What are architectural shingles?

Question

My husband and I are buying a house and he wants to have architectural shingles put on, and extra $600.00. Whats the diffrence and what's a good brand?

Answer 1

Architectural shingles are a type of shingle that appears or tends to look like a wood or shake shingle. It is a composite material, like a normal 3 tab, but its design and how it lays makes it a more durable shingle with a longer warranty.

There are many different types of shingles. The most common are what is called 3 tab. The shingle actually has three tabs separated by a notch. Three tabs are easier to deal with and repair, but architectural can be replaced, and if the color matches, aren't as easily noticed.

Architectural shingles do not have tabs and so seal down better with less likely hood they can be lifted by the wind. However, if you yourself try to lift them after they seal down, they more easily tear as they typically have a single bottom sheet with thicker overlays separated by the distance of about a typical tabs width.

I have them on my house, but trying to hang my gutters, I have no fascia, was a real pain, and I tore several shingles.

Last but not least, if you install them the way you would install wood shingles, with a metal ridge cap and metal valleys, they will look like wood shingles from the street. Very nice appearance.

Good Luck

Answer 2

As the above respondent said, these are not tabbed shingles. Here's a bit more information, admittedly given from my situation. I live in the foothills next to the mountains of North Carolina and there are no trees or houses to my west (mountains). That said, when the wind blows, it rakes my house good. Without tabs, the architectural shingles I have have lasted. With tabs previously, the wind would catch tabs and pull them back, only to break off once they went too far, so I was constantly on my roof replacing shingles. (They work great in high wind conditions.)

Further, I am a fan of longevity. I would rather pay more today to have to delay a reroofing job later on. I figured out that the additional money I paid to get architectural shingles was saved by the fact that if I stayed here 15 years, I would not have to reroof again in that time. (The new owner would have to but not me.) That time prediction is actually coming true. Had I gone with tabbed shingles, at a 15 year life expectancy, I would have had to reroof this year ... and the house goes on the market next year.

Last, I was concerned with color. I don't like roofs of all one color. I like the idea of shadows and blends, color variations. That is because I have a 1 story house with a roof everyone can see ... if it was a 2 story, it might be different, but who wants to look at a roof that has no depth? I was able to get the color Estate Grey, which features different hues of grey with the darker colors on the lower recessed parts, and the lighter colors on the taller parts. As a result, my roof looks interesting and no one notices the big bow I have where the previous owner added the front porch roofline. :)

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

What Are Architectural Shingles

Answer 4

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Answer 5

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Answer 6

Architectural have a more random pattern look than the standard 3-tab shingle. They have a look of more 'depth'. Very nice curb appeal. As there are less shingles per bundle (require more bundles per square) they are more costly than regular 3 tabs. When I had new roof put on my house last year I chose architectural shingles and am extremely happy with them and the look. Several good brands out there (Owens Corning for one). I used Tamko Heritage-30-Aged wood-alge. Color goes good with my siding (a shade of 'clay').

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What are architectural shingles?
My husband and I are buying a house and he wants to have architectural shingles put on, and extra $600.00. Whats the diffrence and what's a good brand?

Answer 8

architectural shingles are among the highest quality roofing products made. Traditionally, they are composed of a heavy fiber glass mat base and ceramic-coated mineral granules that are tightly embedded in carefully refined, water-resistant asphalt.