Need opinion on roof shingles

[BlitzKrieg]

I got to put on a new roof. I have a vendor offering CertainTeed shingles and my question is are these solid and good shingles or should I only consider a vendor offering GAF or Owens shingles?

Any help greatly appreciated

[nf1e]

There are just too many quality variation and choices in all brands of shingles. I did a ton of research on the subject 15 years ago and decided to go metal. No more nail on shingles for this guy.



Semper Fi
Art

[JB White]

I have extreme prejudice against CertainTeed due to the failure...absolute TOTAL failure of their organic shingles. At the time they were touted as being "the best" 30 year shingles out there. Roof failed in 8 years and I missed the class action lawsuit by two months. The only thing that saved me was one helluva storm which damaged the crap remaining. My insurance covered a roof replacement in that respect.

Most shingles are competitive within their respective brackets and price points. If you shop between GAF and Owens you should get acceptable results so long as you buy midrange or higher. Talk to your roofer(s) as they may get a better price break from one or the other and might be willing to pass a portion of that break to you.

[Vern Humphrey]

I'll go with metal roofs -- much better than any shingles.

[Allen]

Metal is better but a lot depends upon how it is installed. In my area there are a lot of complaints about leakage including schools and other commercial buildings. The metal is secured by hex head screws with a rubber washer. Guess what decomposes to weather and heat? The rubber washers. These aren't like the old "lead head" nails with the lead cap used on barns. The problem is worse if the screws are placed in the flats or valley sections where there is constant water run off (during rains). When they leak around the screws the wood rots so you can't just go and tighten the screws up. I have metal over plywood and tar paper on my carport---it leaks in several places. I'm going to have to go up and paint every screw head with sealant in hopes that it will cure my problem. Luckily my carport roof has a gentle slope where the panels can't be seen from the ground otherwise the patch job would really look bad. No one makes a color coordinated "goop" to seal the holes because none of the manufacturers will admit that they leak. I have seen metal shingles advertised but have not known anyone to use them due to the super high cost. I think these nail on like asphalt shingles.

One good thing about the metal panels is that you can get them in different colors now. When they first came out you could have any color you wanted as long as it was green. Made a lot of houses really look like krap where the green didn't coordinate with the brick or siding.

PS. The metal panels are bought from specialist who cut them to any length needed to prevent having to overlap them. I'm guessing the house pictured needed panels nearly 30' long. The metal comes in flat and painted in big heavy rolls like aluminum foil. After cutting to length they run it through a type of roller or a series of rollers that makes the flat metal corrugated. They are delivered to your house on a flatbed trailer or long truck.

[Allen]

I got to put on a new roof. I have a vendor offering CertainTeed shingles and my question is are these solid and good shingles or should I only consider a vendor offering GAF or Owens shingles?

Any help greatly appreciated

In answer to your original question I put on GAF shingles back in '96 and they still look good. I tried to find something on CertainTeed shingles under user reviews and I did see where there was a class action lawsuit against them. Now while most all companies get a bad review and lawsuits at one time or another there were a number of people who complained about the CertainTeed shingles.

I guess no one here has any experience with them but personally I would stay away from them. A roofing job cost a lot of money and short lived shingles can cause a lot of damage. A vendor only offering the CT brand must be getting some kind of price break. That doesn't mean they will pass it on to you.

To me it's like thinking "I know a Ford and a Chevy are good, should I buy a Fiat?".

[Former Cav]

DO NOT get cedar!! 30 years my a$$ !!! more like 10 and that was in MN and they were supposedly "NUMBER ONE" shingles.

[leftyo]

they have all made bad batches of shingles at one time or another. pay your money, take your chances.

[Vern Humphrey]

DO NOT get cedar!! 30 years my a$$ !!! more like 10 and that was in MN and they were supposedly "NUMBER ONE" shingles.

If you're thinking of cedar shingles, call your insurance company first and see what they say!

[Bill D]

Cedar or shake shingles replacement are not even allowed in Colorado Springs. Not many homes have them since the Waldo Canyon fire. Those houses all burned to the ground. We have a tile roof and love it.

[Major Tom]

If you go metal roofing I suggest you talk to your insurance company because some insurers do not cover buildings with metal roofs.

[BlitzKrieg]

Gosh , I can't go metal roofing, the HOA Nazi's forbid it.

Need some input from you all on Shingles please.

Thanks

[Jim in Salt Lake]

I had the original 3 tab asphalt shingle roof on my house replaced a couple of years ago. It was a 15 year roof that lasted 30 years, pure luck in my opinion. I had GAF architectural shingles put on, you can't get 3 tab anymore and the architectural are better. This isn't my first roof and I always get the old one stripped off so that I can get new roofing felt and new flashing on all the penetrations, chimney, and valleys. There are better roofing felts available now other than the old black paper, these are worth it in my book. Having the old roof torn off costs but your new roof will last MUCH longer and the actual water proofing is done by the roofing felt and flashing. I can't remember how many squares my roof is but I got quotes from $5k to $30k for an asphalt shingle roof. The high bids came from contractors selling magic secret sauce and the low bids came from guys that had questionable reviews and references. I picked a contractor for $7k that tore off the old roof, used good roofing felt, new flashing, and new gutters and downspouts. They also put in additional turtle vents, those will keep your attic vented and make the roof last longer. Whoever you narrow down to, check their references. A few phone calls help. These guys were good, complete job done in 3 days. They were always there when they said they'd be and I only found two nails on the ground from the tear off.

[BlitzKrieg]

Sir,

What brand of shingle do you recommend ? Theres a lot of noise that CertainTeed is problematic.

[dryheat]

- I have extreme prejudice against CertainTeed due to the failure...absolute TOTAL failure of their organic shingles.-

Organic shingles? Are they made from soy?