Best shingles

[LabLuvR]

Having been a member here for a short while I quickly learned there are some very knowledgeable folks here. So, who better to turn to than this site. I am pretty sure that my roof is going to need a re-shingle job in the not so distant future. After some consideration we are going to opt for the architectural style shingle. What companies make the best shingles and what is the best way to get a good fair price with good quality work. Thanks!!!!!!

 

[LarryRB]

I did my own roof last year, 46 square.. I bought Ownes Corning 50 year architectural shingles and after looking at all the lumber yards within 25 niles, Lowes had the best price by far.. I made one big mistake though, I ordered 140 bundles and fell short almost another 50.. The new architectural's at least Owens Cornings, need four pkag each to make one square,, not the old tried and true of three to make a square. The new shingles, even standard 20 yr three tabs, come as a millimeter in width..

 

[shvl73]

I'm not sure if IKO is a brand available in your area. Their Chateau 35 line has the traditional felt mat vs. the fiberglass mat that caused alot of shingle failures, cracks & blow offs. Hasn't been a problem for a while in New England, but it was enough of an issue that many people remember and look for a shingle w/o fiberglass. It seems that a fiberglass base is predominate in the industry now however.

 

[ronjhall]

I had the shingles on home and gararge replaced a couple of years ago with GAF Timberline 30 singles. They are a Fiberglass Asphalt Shingle.
I went to the local supplier of shingles in my area, Got a list of installers from them. Four of the ones I picked came out and quoted my job.
The GAF site above has a a lot of information on selecting a shingle and installation.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Shingles brands are different for all areas. IKO, GAF are some of the most available all over. Here Elk is the one we use over the others unless the customer wants something specific. We have had very good results with Elk and used them on our barn when we did that. Go to the lumber yards and see what they have. Check multiple lumberyards and see if there is a certain brand they all carry as GAF is available almost everywhere which is good as you know that the lumberyards trust the company to all stock them. A warranty is no good if the company is no longer around. There is a new company selling shingles are one or two yards here called BP. I have never heard of them till this year and for that reason we will not use them till they have been around for a few years.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

When you jump to a 40/50 or lifetime shingle your shingles weigh a lot more as they are thicker. If you packaged them the same way you would a 20-30 year shingle most people would not be able to lift the package. For this reason the companies went to a 4 bundle per square package. If you read on the packages it tells you how many bundles are in a square. Also, I am not sure if you are referring to millimeter as talking about metric shingles or not but if so depending on where your shingles are made will determing if you get metric or standard shingles. If the company is in the US then they are standard, Canada is metric.

 

[LarryRB]

probably helped out on at least 30 roofs over the years and did two complete for ourselves,, Not an expert by any means, but done enough to a general concensus... It was written all over, I was told, and just one of those things, I had 3 bundles on my mind and that's all there is to it. The 50 yr O-C do have some serious weight to them. I also need that as were right on Hamilton reservoir and the winds at times are considerable.. THe snow loads are considerable also,, I went with the complete pkg incl ridge vent/soffit, all Owens Corning.

 

[dummy]

<font color="blue"> A warranty is no good if the company is no longer around. </font> Unfortunately, on almost all "installed" products, the manufacturers warranty only covers material. Finding a reliable contractor is getting to be more and more difficult. The installer's warranty may or may not be any good. Be sure to get, and keep, a materials receipt to validate your manufacturers warranty.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We had a problem about 15 years ago with GAF's 3 tab shingles. We installed them on a house and they wouldn't stick. The tabs kept blowing off. Called up GAF as it was in the first year and they wanted us to send them some shingles to test. Sent them in and they said the shingles were fine but payed us to go back and tar down all the tabs. We very seldom use GAF products anymore after that. We still go back there to fix shingles every couple years as it is one of our neighbors and she is a very old lady who doesn't need these headaches. Warrantys are a funny thing, make sure you get a warranty or save a warranty from the package and read it so you know what is covered. Shingles won't usually leak, any leak is from the installer. The Warranty will only cover premature failure of the shingles like the shingles not sticking or the material breaking down after 5 years. Our accountants house is a little over 10 years old ($300k house) and his shingles are shot already. House has all the venting it needs and such but the shingles are junk. We didn't install them and he doesn't remember what brand so all we can do is recommend a brand for him to change to.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have never dealt with Owens Corning for roofing as I don't know anyone here that carrys it, same with the ridge vent. I am curious about it though and will look into it more and see if there is a dealer somewhere near here. Our main lumber yard we use to deal with went under so we are in a flux about who to give most of our money to now. It is hard to find a good lumber yard to work with.

We used a 40 year 6 in 1 on our house when we reroofed it a few years ago and a 50 year archtitechual on our barn when we built that last year. There are a lot of shingles out there now compared to 10 years ago which is nice as we don't do too many of the same style each year.