Ondura roofing

[poppy]

I did a search on the site and read that there are mixed reviews on this roofing product.

That it "falls apart" or " goes organic" pretty fast.

Plus it may not be the best stuff for rainwater harvesting.

Any of you have any updated info. or first hand knowlege?  I ask because I can get some slightly damaged stuff for cheap.

[RainDog]

I was considering it last year, and spoke with a friend who owns a roofing company and does work in northern VA and DC, and he told me to steer clear, that it breaks down around the nail holes after only a few years.

[PA-Builder]

I have a friend who used it on an attached portion of his cabin.  He thinks it is great. 

I would NEVER use it because of the many negative reports I have read, and because of the look and feel of the actual material.

If you are considering collecting rainwater, then go with steel...

[Redoverfarm]

A Friend in Charlotte has it on his house and says he loves it.  Easy to repair.  But I can't understand that the cabin he built here is metal.   Maybe different areas contribute to its life.

[poppy]

Thanks for the responses.  I do expect to harvest rainwater, so that's probably going to be the deciding factor.

I may pick up a couple of sheets anyway to use to cover stuff at $5 a sheet.

[poppy]

I forgot to mention that I sent an Email to Tallant, makers of Ondura and asked about use for drinkng water.

They responded that it was OK to use based on a report from a Caribbean Lab who ran a test with distilled water collected from runoff on a panel which reported no leaching of anything.  They said this was in response to a request for use on buildings in the Caribbean, since many of them have water harvesting systems.

This test was run in 1997 and is on a pdf doc. that I can't firgure out how to link to, but it won't tell you much.  The document is titled CaribbeanSafeWater.pdf.

The test was run on a particular person's house, but doesn't say how old the roofing is.

I don't know if these results tell me anything or not.  I would want the test repeated now and see how 12 years of aging affects the results.

[Dave Sparks]

Thanks for the responses.  I do expect to harvest rainwater, so that's probably going to be the deciding factor.

I may pick up a couple of sheets anyway to use to cover stuff at $5 a sheet.

Your definately not going to want Ondura for rainwater in a potable application!
Nice and easy for shade however!

[glenn kangiser]

The tarpaper taste should greatly accent the iced tea...