Asphalt Roof Shingle Splices as a Roof Defect
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Cause and Repair of Asphalt roof shingle splices, photographs
Splice shingle defects on 3-tab shingle roofs
Splice shingle defects on laminated asphalt shingle roofs
Four visual clues to identify a shingle splice factory defect

This article explains how to identify spliced asphalt roof shingle defects: an unusual asphalt shingle product defect. We provide photographs and we name four clues that can identify this potential roof leak, and we contrast this defect with other types of asphalt roof shingle wear or failures. Photos here can help identify shingle splice failures on roofs.

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This asphalt shingle roof article series explains how to identify & explain the most-common asphalt roof shingle failures and how to obtain asphalt roofing shingle failure claims assistance. By listing common causes of asphalt roof shingle failures and how to recognize them, building owners and roofing contractors may also be able to reduce the occurrence of asphalt roof shingle storage, handling, and installation errors that affect roof life.

Readers are also invited contribute roof failure information to the web author for research purposes. CONTACT us to contribute photos or ask questions about roof failures.

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How to Identify & Repair Splice-Damaged Asphalt Shingle Splices

Splice Shingles used to keep material moving during the manufacturing process should be discarded but they almost always end up installed on the roof.

Spliced asphalt shingles are a factory defect - and were not supposed to have been installed.

The occurrence of spliced shingles on an asphalt shingle roof will be rare and multiple spliced-shingles quite rare.

This defect is very unlikely to be a substantive roofing defect though if the splice is left un repaired a local leak and related water damage could occur.

Repair for a Spliced Roof Shingle Failure

Because these shingle wear spots or potential leaks are almost always individual and limited roof defects, we recommend simply replacing the damaged shingle with a new shingle.

Temporary roof repair to prevent roof leaks at a splice-shingle can be made by sliding a piece of metal flashing under the damaged area.

4 Visual Clues Confirm Splice-Shingle Damage on Roofs

Spliced shingle substrate materials can show up on both organic asphalt shingle roofs (photo above) and fiberglass-based substrate asphalt shingle roofs (photo below).

An individual defective roof shingle such as a splice-shingle (shown above and at below left) is not a significant roof defect - though of course if left unattended and the roof leaks, significant water damage could occur. Therefore, where a spliced roof shingle is observed, repair is needed, but it's unlikely that many "splice shingles" will appear on any individual building roof.

We find a common point of recognition for splice-shingle defects on roofs: they tend to be isolated - just one will appear in the field of most roofs, because not many of these shingles end up in an individual shingle shipment or pallet.

And if you look closely at the damaged shingle you'll see a combination of three visual clues and there may be a fourth hidden clue:

Granule loss from the shingle, usually extreme
Tearing or breaks in the shingle,
Twisting or distortion in the area of shingle tearing
Isolation: very often a splice shingle defect such as the ones illustrated here occur alone - that is on most (but not all) roofs, this defect occurs alone and the rest of the roof may be in normal condition and may be wearing normally. There are of course exceptions as we describe just below.
A fourth clue might be visible on the underside or "back" of this shingle: an actual visible material splice line.

Defective Individual Shingles are Independent of But May Accompany More Significant Defects on Shingle Roofs

Watch out: a minor individual defective shingle such as a splice unit (above) might also appear on a roof with more serious problems. Below, the picture of thermal splitting or tearing damage to a laminated asphalt shingle roof was provided by ASHI Home inspector Steve Mauer and photographed in 2009.

And at below right you can also see that this unfortunate roof, also suffered from granule loss (below-right) that in our OPINION looked like a defective product.

Thermal cracking laminated asphalt shingle (C) D Friedman S Mauer

The same roof also included a damaged shingle that looked like a cracking and granule loss problem combined, but we think this was a shingle splice created at the factory during production - a bad individual shingle that is sometimes created when ends of shingle production substrate are spliced together. See CRACKS in FIBERGLASS SHINGLES for the shingle problem at left, and see GRANULE LOSS from SHINGLES for the shingle problem at right.

