bundles and used them over the years. Cheap insurance for exact color match.

 

[ncboat]

I wish I had a bundle or two of the ones on my new shop. Roofer left about 6. Fast forward and Hurricane Florence chose us to come ashore. Large oak uprooted and fell on the shop and punctured the roof. Less than one spot between trusses. A bundle would have me covered.

 

[wayne55]

As others have said, at least keep some.