Should I paint my roof white?

[Sonic]

Hahahaha. I could never get away with painting my roof white. I'd need to get approval from so many different people and city departments it cracks me up.

Not that I have a great need for it considering the whole lack of need for AC.

Solar panels are indeed a good choice but can be a bit of an up front investment. They kinda help pay for themselves through the years.

 

[apoppin]

Hahahaha. I could never get away with painting my roof white. I'd need to get approval from so many different people and city departments it cracks me up.

Not that I have a great need for it considering the whole lack of need for AC.

Solar panels are indeed a good choice but can be a bit of an up front investment. They kinda help pay for themselves through the years.

you are a city dweller, i guess

President Obama said this *this week*

http://www.keyetv.com/content/news/topnews/story/The-white-roof-solution/FwzK5upScECjvjHUVAiW6Q.cspx

President Barack Obama's US Energy Secretary said earlier this week every house should have a white roof to help fight global warming. We found an Austin man who said he was ahead of the curve. Jay Beeson had the bright idea to brighten up his roof more than a year ago.

He told us it was cheap and most importantly to him, it saves hundreds of dollars on his energy bills. Beeson said a white roof will help paint a greener future....
In California, it's already law to make all flat roofs light-colored.
Austin roofers told us, over its life cycle, a new white roof costs no more than a traditional roof.

i am just ahead of you guys [in Cali, no less]

saving green with white is beautiful imo

 

[digitalwanderer]

Actually I have a feeling my neighbors would raise hell with us too a bit if we painted our roof white, we live in suburbia.

Getting ready to go get all the insulation stuff and get started, and I'm just a tad intimidated at this project. (No biggy, to be honest I think I've always felt a bit intimidated/uncertain/butterflies in me stomach before every decent sized project I handle around the house...I figure it's a good sign. How can I be all cocky/confident about something I've never done? )

 

[apoppin]

Actually I have a feeling my neighbors would raise hell with us too a bit if we painted our roof white, we live in suburbia.

Getting ready to go get all the insulation stuff and get started, and I'm just a tad intimidated at this project. (No biggy, to be honest I think I've always felt a bit intimidated/uncertain/butterflies in me stomach before every decent sized project I handle around the house...I figure it's a good sign. How can I be all cocky/confident about something I've never done? )

How?

Get as much info as you can on it; a handyman-type forum if you have questions or ask questions of the most expert person at the place you purchased the insulation
- and good luck!!

i would suggest care in breathing around the insulation; the fibers should not be inhaled so some type of breathing [and skin] protection is probably a good idea

 

[Mize]

He's using cellulose so it's not nearly as bad (or as insulating) as glass fibers. It's also more of a fire hazard for canister lights that extend into the attic. Keep away from these. And I would recommend a breathing filter of some sort even though it's cellulose.

 

[Frank]

I don't know if it's easily available, but there is thin solar foil for use on greenhouses and such, which has a low efficiency (~4%), but is very cheap and easy to apply. For a roof, you would want to put aluminium foil underneath (thereby almost doubling the efficiency). It would power the AC, if it isn't too big.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Well it turned out to be quite the clusterpuck, but the deed is done.

I'd post the before/after picts, but to be honest I'm so f-ing wiped right now that it's hard to just stay awake. Playing around in a hot attic for hours blowing dust in near zero visibility whilst covered in safety gear has a way of wearing one out I've found.

But it is done, the mess is cleaned up, and the rental blower returned. I'd say we went from about 2" of insulation to about 16-20".