First, let me say thank you to every in this forum as you have all been lifesavers to me at one point or another in my quest to do it myself - or at least educate myself before calling someone.

And now for the latest saga. I had a reputable roofer replace my ridge vent about a year ago. And ever since, my property is filled with grit from my asphalt shingles every time it rains.

For a while, I figured that roofers loosened a bit of the grit when they walked on it - but this is going on a year now. I had my roofer come out again and have a look. He said that this is normal. If this is normal, then how come this never happened before he and his crew went up there?

It is normal to get SOME grains from a roof after a rain, but not if it is only a ridge vent. Any way that it has been happening all alongandyou are just noticing now??

There probably won't be much response to this, since you've already had a roofer look at it, and there isn't much one can offer here on a problem unseen.

By 'my property is filled with grit', I assume you don't have gutters, and are finding fine 'gravel' around the house. Why it is happening more now.....who knows? Gravel being released from the shingles is normal wear, as UV rays gradually break down the asphalt, and the gravel becomes loose.

Any house that has shingles and gutters will find a good deal of gravel in the gutters every time they clean them, and the older the shingles, the more gravel.

I am no roofer, but have spent as much time on roofs as any 'non-roofer', and I can't think of anything the vent crew could have done to cause this problem.

I had my ridge vent replace late last summer / early fall and had been noticing a fair amount of grit coming off until the first freeze. I figured that I'd wait and see what spring brought. I was a little preoccupied with some personal business most of the spring / summer so I'm finally getting around to looking into this. I guess that I was kind of hoping that the amount of grit coming off the roof would slow down - but it hasn't.

I don't have any leaks but I don't want to wait until I do have leaks before I do something about this. I guess my question is, should I consider replacing the roof? It's almost 20 years old.

I've read on a few web sites that I should proceed with replacing it, but I respect the opinions of the people on this forum so I figured that I'd ask first.

I'm not accusing the roofer of anything. He's a good guy and comes highly recommended. I'm just trying to figure out if I should be considering a new roof. My roofer says no but I always strive to understand things before closing the books on my decision.

I have gutters and they get filled with grit pretty regularly. In addition, the patio around my house get loaded with grit every time it rains. I'm wondering if the extraordinarily hot summer may have finally dealt the knock-out blow to my 20 year old shingles.

My whole roof was done in november and I still see the grit after te rains. Not worried about it. Still plenty up there.

The granules on the asphalt shingles protect the shingles from UV, erosion, etc., as well as provide the color. So, if they are still covered, they're still protected. If you start to see bare spots, then start planning for a new roof.

Thanks all. I'm going to put off getting a new roof for now and reevaluate in the Spring. I've got lots of grit on the ground and in my gutters but my shingles still seem to have plenty left.

"Property/gutters filled with grit" is a bit difficult for anyone to get a true understanding of your situation. But here's an article that is >>> worth reading. <<<

Hope this helps.

Mom's next door neighbor's shingles were completely bald. No granules left at all.

When they started stripping the shingles off this spring, they didn't peel off, they shattered off they were that old and dried out.

Sounds like you have had good life from your roof alread. May want to start the "rainy day, leaky roof fund."