Ever notice that certain homes seem to make a strikingly good impression from the first glance?
Attention to detail, quality products, quality craftsmanship is key. Your choice of roofing material can be one of the most important decisions you make to bring out the beauty of your home. Not to mention the useful service life of your roof system.
Choosing the right contractor to install your roof is just as important as selecting quality materials. It is true that nearly anyone has the ability to drive a nail through a shingle, but if that was all there was to proper shingle installation, we would not be replacing roofs installed by others after only a couple of years that have failed. There are several shingle and shingle type material, Asphalt, Wood, Tile, Metal, Composite, etc. Today the style (design) options are abundant, so much so it can be confusing. Three tab, laminate, dimensionals, architecturals, shake, slate etc. The following is information on the different shingle types to assist you in making an educated decision on the types of shingles to choose for your home or business pitched roof.
Contents
Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are the most commonly used type of shingle. Today they are reinforced with fiberglass mat or an organic material such as paper, wood fiber etc, and range in durability/life expectancy, from 20 to 30 years for the ordinary (three tabs) shingle.
Great improvements to the asphalt shingle have been made, resulting in a more durable product know as Laminated shingles. Laminate shingles are also known as “dimensional” and “architectural” shingles.
Laminate shingles are also made of asphalt but differ from the “three-tab” shingle in design. They were designed to add character, color, and depth to the roof aesthetics. They are made of multiple staggered layers of material, with a range of durability, typically 30 to 50 years.
Laminate shingles are thicker and heavier than “three-tab” shingles thus are more resistant to wind. From a distance, some of the high grade (high quality) laminated shingles have the look of an expensive slate or shake material, by incorporating angled or rounded tabs, shadow lines, and variant color patterns.
Wood Shakes and Shingles
Typically shakes are made of either cedar, spruce or treated pine. The hand-split shakes have a rough, textured look on the front and are usually smooth on the back. Wood shingles are sawn by machine and are smooth on both sides. Cedar is the best performing wood for making shakes. But, treated pine shakes also do well. When first installed, shakes are a brown or reddish color but will weather and fade in the first year to a gray color. Wood shakes can last up to 30 years, throughout that time, they may shrink, warp or splinter which is inherent in any wood. We do install wood shingles and shakes, but, the cost on the installation is typically 50% higher than a 50-year Laminate. There is also a fire concern in our area. Asphalt shingles offer a class A fire rating, whereas wood is vulnerable to fire exposure.
Slate / Stone Shingles
A slate roof can create a very rich, colorful, hand-crafted look that greatly adds to the overall appearance of a house. One could consider a slate roof installation to be a lifetime roof as a quality system can exceed 75 years of service life.
Davis Roofing is proud to introduce our newest high-quality roofing system, TruSlate – Slate Roofing.
Presented as the first upgrade to slate roofing in 500,000,000 years due to the innovative design and installation methods developed by the supplier (Elk Corp). This new system now makes slate roofing more affordable without compromising quality or integrity.
How did you ask?
Simply stated, this system uses up to 50% less material than conventional slate roof installation, less material, lower cost. This system is also less labor intensive (to install), which also contributes to the lower cost.
Some facts about slate.
Slate is a dense natural rock or stone material that is nearly nonabsorbent. Slate is collected from quarries from around the world and cut to size.
Slate rock/stone is made up of sedimentary particles of clay and silt. Particles settled on the bottom of ancient bodies of water over time forming layers. The pressure of continuous layers along with naturally occurring geological forces, heat, etc transformed these deposit layers (shale) into harder material, slate. Slate used as a roofing material is separated into different grades per American Standards of Testing and Materials (ASTM).
- S1 – service life in excess of 75 years
- S2 – service life of 40 – 75 years
- S3 – service life of 20 – 40 years.
These standards were developed in the ’30s and many in the slate roofing industry find them to be inferior, moves to update the grading process is being pursued. One contention with the standard is that one piece of slate can test differently depending on the area of slate tested. In other words, three different results can occur within one slate.
Claims throughout the slate industry state an S1 grade slate can have a service life up to 150+ years, S2 to exceed 100 years, S3 well over 75 years.
Tile Roof Covering
Roof Tile can be made in a vast variety of styles, sizes, and colors made out of several different ingredients. Clay, Concrete, and new to the market is Rubber. Clay and concrete tiles have similar physical properties and installation methods. Concrete is typically cheaper to manufacture than clay and it can be made anywhere. Clay tiles must be made near a clay quarry, so additional freight cost can be an issue, and add to the cost of the roof A well-constructed clay or concrete tile roof should last more than 50 years. This is also an expensive type of roof installation as the materials are more expensive and require a strong frame to support the heavy load of the tiles, which may require additional structure work.
Metal Roofing Shingles and Standing Seam
Metal roofing materials come in a wide variety of styles: Standing Seam, Steel or Aluminum Shake Shingles, Metal Tile, Grandular Coated Steel Shingles, Copper in Standing Seam or Shingles. Metal materials range from, steel, aluminum, tin, and copper. Without a doubt, metal roofing can provide you with a long lasting roof if properly installed, of course, poor installation of any product will result in leaks and other damage.
Metal is less expensive than tile or slate, quite a bit more than a high quality 50-year asphalt shingle. In the past, the colored aluminum shingles have peeled, faded and oxidized after a short period of time. Some manufacturers claim to have solved this problem recently. Hail is a problem for Metal shingles. While it will not typically cause the shingles to leak, it will dent, affecting the visual quality. The granulated coating on metal shingles has been introduced claiming to resist hail. Lifespan on a metal roof can be from 30 to 50 years if properly installed. Copper roofs have been documented to last 100 years (note, copper is much more expensive than an aluminum installation).
Composite Shingles
Recently new to the industry is the introduction of composite shingles. They are produced by a colorized, mineral-filled polymer. This allows the manufacturers to produce different colors, textures, and styles to emulate natural materials used in the roofing process such as slate, and wood shakes. We install and recommend Tamko Lamarite shingles. We find them very aesthetically pleasing as well as durable. They are backed by a 50-year limited warranty and offer a Class A fire rating. Tamko offers a variety of colors in the Lamarite line, mixing color choices gives your roof a very distinct appeal. This is not your neighbor’s roof! While Lamarite Slate shingle is a high-end roof material, it is far less expensive than a natural slate. Contact us for further information regarding this product.