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ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES
  ASPHALT SHINGLE DEFINITIONS
  ASPHALT SHINGLE FAILURE TYPES
  ASPHALT SHINGLE INSTALLATION
  ASPHALT SHINGLE LIFE / WEAR FACTORS
  ASPHALT SHINGLE PROPERTIES
  ASPHALT SHINGLE RE-ROOF GUIDE
  ASPHALT SHINGLE UNDERLAYMENT SPECS
  ASPHALT SHINGLE VALLEY FLASHING
  ASPHALT SHINGLES on VERY STEEP ROOFS
  ALGAE, FUNGUS, LICHENS, MOSS COMPARED
  ALGAE STAINS ON ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES
  ALGAE STAIN TEST METHODS
  ALGAE, FUNGUS, LICHENS, MOSS on SHINGLES
  BLACK STAIN REMOVAL & PREVENTION
  BLISTERS on ASPHALT SHINGLES
  CRACKS in FIBERGLASS SHINGLES
  CUPPING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  CURLING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  EARLY ASPHALT SHINGLE FAILURE
  EXTRACTIVE BLEEDING on SHINGLES
  FISHMOUTHING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  GRANULE LOSS from SHINGLES
  HAIL DAMAGED SHINGLES
  LADDERING & STAIR STEPPING SHINGLES
  LIFE / WEAR FACTORS in SHINGLES
  MECHANICAL DAMAGE of SHINGLES
  MOSS & LICHENS on SHINGLES
  ORGANIC FELT SHINGLE DEFECTS
  SPLICE DEFECTS on ASPHALT SHINGLES
  STAINS on ROOF SHINGLES
  WHAT ARE ASPHALT SHINGLES
  WIND DAMAGE to ROOFS

Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com
Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com
Steve Mauer is an ASHI certified home inspector in Doylestown, PA. Mr. Mauer can be reached by email to steve@maurerinspections.com or by telephone at 287-884-4047.
Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ^® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.

Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
Decks and Porches, the JLC Guide to, Best Practices for Outdoor Spaces, Steve Bliss (Editor), The Journal of Light Construction, Williston VT, 2010 ISBN 10: 1-928580-42-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-928580-42-3, available from Amazon.com
The Journal of Light Construction has generously given reprint permission to InspectAPedia.com for this article. All rights and contents are ©Journal of Light Construction and may not be reproduced in any form.
Architectural elements: the technological revolution: Galvanized iron roof plates and corrugated sheets; cast iron facades, columns, door and window caps, ... (American historical catalog collection), Diana S Waite, available used out of Amazon.
Asphalt Roofing Residential Manual,
Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
Building Pathology: Principles and Practice, David Watt, Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (March 7, 2008) ISBN-10: 1405161035 ISBN-13: 978-1405161039
Built-Up Roof Systems, Manual, C.W. Griffin, Mcgraw-Hill (Tx); 2nd edition (July 1982), ISBN-10: 0070247838, ISBN-13: 978-0070247833
Concrete Folded Plate Roofs, C. Wilby PhD BSc CEng FICE FIStructE (Author), Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998, ISBN-10: 0340662662, ISBN-13: 978-0340662663
Concrete Shell Roofs, C. Wilby PhD BSc CEng FICE FIStructE (Author),
Concrete Dome Roofs (Longman Concrete Design and Construction Series),
Concrete Roofing Tile, History of the, Batsford, 1959, AISN B000HLLOUC (availble used)
Copper Roofing, by CDA
Copper Roofing, Master specifications for copper roofing and sheet metal work in building construction: Institutional, commercial, industrial, I.E. Anderson, 1961 (hard to find)
Corrugated Iron, Building on the Frontier, Simon Holloway
Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide, Edmund C. Snodgrass, Lucie L. Snodgrass, Timber Press, Incorporated, 2006, ISBN-10: 0881927872, ISBN-13: 978-0881927870. The text covers moisture needs, heat tolerance, hardiness, bloom color, foliage characteristics, and height of 350 species and cultivars.
Green Roof Construction and Maintenance, Kelley Luckett, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009, ISBN-10: 007160880X, ISBN-13: 978-0071608800, quoting: Key questions to ask at each stage of the green building process Tested tips and techniques for successful structural design Construction methods for new and existing buildings Information on insulation, drainage, detailing, irrigation, and plant selection Details on optimal soil formulation Illustrations featuring various stages of construction Best practices for green roof maintenance A survey of environmental benefits, including evapo-transpiration, storm-water management, habitat restoration, and improvement of air quality Tips on the LEED design and certification process Considerations for assessing return on investment Color photographs of successfully installed green roofs Useful checklists, tables, and charts
Handbook of Building Crafts in Conservation, Jack Bower, Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, NY 1981 ISBN 0-442-2135-3 Library of Congress Catalog Card Nr. 81-50643.
Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Robert A. Young, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362
Historic Slate Roofs : With How-to Info and Specifications, Tina Skinner (Ed), Schiffer Publishing, 2008, ISBN-10: 0764330012 , ISBN-13: 978-0764330018
Low Slope Roofing, Manual of, 4th Ed., C.W. Griffin, Richard Fricklas, McGraw-Hill Professional; 4 edition, 2006, ISBN-10: 007145828X, ISBN-13: 978-0071458283
- Roof failure causes in depth (and specific methods for avoiding them)
- Roof design fundamentals and flourishes, based on voluminous industry research and experience
- New technologies and materials -- using them safely and correctly
- Comprehensive coverage of all major roofing systems pecifications, inspection, and maintenance tools for roofing work
Metal Roofing, an Illustrated Guide, R.A. Knowlton , [metal shingle roofs],
Patio Roofs, how to build, Sunset Books
Problems in Roofing Design, B. Harrison McCampbell, Butterworth Heineman, 1991 ISBN 0-7506-9162-X (available used)
Roofing The Right Way, Steven Bolt, McGraw-Hill Professional; 3rd Ed (1996), ISBN-10: 0070066507, ISBN-13: 978-0070066502
Slate Roofs, National Slate Association, 1926, reprinted 1977 by Vermont Structural Slate Co., Inc., Fair Haven, VT 05743, 802-265-4933/34. (We recommend this book if you can find it. It has gone in and out of print on occasion.)
Roof Tiling & Slating, a Practical Guide, Kevin Taylor, Crowood Press (2008), ISBN 978-1847970237,
If you have never fixed a roof tile or slate before but have wondered how to go about repairing or replacing them, then this is the book for you. Many of the technical books about roof tiling and slating are rather vague and conveniently ignore some of the trickier problems and how they can be resolved. In Roof Tiling and Slating, the author rejects this cautious approach. Kevin Taylor uses both his extensive knowledge of the trade and his ability to explain the subject in easily understandable terms, to demonstrate how to carry out the work safely to a high standard, using tried and tested methods.
This clay roof tile guide considers the various types of tiles, slates, and roofing materials on the market as well as their uses, how to estimate the required quantities, and where to buy them. It also discusses how to check and assess a roof and how to identify and rectify problems; describes how to efficiently "set out" roofs from small, simple jobs to larger and more complicated projects, thus making the work quicker, simpler, and neater; examines the correct and the incorrect ways of installing background materials such as underlay, battens, and valley liners; explains how to install interlocking tiles, plain tiles, and artificial and natural slates; covers both modern and traditional methods and skills, including cutting materials by hand without the assistance of power tools; and provides invaluable guidance on repairs and maintenance issues, and highlights common mistakes and how they can be avoided. The author, Kevin Taylor, works for the National Federation of Roofing Contractors as a technical manager presenting technical advice and providing education and training for young roofers.
The Slate Roof Bible, Joseph Jenkins, www.jenkinsslate.com, 143 Forest Lane, PO Box 607, Grove City, PA 16127 - 866-641-7141 (We recommend this book).
Slate Roofing in Canada (Studi4es in archaeology, architecture, and history),
Smart Guide: Roofing: Step-by-Step Projects, Creative Homeowner (Ed), 2004, ISBN-10: 1580111491, ISBN-13: 978-1580111492
Solar heating, radiative cooling and thermal movement: Their effects on built-up roofing (United States. National Bureau of Standards. Technical note), William C Cullen, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govt. Print. Off (1963), ASIN: B0007FTV2Q
Tile Roofs of Alfred: A Clay Tradition in Alfred NY
"Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
Wood Shingle Roofs, Care and Maintenance of wood shingle and shake roofs (EC), Stanley S. Niemiec (out of print)
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How to Identify & Repair Splice-Damaged Asphalt Shingle Splices

Repair for a Spliced Roof Shingle Failure

4 Visual Clues Confirm Splice-Shingle Damage on Roofs

Defective Individual Shingles are Independent of But May Accompany More Significant Defects on Shingle Roofs

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

Technical Reviewers & References

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair