Condo Media - December 2011 - 25

ing the total installed cost (which includes materials, labor and any other costs) of the shingles. In this case, we can assume the total installed cost for 30-year shingles is $375 per square; and the total installed cost for 50-year shingles is $400 per square. Notice that the difference between the 50-years shingles and the 30-year shingles is still $25. However, upgrading to the 50-year shingle represents only a seven percent increase in total installed cost over the 30-year shingle. That’s worth repeating: Upgrading to the higher-quality 50-year shingle gives your association a 67 percent increase in roof life expectancy for only a seven percent increase in total installed cost! This premium represents just a fraction of what your association can expect to pay for the next set of new roofs in another 30 years. Does choosing 50-year shingles make sense for your association? Ask a qualified contractor or engineer to do an analysis of long-term costs for each option over 30 and 50 years. Be sure to consider how extending roof longevity for 20 years may allow you to free up reserve funds for other critical capital improvement projects. Roofing and Siding Layovers vs. Traditional Tear-Offs Your condo complex needs new roofs, new siding or both. Should you “tear off” the old material before installing new shingles or siding? Or can you “layover” new shingles or siding on top of existing material — and avoid removal and disposal costs? That question is often the subject of heated debate when an association must confront a major roofing or siding project. But the question itself is flawed, because it is based on a persistent myth that layovers cost less than traditional roofing and siding replacement. The fact is that layovers are never a way to reduce costs. At best, they may defer costs, by postponing removal and disposal costs. But in the long run, layovers will cost more than traditional roofing and siding replacements. The

reasons are both financial and practical. Let’s look at the numbers by walking through a simple cost comparison exercise between doing a traditional roofing or siding project and doing a layover: While actual numbers will vary depending upon many variables, assume that the cost to remove and dispose of existing shingles or siding is 75 cents per square foot and the cost to install new roof shingles or vinyl siding is $3.25 per square foot (for “field” areas only). Using these numbers, the total cost to tear off existing material and install

years). To realize the same per-year, per-square foot cost of 13 cents, a roofing layover that costs $3.25 per square foot must last 25 years ($3.25 per square foot divided by 25 years). The math is similar for vinyl siding. The life expectancy for a traditional “tear off” vinyl siding project is approximately 50 years. At $4 per square foot, the cost per-year, persquare foot is 8 cents. ($4 per square foot divided by 50 years.) To realize

Layovers are never a way to reduce costs. At best, they may defer costs, by postponing removal and disposal costs. In the long run, they will cost more.
new roof shingles or vinyl siding is $4 per square foot. The total cost to perform a layover is $3.25 a square foot. For every 1,000 square feet of roofing or siding, you’d save $750. the same per-year, per-square foot cost of 8 cents, a vinyl siding layover that costs $3.25 per square foot must last at least 40 years ($3.25 per square foot divided by 40 years). Is this possible? Can a layover application last long enough to be more cost-effective than a clean roofing or siding installation? Again, in theory the answer is yes. But in reality, it’s a near certainty that layovers will not even last 80 percent as long as removal and replacement. That’s because layovers are not installed on smooth, flat surfaces—the optimum application for new roofs and siding. Layovers are installed directly over a lumpy surface of existing material that traps pockets of moisture and air. Roofs and siding that have to fight moisture from without and from within do not usually live to see old age.

The Hidden Cost of Roofing and Siding Layovers
With that kind of savings, choosing the layover is a no-brainer, right? Not so fast. In the real world, when you factor in the life expectancy of a new layover and the ultimate cost of your next roofing or siding replacement, these numbers play out differently. Take roofing, for example. The life expectancy for a traditional “tear off” roofing project is approximately 30 years. At $4 per square foot, the cost per year per square foot is 13 cents ($4 per square foot divided by 30

CONDO MEDIA • DECEMBER 2011

Condo Media - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - December 2011