On 03/07/2016 23:17, Rod Speed wrote:
James Wilkinson wrote
I accidentally spotted some A5 sized pieces of roof felt/bitumen (like
we use on garages and sheds here in the UK) on an American house,
placed to look like tiles. Is that common over there

Yes.
and why?

Usual reason, plenty do what others do.

I had them on a roof on a foreign property that was subject to 40C in
summer and 15c in winter with heavy rains Jan/Feb.
The tiles (strips) were still going strong after 14 years with no
noticeable deterioration.