Shingles for Roofing

Shingles for roofing

Are you looking to decorate your rooftop facade, but unsure what options are out there? Don’t worry any further as you are in the right place. Utilizing Shingles for residential roofing Arlington Heights IL is the most common roofing material choice in America.

Shingles are the outer covering for your roof to provide protection and aesthetics of your home sweet home. These are usually flat, rectangular-shaped tiles like panels that are installed horizontally from bottom to top in an overlapping fashion. There is a variety of materials available on the market that you can choose from depending on your budget, requirement and other circumstantial needs, such as climate, etc.

Varieties of Shingles for roofing

Asphalt Shingles

Utilizing asphalt shingles for roofing has been around for over a century now. Organic and fiberglass are two base materials used in making asphalt shingles. There inexpensive up-front cost and simple installation make them the most commonly used roofing option in North America.

Fiberglass

These are made with fiberglass mat used as the base. They are very practical and popular for residential houses. They were initially introduced to replace asbestos, which is a banned material, but later on, began to replace its organic counterpart as well when it was realized they don’t last as long as intended. These shingles come in two popular styles.

3-tab shingles for roofing are simply 3 separate tabs in one shingle with a small space between each tab. When these shingles for roofing are installed, the entire roof is blanketed with what appears to be tiled. 3 tab shingles are often installed wrong and relatively difficult to install since they take more time for preparation.
Architectural shingles for roofing are intended to look like a cedar shake roof. Many advancements have been made by manufacturers to improve these shingles. Including lifetime warranties on the material as well as offering enhanced warranties for labor, material, and workmanship. Huge nailing lines help ensure proper installation. Common bonds have better adhesion to ensure they don’t blow off while new enhancements found on the rear of the shingle include the industry’s only mechanical fastening bond. GAF recently released a video where they introduced the roofing industry’s first limitless lifetime wind warranty. Another video demonstrated that these shingles (although not recommended or considered proper install) can withstand category 3 winds with no nails. Additional videos show hot ambers being shot at their own roof to demonstrate its power to withstand fires. GAF pours thousands of gallons of water displaying its resistance to penetration of extream wet weather. This type of shingle is the most installed shingle type in the US. There are many different palates of color designated for each region based on popularity.

Organic

These shingles use cellulose, waste paper, and wood fiber, and other variety of material as a base material. Asphalt adds the waterproof characteristic of the shingles. These shingles are known to be defective and typically demonstrate cupping or curling of the edges when exposed to the sun. Most are now discontinued due to poor performance. In fact there have been class action lawsuits for this poor performance with

Wood

If you are looking at bold, decorative shingles for roofing on your home, then the wood shingle is one of the most economical options. Wood shingle is usually made of white oak, black locust, honey locust, redwood, and cedar. The most widely used in the Midwest happens to be cedar. There are two types of wood shingles, which are shingles and shakes. Shakes are thick rectangular wooden tiles; they are typically longer than shingles. Shingles are thinner as they are tapered on all sides. Make sure that you opt for treated wood shingles, as untreated wood can be a fire hazard, especially if you live in hot climates.

Stone Shingles

These are also more commonly known as slate tiles. They are expensive but provide a high quality aesthetic and premium looks to your roof. The high-end costs also offer a whopping 80 to 400 years of durability to your home. They are recyclable, which means you can reuse them in another building. They are highly sensitive and expensive to maintain, as they are prone to cracks and hard to install and can be easily broken during placements. They offer a good variety of decorative designs and come in attractive color options. Flagstone shingles for roofing are the most common and traditional ones seen across the country. A regular check for maintenance can help your stone shingles last a lifetime and more.

Metal Shingles

If your priority is durability, resistance to external factors such as mold, mildew, high winds, and fire hazards, then metal shingles for the roof are an ideal solution for your roofing. They are costly to install but may provide returns on investment as they are reusable, which means you can move them to a new home or roof. Plus, they rarely require any maintenance, and their resistance to other threats such as fire may help you get lower premiums on your home insurance. So if you are living in an area with high temperatures, then using metal shingles will provide you peace of mind; they are installed with an airspace between the metal and roof deck. This airspace prevents the transfer of heat absorbed by the metal to your attic.

Synthetic Shingles

This is the most popular alternative to slate tiles shingles and cedar shake shingles. Quality synthetic shingle or shake style products utilize pure virgin resins with advanced UV blockers safeguarding your home for a longer period when installed properly.

Another fantastic benefit of newer and more advanced synthetic roofs means you don’t have to spend massive amounts every few years to maintain the quality of the roofing structure like you would with real cedar. Synthetic shingles for roofing are now proven to withstand our harsh changes in climate and are often seen on higher-end homes. Big advancements have improved fire ratings (Class A Fire) while also topping durability ratings (class 4 hail impact resistance) to withstand large hail.

As synthetic shingles are lightweight, they save you money by rectifying the need to install any additional structural support to your home for what would be a ton of extra weight. It would also save you on the costs of hiring a structural engineer to ensure your home can carry the heavyweight of slate. It is also a good preventive barrier against extreme weather, such as strong winds, larger hailstones, and rain. They are also resistant to mold, mildew, fungus, rotting, and infestations. They usually come with a 50-year warranty.

Fiber Cement Shingles

Fiber cement shingles for roofing are produced by a combination of wood fiber, cement, sand as their main components. They can be shaped and designed to produce the premium look wood or masonry. Once installed, they look like horizontal boards overlapping each other and imitate the look of wood shingles. Fiber cement shingles are popular to be durable and can last for up to 50 years. You may need maintenance every few years, like fresh paint, to rejuvenate the appearance of your façade. Their industrial name is ‘Eternit’ or ‘transite’

Ceramic Shingles for Roof

Ceramic is an ideal installation for areas with raining weather. These shingles are laid in an overlying pattern, which helps create a water channel with a very appealing aesthetic design. They are also known as roof tiles outside of the United States and are most popularly in Europe. They are highly expensive in comparison most shingles for roofing options. You will notice terracotta clay roofing commonly used historical properties and homes. They are also popular because they are energy efficient and provide a durability timeline of anything between 50 to 100 years.

Maintenance in all cases

Shingles are the best way to uplift the appearance of your home, but choosing the material is not the only thing to consider when it comes to choosing shingles for roofing. No matter which material you use, it will require a professional like Revived Exteriors to inspect and maintain the longevity of your roof. After you have installed the shingles on your roof, inspect now and then if there is any sealant required due to cracks. Inspect for rust if you have used metal as the base, or metal shingles. Clean the gutters so the water does not accumulate on your roof; this will damage your shingles as well as cause leakage through your roof. The bottom line is routine roof maintenance will be vital to ensure that your roof stays in perfect shape and appearance.