Asphalt Shingles - roofing materials and manufacturers

Asphalt Shingles Roofing is the most comment type of residential roofing materials for sloped roofs, in US and Canada. Main reason why asphalt shingles are so popular is because of their relatively low cost and relative ease of roof installation, using asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles will also last a rather long time – on average, a 30-year shingle will last about 15 years, depending on factors like your geographic location, type of your roof underlayment, roof pitch, ventilation system utilized to keep the attic space cool and free of moisture, and of course, the type of asphalt shingles used.

See a CBC special report on how long Asphalt Roofing Shingles last:

Read our full analysis of asphalt shingles life span.

Types of asphalt roofing shingles:

There are two most common types of asphalt shingle – a three tab shingle and and an architectural or dimensional shingles.

Three tabs are made of a single layer of asphalt saturated fiberglass or organic reinforcement mat, with a layer of tiny stone adhered to the top of the shingle. The lower part of the three tab shingle has two notches cut out from the bottom to almost the center of the shingle (when shingle is positioned horizontally). This give the shingle and impression of tree tabs hanging down, and when the three-tab roof is installed, you will get a staggered brick-like pattern.

Architectural shingles have a solid shingle on the bottom (no notches like in the 3-tab shingle) and additional layer laminated on top of the lower half of the shingle, to give it a dimensional architectural look.

Generally, architectural shingles will last a bit longer than 3-tabs, but they should not be installed on roof slope less then 4. For roof slopes of 3-4, it’s best to use a 3-tab shingles, as it will have better protection from wind driven rain.

NOTE: You should not install any type of asphalt shingles on a roof pitch of less then 3 in 12.

Because an asphalt shingle roof is designed to help the rain water to run off a roof, a minimum roof pitch of 4 to 12 is required to install an asphalt shingle roof correctly, and avoind premature roof leaks.

Brands of Asphalt Shingles:

There are more than a dozen of asphalt shingles manufacturers in the US and Canada, and many of them specialize in manufacturing of other roofing materials, as well as a complete line of accessories that go along with their asphalt shingles.

These accessories include:

• Roofing underlayment (felt / tar paper, Ice & Water Shield, synthetic underlayment, etc).
• Ridge Vent
• Flashing
• Static or power vents
• Ridge cap shingles
• Drip edge metal
• Step flashing
• Many more roofing accessories.

Most prominent asphalt shingles manufacturers in the US and Canada include: GAF / Elk, Certainteed, Owens Corning, Tamko, IKO and others. Please note that the order in which these companies are listed, does not imply that one is better than the other, or that first company is better than last. These companies are just some of the biggest / most noticeable asphalt shingles roofing manufacturers. At the same time judging which one is better is very subjective, and you need to look at MANY aspects, before making your decision as to which brand to use. In our experience, most asphalt shingles are more or less equal in quality, and you should be choosing a roofing contractor first, and then a roofing shingles materials second.

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