Shingles need to be replaced every 10-30 year depending on wear and their type. It just seems so uneconomical and such a pain.
I get that metal conducts heat more easily, but couldn’t you just let a thin layer of moss grow on your metal roof and call it a day? Even if they dry out in the summer, I doubt metal + thin layer of dirt would conduct heat more than black shingles
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Letting moss grow on your roof is actually a common thing, called sod roof. But if you wanted to delay maintenance this is maybe the worst option. Anything growing on the roof will attack whatever is under them. Roots will find any tiny imperfection in the tiles and get in under them. Then they are able to eat up your roof beams. Even if your metal roof is completely tight they will be attacking it with acids and enzymes and get through it after some time. And then you need to struggle with soil erosion and creep. So instead of replacing your shingles every 10-30 years now you have to inspect your sod roof monthly and repair it 1-2 times a year.
But you are very right about the types of shingles playing a role in how long it lasts. Traditionally shingles would last for centuries. You often had to replace the timber framing before the shingles. The two shingle roofs I currently have is 30 and 90 years old and still show little sign of wear. The only shingles I have had problems with is the thin American style asphalt shingles as they often show sign of severe wear after just a few years. This is not a problem with stone, concrete, thicker metal shingles or even wood shingles.
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