THE HISTORY OF ASPHALT SHINGLES
What Roofers
DON'T WANT You To
Know
1.
Making
Cheaper Asphalt Shingles
2. Premature Failure of Fiberglass Shingles
3. Fiberglass Failures become Common Knowledge
4. Expected Lifespan of Conventional
Fiberglass Shingles
Please see Definitions
MAKING CHEAPER ASPHALT SHINGLES
A common perception, promoted by
asphalt manufacturers (and asphalt roofers) is
that modern "fiberglass"
roofing shingles on the market today are vastly superior to the
traditional "organic" asphalt shingle design.
These new shingles must be better - because they come with
50 year warranties. In fact, the opposite
is true.
From the late 1880's until the
1970's, roofing shingles were manufactured by
saturating a thick organic mat
(cotton, waste paper and wood fiber) with asphalt and then covering
the shingle with a protective stone coating.
These "organic" shingles normally came with 15 year or 20 year
warranties, but would often last over 30
years.
In past years, warranties weren't much of a
concern because the organic felt shingles
usually
lasted longer than the 15 or 20 years for which
they were guaranteed.
Some organic
shingles on roofs today have seen 30 years and
are still hanging on.
Many roofs
with fiberglass shingles, however, aren't faring
as well... [1]
Our company applied a 15-year warranted organic
asphalt shingle on one local residence...
Upon a recent
inspection, that 27-year old roof still looked
great. Why are today's shingles
inferior?
In an attempt
to keep prices lower than the other guys,
shingle manufacturers sacrificed quality.
The quality
of asphalt has declined... Roofers and
consumers are being deceived.
[2]
The asphalt industry made a
dramatic transformation during the 1970's with
the conversion from organic
to "fiberglass" mats in the manufacture of shingles.
Initially it appeared technological advancements
would
facilitate product improvements. However, with the 1974 oil
embargo and economic recessions in the 1980's,
asphalt manufacturers focused primarily on lowering
production costs... they designed "cheaper"
shingles.
The result of lowering material
costs was production of shingles of much lower
quality - as was demonstrated by
the immediate onset of premature failures. The
decision by asphalt manufacturers to lower
material costs
marked the end of traditional organic shingles, and the beginning
of a new era of premature shingle failures.
The pressures placed on large public companies
to maintain profitability
brought
forward good old American ingenuity, reduce
fiberglass mats (fibers were expensive)
and increase
filler content (asphalt was also expensive)...
Filler was not used to stabilize asphalt
so much as it
appeared it was used to attempt to control
profitability and/or market share.
[3]
It's a huge market, and it's also incentive for
a manufacturer to turn out the lowest priced
product
possible... and this market will not go away.
Welcome to the real world.
[4]
The information provided below
does, generally speaking, apply to all asphalt
shingles manufactured after 1980,
both fiberglass and the newer organic. However, since only
fiberglass shingles are being sold today, we
will focus
primarily on how sales of fiberglass shingles impacts uninformed
consumers... Because, unfortunately, when
asphalt
manufacturers started making cheaper (and less durable) shingles
they also increased warranty periods.
Because cheaper and less durable
shingles are now being sold with "Inflated"
warranty periods of 30, 40, 50 years
and "lifetimes", there is no question that Consumers
are being deceived.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Ted
Cushman, 'Choosing an Asphalt Shingle: Organic
vs Fiberglass'
Journal of
Light Construction Magazine, (May 1993).
[2] Ray Bolt, 'Shingle Problems: 20 Year
Asphalt Shingles Are Posing Problems in the
West'
Western
Roofing Magazine, (Jan/Feb 1991).
[3] Dwain Bouton, 'Return to Basics:
Suggestions for Asphalt Shingles'
Western
Roofing Magazine, (Sept/Oct 1992).
[4] Marc Dodson, 'Classifying Asphalt
Shingles May be the Solution the Industry is
Looking For'
Western
Roofing Magazine, (July/Aug 1992).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PREMATURE FAILURE OF FIBERGLASS SHINGLES
As manufacturers sought to produce
shingles with less asphalt, traditional organic
shingles were replaced with
the modern "fiberglass" shingle - made of a paper thin
LAYER (not saturation) of asphalt and a stone
coating.
The new design contained much less asphalt - and, therefore, was of
lower quality than the traditional organic.
Asphalt content was further reduced in the new fiberglass design by
adding FILLER materials. These
"fillers"
were usually sand and/or fine minerals (often Limestone) and were
used primarily to lower the cost of production.
However, the addition of filler also resulted in production of
even lower quality, and less durable, roofing
shingles.
The composition shingle industry has had
difficulty with the performance of conventional
fiberglass
shingles
almost since their introduction in the late
1970's... Lack of Asphalt Content:
Failed shingles
that we
tested contain approximately 30% asphalt by
weight. New shingles contain less than 25%
This asphalt
is mixed with sand and fine mineral matter and
then has granules embedded in it.
[1]
There is no separate asphalt mat "coating",
there is only asphalt as binder for the
filler...
