I see this so often - new roof shingles and old plumbing vent pipe collars.
Sometimes this is done with a reason - a new layer of shingles is simply laid over the old, so the original 
collars (AKA boots) are re-used.
And, perhaps, sometimes this is done to "save money." Why buy new boots after all? Aren't the new shingles expensive 
enough?
Apparently so!
This "roofer" had three such pipes to deal with.
And he dealt with all of them the same way - by gooping silicone all over the cracked, original, rubber gasket.
I don't know the prices of everything, so out of curiosity, when I got home, I looked up collars at my local Lowe's store. Click here.
This is one of the two brands they sell. It costs $4.99.
So this "roofer" saved a whopping $15 by reusing the old boots.
But wait, doesn't caulking cost something? It does. So that cut dramatically into his "savings." Yes, that was sarcastic.
PLUS, by re-using the old collars he compromised the job. The old rubber was probably cracked, because it was old (!), as the rubber on these collars has a life span about that of shingles!
What you do is pick the collar with the size hole you need, and the angle you want, and viola, just nail it into place.
That's probably easier, and safer, then getting up there later to goop caulking all over the opening. Especially if you try to make it as pretty as this job.
My recommendation: do it right! When my house was 15 years old a bunch of shingles blew off from a wind storm. My roofer came to replace them, and called me suggesting that we replace the collars. All on the south side, they were beginning to crack. He said, "That will extend the life of the roof by 5 years." Easy, peasy. Done. And done right!
Comments(8)