It is easier to get a material if it comes without its types. But usually it does not happen, in construction you will see a number of types of a single material and it will make you confused about the selection of one specific material or type, which at the same time should suit best for your area as well as for the house. There are a number of types of a single roofing shingle that can be sometimes difficult to choose from. Every shingle is unique, and has different benefits and features. However, if you can not tell them apart, you may not know what you are actually buying.
In order to make you understand best about the type of roofing shingle you should get, we will explain four main types of the roofing shingles. Along with that we will also notify you of some of the niche terms that are only used to confuse many of you. At the end of this blog you are going to have a better idea about the roofing shingles and the type of roofing shingles you choose out of other types.
There are basically four types of roofing shingles which are listed as:
- Traditional Shingles.
- Architectural Shingles.
- Premium Shingles.
- Performance Shingles.
- Other types of shingles-Accessory Shingles.
Before getting into the shingle types and explaining them, first you should get an idea about the composition shingles. What are composition shingles? Composition is a basic term used for the shingles that are made up of two or more than two materials. Whereas, slate shingles are not called composition shingles as they are made up of only one material which is slate.
If we look deeply all the shingles nowadays are composition shingles. And if we talk about modern shingles they are made of fiberglass that is protected by asphalt and granules. Before the modern shingles, the material used in the composition shingles was asphalt and cellulose, which is a plant based material. Now only the fiberglass shingles are made and we will discuss only the modern modern shingles.
- Traditional Shingles
Traditional shingles which are commonly called 3-tab shingles or stripe shingles. They are known to be the most older type of asphalt shingles which are still used by the contractors and homeowners till date, with a lot of improvements made over the years which includes the addition of fiberglass mat instead of a cellulose core that was previously used.
Originally the idea was to place the shingles on to the roof that included the adhesive, the construction team would only have to nail the shingles and rest of the work was done by the heat produced due to the sun which glued the material over the time. But now other options available as well that include the bigger shingle size and manually gluing the shingles i-e 3-tab shingles. Earlier, the traditional shingles used to be monotone which was only one shade of brown, but now you will find the huge variety in shingle colours.
- Architectural Shingles
Architectural shingles are also called laminate shingles and dimensional shingles. The only difference between traditional shingles and architectural shingles is their construction Dimensional shingles are composed of two layers asphalt and fiberglass. Architectural shingles also work as weather-resistance. Previously, the manufacturers were intended towards the aesthetics and visual thickness of the shingles. And they were simpler to install as well. Dimensional shingles are more into talk and many people prefer dimensional shingles; they don’t come with the typical one shape design, in fact each shingle is made by the manufacturer in such a way as alternating areas and double layers. This pattern is also known as “Dragon’s teeth”. The manufacturers also added the grey line which provides the effect of a shadow, this shadow is actually a band of darker granules. This all adds dimension to the roof which in results looks more aesthetic and stylish on the other hand.
Although, architectural shingles are asphalt shingles but when the houseowner ask this question about the difference between these two he actually meant to ask the difference between the architectural shingles and 3-tab shingles, the answer to this query is that the architectural shingles are thicker which gives them the benefit of better performance. If we look into the shape of both the shingles; the architectural shingles are referred to as “Dragon shingles” whereas the 3-tab shingles are stable and flatter. But the shingle type selection is totally up to you and the area you live in.
- Premium Shingles
Premium shingles are known as the designer shingles. They also have the two layer composition of laminate shingles including other features too. They cost less as compared to other shingle types. Many of the premium shingles are made to copy the cedar shakes and slate tiles roofing material.
- Performance Shingles
Performance shingles are basically designed to perform some specific functions and all are the homeowners friendly functions, as they are one time cost with a lot of beneficial advantages. They come with wind resistance, hail resistance, fire resistance and algae resistance. These benefits may be available in others. In wind resistance there are some special features who cope with the high and increased rate of winds and also reduce the wind level or blow off. They are also designed to reduce the risk of algae growth on your roof top.
- Other Types of Shingles
Hip and ridge shingles are usually installed by the roofing contractors as they are easier to install because of their shape for easier installation purpose. Well, in order to install shingles on the ridges and hips of the roof, the professional roofer has to cut the shingle in to stripe and then after the cutting they line the strips up and down the hips and ridges. The thicker laminating shingles are harder to cut and harder to bend over the ridges. But as to make the roofing contractors work easier the manufacturers designed the hip and ridge in matching colours which do not need to be cut before the installation of the shingle on the roof. Starter stripes are the sealant stripe which is used to bond the first course of the shingle, that is why they applied first. This sealant works as a protective layer as well as the guide to achieve a correct level for the roofer.
Conclusion
As there are many types of shingles and we can not decide just by reading what works best for our roof, in fact you just get the overall idea about the types of the asphalt shingles, different shingles are manufactured for different areas and for different roof problems. It is always best to hire a professional roofer who can guide you better.
We hope this article has helped you and gave you an insight about the types of asphalt shingles and what suits best for you according to the area you live in. For more suggestions and queries comment under this article, so we can answer all of your concerned queries.