No wonder
shingles "weep" water after only a few years!
[2]
Historically, the premature failure
of fiberglass shingles has involved granular
loss and brittleness,
cracking and splitting, blistering, curling, buckling and "weeping"
(water seeping through the shingle).
When a thorough inspection reveals ANY of these conditions
the roof is beyond the "Re-Sale Window"
and normally requires either replacement or negotiation of a
"Roofing Allowance" in order to sell the home.
While the common perception,
promoted by asphalt manufacturers (and asphalt
roofers) is that "fiberglass"
shingles are vastly superior to the traditional "organic" design,
the fact is - there has been a documented history
of premature failure for all asphalt shingles manufactured
since 1980, both fiberglass and newer organic shingles.
Since only fiberglass are sold today - It's important to know
the History of Defective Fiberglass Shingles.
Fiberglass mats are much thinner, and are not
saturated with asphalt...
Several
roofing contractor associations have heard
complaints from their members
that
fiberglass shingles are failing within ten years...
[3]
Recently, our company had a roof fail in less
than eight years.
When removing
shingles in leaky areas, it became apparent that
the water
was going
right through the shingles, and had been for
some time. [4]
In Central California we have seen shingles
split on roofs in less than five years.
From what we
have seen to date, the problem seems to occur to
shingles with a thin
or
nonexistent back coating... These shingles also
seem to have a very high filler content
about 70% and
limited tensile strength. [5]
Filler was not used to stabilize asphalt so much
as it appeared it was used
to attempt to
control profitability and/or market share...
Buckling, cupping, splitting
and poor
granular retention problems began to
manifest in relatively short time frames.
[6]
The premature failure of fiberglass
shingles is simply Historical Fact.
By the mid-1990's defective fiberglass
shingles were reported by consumers and contractors across the
country and documented in industry publications.
Fiberglass shingles were failing in less than 15 years - but
asphalt manufacturers did not initiate any product
recalls.
Asphalt manufacturers did not recall defective shingles or even
warn consumers about the known defects, instead
manufacturers started to increase shingle warranty periods in order
to sell more (defective) shingles.
Asphalt manufacturers have
continued to increased the warranty
periods for fiberglass shingles so that now,
most
conventional shingles come with 30, 40, 50 year and "lifetime"
warranties. However, with much less
asphalt content,
these new fiberglass shingles have a Documented History of
Premature Failures - very often within 10 to 15
years.
Most inexperienced roof buyers
ASSUME warranties provide some
indication of shingle quality or durability...
they do NOT. Roof Warranties are
designed to sell more shingles - and longer
warranties sell more product.
That is why
traditional 15 year and 20 year warranties were
"Inflated" to the more marketable 30 year,
40 year,
50 year and... (wait for it) "Lifetime Warranty" periods.
Bottom Line: Warranties are simply "marketing tools" and
DO
NOT indicate
either product quality or durability.
There is an adversarial
relationship between (roof) Buyers and (roof)
Sellers because their financial interests
are diametrically opposed. Consumers should not EVER expect
roofing sellers (either manufacturers or
installers)
to provide full disclosure of information on the premature failure
of shingles they are currently trying to sell.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Richard Tippett,
'Fiberglass Shingles: More Than You Ever Wanted
to Know About Fiberglass Shingles Failures'
Western Roofing Magazine,
(May/June 1991).
[2] ibid.
[3] Ted Cushman, 'Choosing an Asphalt Shingle'.
[4] Ray Bolt, 'Shingle Problems'.
[5] Richard Tippett, 'Fiberglass Shingles'.
[6] Dwain Bouton, 'Return to Basics'.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
FIBERGLASS FAILURES BECOME
COMMON KNOWLEDGE
Roofing contractor associations
across the country became aware of the inferior
quality of fiberglass shingles
when member contractors complained the shingles didn't contain
enough asphalt and were failing within 10 years.
Contractor associations presented these concerns to the asphalt
manufacturers and, in a short period of time,
the inferior quality of fiberglass shingles became common knowledge
within the entire roofing industry.
The concerns regarding asphalt shingles began as
a result of complaints received from
(Western
States Roofing Contractors Association)
WSRCA member contractors. Following
complaints,
in 1991, the
WSRCA circulated an Asphalt Shingle Problem
questionnaire to its members to determine
if there was
a problem with asphalt shingles.
[1]
The results of the questionnaire showed that
many of the 20-year guaranteed asphalt
fiberglass shingles
were failing
as early as six months and continuing to fail up
to 12 years. The average failures were
occurring
at about
five years of age. The WSRCA
determined that there was a problem.
[2]
The failures and problems reported included:
blow-offs, buckling, curling, loss of
granules,
splitting
and cracking and seal-down problems. [3]
While many asphalt manufacturers
(and roofers) like to pretend that problems with
premature failures were limited
to the cheaper (post 1980's) organic shingles, the fact is,
premature shingle failure has ALWAYS been
associated
with the fiberglass design. A fact quickly confirmed in
cursory examination of trade magazines in the
early-1990's
which contained numerous articles on the defective fiberglass
shingles - and strategies for contractors to
eliminate
financial liability for selling fiberglass shingles which they
expected to fail prematurely.
