Recycled Rubber Roofs: Cheap and Eco-Friendly

Recycled rubber roof shingles are an innovative roofing material that saves home owners money and saves the environment. Made from recycled tires, these roofing shingles are durable, dependable, and more eco-friendly than ordinary wood or slate.

How Recycled Rubber Shingles Are Made

Rubber shingles are made from recycled tires of vehicles. The tirewall is removed, and the tread section is cut into large pieces. The treading is then buffed off, and the rubber is coated with sawdust or slate dust. Much of this dust comes from recycled sources as well, often from mills or recycled slate tiles. The pieces are heated and molded into shape, often with a patter added to give each shingle the look of other materials. A plastic tab is then added to each shingle to help make nailing down the pieces easier to do.

Recycled rubber shingles have the durability and protection of rubber. Each shingle benefits from having the steel belting originally found in the tire still in tact. This makes the shingles stronger and last longer than other conventional roofing materials. The shingles can be made to resemble typical roofing shingles, mimicking the look of wood, tile and slate. Home owners can get the look of conventional roofing with the durability of rubber.

Durability of Recycled Rubber Shingles

Because the tiles are made from recycled materials, they often cost a fraction of the cost for other durable roofing materials.Though homeowners can get cheaper materials, these are often less durable and wear out much quicker. Like other recycled roofing materials, recycled rubber shingles also last longer and hold up to more of what Mother Nature puts out. Most rubber shingles have a 30 year warranty, though some companies offer longer warranties based on how durable these shingles really are. Home owners choosing recycled rubber save money now and in the long run by adding these to their homes.

Photo credit: Euro Shield Roofing

Homeless Man Gets a Lift from Burlington Samaritans

Seven Days April 30, 2008 | Ives, Mike CHARITY In the fall of 2006, Rusty Gould landed on Church Street and requested a bed at the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) Waystation. When the weather turned, he threw a tent in his bike trailer, pedaled out of town and set up camp in the woods. go to website bike trailer

Gould was planning to do the same this year – until a Nissan sedan jumped the curb and smashed his rig, which was chained to a fence, outside of COTS’ King Street Daystation.

Carrie Baker, a customer service rep who works in a building overlooking the Daystation, glanced out her window around 4 p.m., April 11, and “caught something gold swerve up onto the curb,” she recalls. “I looked out, and there was Rusty’s wagon. I watched it collapse.” Outraged at the “evil deed,” Baker asked the SkiRack on Main Street for help with Gould’s trailer. But technicians there said it was too mangled for salvage. So Baker collected $169 from her colleagues and donated it to Local Motion, a nonprofit on the Burlington waterfront that outfits low-income residents with discounted cycling gear. here bike trailer

With the help of volunteers from IBM and Citizens Bank, Local Motion supplied Gould with a brand-new trailer and affixed the salvageable parts from his smashed bike to a new, navy-blue frame. He picked up the new rig last Friday. “Local Motion was great, man,” Gould said Sunday evening while smoking a pipe outside the Church Street Waystation.

Gould, 55, is a Vietnam veteran who has lived and biked all over the eastern seaboard. He arrived in Vermont after cycling most of the way from Portland, Maine, by way of New Hampshire, western New York and Maryland. A tree specialist and artist who used to run a nursery, he spends most days “panhandling” for spare change, which he uses to buy soda or tobacco.

On Sunday, Gould’s new bike and trailer were parked outside the Waystation. A plastic shopping bag hung from the handlebars, and a milk crate held a 2-liter soda bottle. The yellow trailer was stuffed with an olive-green tent.

As the sun set on the waterfront, Gould recalled that he was having lunch in the Daystation when his bike and trailer were flattened. It’s not easy being homeless on a bike, Gould said. If you leave your ride in front of the Waystation, he said, it’ll be stolen. If you camp at North Beach, city park officials will confiscate your stuff while you’re gone.

“People presume that homeless, people are bums, and it’s not true,” Gould said in between puffs on his pipe. “I’m not a drunken bum. I’m a disabled vet.” [Sidebar] I looked out, and there was Rusty’s wagon. I watched H collapse.

CARRIE BAKER, EYEWITNESS Ives, Mike

Comments

Mflower says:

February 24, 2011 at 7:24 pm

Real slate roofing tiles easily last 75 – 100 years if properly maintained. So from a life-cycle analysis standpoint natural slate is still a better choice. Natural slate also has low VOCs and a lower embedded energy costs than anything made from petroleum products even if the post-recycling content is 75%.

Gunnar Skogland says:

May 29, 2011 at 6:13 pm

Is it possible to by this Recycled Rubber Shingles in Norway???

lutty Boyce says:

May 22, 2012 at 11:47 am

Hey i was just wondering how much this cost. Please get back to me. Thank u, lutty Boyce !

- Glenn Meyers says:
  
  May 22, 2012 at 11:58 am
  
  I don’t have pricing info available – contact the company featured in the original post.
  
Madat says:

July 13, 2012 at 10:08 pm

Is there a company who would supply and install recycled tires shingles?

Madat says:

July 13, 2012 at 10:10 pm

Further to my last comment, the contractor required is for a house in Edmonton, Alberta.

Everett Perkins says:

July 14, 2012 at 1:39 am

Thank you for sharing this useful recycled rubber roof that we can use in roofing. This would help us to save money by recycling materials. Try to contact also the JM Remodeling Wi that also give you an useful tips for your roofing.