The Bangor Housing Authority in Bangor, ME, inherited 95 buildings from the US Government. Built in the 1950’s, the homes were originally constructed for the local Air Force base to house enlisted personnel. Since the time they were built, the roofing on the buildings has been the focus of many construction projects.

The current asphalt roof was installed 12 – 15 years ago, and upon inspection it was found to have problems with water infiltration requiring extensive maintenance and repair. The first cost estimate was high. The costs associated with removing and disposing of the existing asphalt shingles and repairing the substrate necessitated a search into other options. Metal roofing appeared to offer the solution, and DECRA Shingle offered the look, long life, low maintenance and the option to roof directly over the existing asphalt shingle.

While DECRA Shingle may look like an asphalt shingle, it is designed to have none of the drawbacks. Made from stone coated steel, DECRA Shingle is lightweight, flexible and the panels are interlocking. The steel substrate contains upwards of 25% post-consumer recycled steel content, and is 100% recyclable at the end of its life. Durable, stone coated steel has a long life-cycle – 50+ years – and requires little maintenance. The lightweight nature of the steel allowed the product to be installed directly over the existing asphalt shingles without adding much to the weight of the roof and its supports.

Using the most current installation as a measure, if the existing roof would have been replaced with a similar asphalt roof, the roof would need to be replaced 3.3 times over the next 50 years. In comparison, the DECRA Shingle can be installed 1 time and, basically, “forgotten about.” Though the upfront cost of the product was a little higher than an asphalt shingle, the cost savings in labor to remove the existing product, repair the deck, dispose of the material – not to mention the environmental impact of disposal – made DECRA Shingle the most economical, efficient and expedient choice.