Shingle Roofing

Shingle roofing, in plain terms

An asphalt shingle is a mat of fiberglass soaked in asphalt and surfaced with crushed mineral granules. The asphalt keeps water out, and the granules are what protect the asphalt from the sun. When a roof wears out, it is usually because those granules have washed away and the asphalt underneath has been left exposed — which is why granules collecting in your gutters matter more than they look like they should.

You will hear two families of shingle. Three-tab is the flat, uniform one common on older houses. Architectural — also called dimensional or laminated — is built from two layers bonded together, which gives it depth, more weight, and a higher wind rating. Almost everything we install now is architectural, because the price difference has narrowed to the point where three-tab rarely makes sense.

After that, the decision most people agonise over is colour — and it is the one that photographs worst on a sample board, which is why the albums below are real roofs in daylight rather than swatches.

What shingles do well

They fit almost any house

Steep or shallow, cut up with dormers and valleys or one long simple plane, shingles work on nearly every roof shape in the Valley. That is a large part of why they cover most homes here.

Repairs are realistic

Wind takes a few tabs off a corner, or a flashing fails around a chimney — that is often a repair rather than a replacement. Materials are stocked locally and a matched bundle is usually obtainable, which is not true of every roofing material.

The colour range is genuinely wide

Modern architectural lines come in blended colours that read differently in morning and evening light. A blend that looks busy on a one-foot sample usually calms down across a whole roof, and a flat colour that looks safe on a board can look stark — standing in front of a finished house is the only reliable way to judge it.

Impact-resistant lines exist for a reason

They are built to take a hailstone without bruising, and some insurers discount premiums for them. Whether the premium saving justifies the material cost depends on your carrier — worth one phone call before you decide.

Where they compromise

They have the shortest service life of the common materials

Metal and slate both outlast them. Manufacturers publish ratings, and a well-ventilated roof installed to spec tends to reach them, but heat, poor attic airflow and a hot south-facing slope all pull the other way. Anyone who gives you an exact number for your house is guessing.

Shade and damp show on them

North-facing slopes that stay wet through the morning streak with algae, and it happens sooner in the river towns than up on the ridges. It is cosmetic rather than structural, and algae-resistant shingles slow it down, but it is worth knowing before you pick a light colour.

Hail leaves marks you cannot always see

A hailstone can bruise the mat without breaking the surface, and the damage only shows up as a leak years later. After a significant storm an inspection is worth more than a look from the driveway.

Colours are discontinued

Manufacturers retire and reformulate lines. If a repair happens years from now, an exact match is not guaranteed, and a dye lot can differ even within a current colour. Keeping a few spare bundles in the garage is cheap insurance.