Why do shingles scuff when installed in hot weather?
High afternoon temperatures soften the asphalt, causing deep scuffs and granule loss whenever roofers walk across the shingles. Even walking as slowly and gently as possible fails to prevent the damage once the roof heats up.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Working only half days or starting early in the morning at 5 AM and stopping by lunchDid this help you?
- 2Spraying or watering the roof to keep it coolDid this help you?
- 3Placing spare back-to-back shingles under your knees or toes while workingDid this help you?
- 4Applying tar and sprinkling loose granules over the damaged spots after finishingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“However as the day heated up, some damage from roofers walking on the shingles occurred.”source ↗
“After the first two deep scuffs I started walking as slowly and gently as I could but there was no real way around it.”source ↗