Rainwater Collection Shingle Roof

I was about to install a catchment garden watering system for some clients and then realized they had the wrong roof.

Rainwater collection shingle roof.

But hey that s still something. Rainwater harvesting or rainwater collection is the process of collecting the run off water from a structure in order to store it for later use. But when it came to responding to residents questions about which roof collection surfaces are best suited for rainwater harvesting twdb didn t have a good science based answer to give. Roof types for rainwater harvesting.

For the majority of rainwater collection a roof acts as the primary catchment area. On the other hand other websites veto shingles for rainwater collection even if the water is only being used on your garden. Water the garden flower and food beds flush one utility toilet and do all our laundry during the wet winter time. As it falls from the sky it is safe to drink anywhere in the world.

Rainwater can also react with uncoated metal roofs so any metal roof should be painted using a roof paint that is labelled suitable for potable water supply before rainwater is collected. Puget sound is the perfect test bed for rainwater collection bone dry in the summer and soaking wet in the winter. Water is often in short supply in the heat of summer so it s tempting to use roof runoff. The good news is most roofing materials are suitable for rainwater harvesting.

Greenhouse roof has the highest collection efficiency most surfaces are a ok. Here is a list of the most common roof types and if they can be used for rainwater harvesting. I have been collecting rainwater off our roof here in seattle for 25 years and using it to. If there s lead chromium or cadmium in the roof materials soldering flashings paint or any other part of the roof you shouldn t collect rainwater from the roof.

Selection and consequences of roofing and gutter materials for rainwater harvesting. The biggest concerns seem to be copper zinc lead chromium arsenic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons leaching out of the shingles although the grit that comes off the shingles is also an annoyance in ran barrels. Tar asphalt shingles yup they make the water nasty. Tin tin is one of the best rainwater harvesting roof materials to have on a project there is very little water loss with tin around 5 and no.

Rainwater is the cleanest source of water that is available in nature today. According to a local rainwater catchment group that water should be used only at base of trees shrubs and not in the veggie garden. While metal roofing or plastic sheeting e g. There s just a short list of rooftop surfaces that rainwater harvesters should avoid.