Choosing the Right Roofing Shingles
If you’re in the market for a new roof, one of the questions I get is… what kind of shingle should I go with and or what type of upgrade should I choose? Since we are a GAF Certified Contractor, I’m only going to be talking about GAF brand shingles in this post.
Basic Roofing Shingles
I am going to start with the basic shingle, which is the three tab shingle. Basically, they have two different types. They have the 20 year and a 25 year three tab. The only real difference is the warranty and the thickness of the shingles themselves. Now in Texas, they don’t even really offer the 20-year shingle anymore, only a select few manufacturers offer that. With this shingle, you’re going to get a 60 mile per hour wind guarantee and it comes in a variety of different colors.
Upgrading Your Roofing Shingle
If you currently have this shingle on your roof, you might want to consider upgrading the next shingle I will be talking about – the architectural shingle. In GAF’s case, it’s called the Timberline Series. This is the Timberline Lifetime HD Shingle. There are a few different shingles in the Timberline series. They have the basic natural shadow, the HD and the Ultra HD. One of the big differences is the shadow line. When you compare it to the three tabs, you can see it’s a totally different look. It has a layered look to it, which is why they call it an architectural shingle.
With this shingle, you are getting a much better looking shingle and the wind rating goes up to 80 miles per hour. The reason being is that it’s a heavier shingle. If you’re looking for a shingle with more richness in color, I would recommend going with the HD series. It’s got a darker shadow line on it.
Class 4 Impact Resistant Roofing
Now, if you already have this shingle and you want to upgrade from here, the next step up would be the GAF Armor Shield II. As far as looks go, it’s pretty similar to the Timberline, but the biggest difference is that this a classified as a four impact resistant shingle. This is important, especially in Texas because this shingle is more resistant to hail and it’s basically hail proof in most cases. This shingle is also a heavier shingle. It’s got a rubber-like membrane and the wind rating gets bumped up significantly to 130 miles per hour.
The best part about this shingle is that you can get an insurance break on your home premium in most cases, because of the durability and wind rating. I’ve seen anywhere from 15% up to 30% off your insurance premiums just by having this shingle properly installed. So your return on your investment with this type of shingle is well worth it because you’ll make some of your money back from the savings on your insurance premiums.
These would be your basic shingle upgrades. If you’re looking for something fancier, stay tuned for my next post where I will go over the designer series of shingles. That’s all for now folks. I’ll see you next time…