Shingle Roofs

When a roof can account for as much as 40% of the average home's exterior, many factors weigh into the choice of materials.  Some surfaces are more beautiful than others.  Some offer greater resilience or endurance.  Some are more affordable.  But the one roofing surface which offers all those attributes in balance is the asphalt shingle.

Asphalt shingles are economical and versatile, which may be why they represent more than 80 percent of the roofing market. They're relatively inexpensive to buy and install, are suited to roof pitches from 4-in-12 to vertical, and are available across a wide range of quality, cost, and style. Easy to cut, fit, and fasten, asphalt shingles are compatible with many different kinds of flashing and edging products, and don't require specialized accessories for roof edges, wall terminations, chimney or vent flashings.

Choosing Shingles

There are two kinds of asphalt shingles on the market: Fiberglass shingles and organic-mat shingles. Both are made with asphalt, but fiberglass shingles use a fiberglass reinforcing mat, while the organic kind use a cellulose-fiber mat derived from wood. The organic mat of traditional shingles has to be saturated with soft asphalt, then coated with a harder asphalt for protection; the fiberglass shingles need only the hard asphalt coating. Fiberglass shingles are thinner, lighter, easier to lug around, and carry a better fire rating than organic shingles, but organic-mat shingles are tougher and stay more flexible in cold weather.