While the Western States Roofing
Contractors Association (WSRCA) is credited with
the initial identification of the
premature failure of fiberglass shingles, other
contractor associations from across the country
were also reporting
premature failure of fiberglass shingles and expressing similar
concerns about the financial liability for
continuing
to sell these defective shingles.
The Midwest Roofing Contractors Association
(MRCA), another trade organization, has also
received
reports from
their members of early failure of fiberglass
shingles from Connecticut to California...
According to Don Berg, of the National
Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)
technical department,
the cracking is not
limited to one or two brands, or one or two
types of qualities of shingle. It has
occurred in the commodity grade
and the architect grade shingles. Berg has
received reports
from generally
around the country... [4]
As a result of complaints from
contractor associations - In the early 1990's asphalt manufacturers
were finally forced
to admit they had been (and were) selling defective fiberglass shingles and that
the premature failures of fiberglass
shingles were
not limited to
any particular manufacturer, or any particular type of shingle.
Unfortunately, while asphalt
manufacturers were finally forced to acknowledge
the sale of defective shingles, they
did NOT initiate any product recalls and they did NOT alert
consumers to the known problem of premature
failure.
They simply acknowledged they were aware of the defective shingles
and they promised to "study" the problem.
The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association
(ARMA) is also aware of the problem, and
responding in part to WSRCA test results, has recently formed a task
force to study it and find solutions...
the cracking problem
occurs in a number of different types of
shingles, from a number of different
manufacturers, in many parts of the country.
[5]
The premature failure of fiberglass
shingles is simply historical fact.
Reports of defective fiberglass shingles
were documented by contractor associations and acknowledged by
manufacturer associations. By the
late-1990's
premature failure of "modern" asphalt shingles, both fiberglass and
the newer organic, was common knowledge
within the roofing industry - and had started to become more widely known by the general public, finally
resulting in
several recent Class Action
Lawsuits.
Unfortunately, many asphalt manufacturers were
very reluctant to even admit shingles were
failing prematurely,
they NEVER issued product recalls or warned consumers about
defective shingles after acknowledging problems
and they continue to deny liability - while providing (hundreds of)
millions of dollars for class action
settlements...
And still, some consumers are
SHOCKED by information that
manufacturers (and roofers) are currently
selling
fiberglass shingles with a documented history of premature
failures. Consumers should not be shocked
that roofers
are currently selling products KNOWN to be defective - they
have been selling defective shingles for almost
30 years.
The asphalt roofing industry is NOT like the
automotive industry.
There are no "Recalls" when asphalt shingles are
found to be Defective.
Recent history has shown defective shingles
continue to be sold for Decades.
The asphalt industry does not NEED
to demonstrate the same responsibility (to
consumers) as the auto industry
because most Americans move every 5 to 7 years - before the
premature failure occurs - so they are not
affected
by sales of shingles known to be defective... The subsequent
homeowners must deal with the premature
failures.
Asphalt manufacturers have admitted, in major trade publications,
this Strategy of Planned Obsolescence.
[6]
__________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Charles Frost and Arlene
Lawson, 'Seminar to Explore Asphalt Shingle
Concerns at NRCA Convention'
Western
Roofing Magazine, (Jan/Feb 1993).
[2] ibid.
[3] ibid.
[4] Ted Cushman, 'Choosing an Asphalt Shingle'.
[5] ibid.
[6] Greg Malarkey, 'Cheap Shingles: As with Everything Else
in Life, You Get What You Pay For'
Western Roofing Magazine,
(Nov/Dec 1991).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
LIFESPAN OF CONVENTIONAL
FIBERGLASS SHINGLES
It's important to understand that
all roofs wear unevenly and the determination of
"failed" (or "failing") roofing
is ALWAYS based on the worst, or weakest, portions of the roofing -
never the strongest. It simply does not
matter
if the north-side of the roof is in relatively good condition when
shingles on the south-side have already failed.
Prospective buyers will expect the
(worst areas of) roofing to be able to pass a "Five
Year Certification" inspection
When roofs "fail" this Re-Sale Inspection, normally the replacement
of roofing or payment of a "Roofing Allowance"
will be required in order to sell the home. Therefore,
determination of the "Re-Sale Window" for
roofing products
is related to the condition of the worst area of roofing - even
when the worst sections are only a small
percentage
of the entire roofing area.
Paying $10,000 to re-roof with asphalt shingles
today may just be your initial down payment
When it requires replacement costs of $20,000
(with inflation) to Re-Sell the home in only 15
years.
It may be very little consolation to receive a
warranty claim of $2,400 (12%) from your asphalt
manufacturer.
This is the problem of
intentionally marketing roofing products with
"Inflated" warranty periods. When
manufacturers
provide warranties of 30 years, 40 years and 50 years to "sell"
asphalt shingles with a history of premature
failures...
many innocent families will suffer financial loss.
Asphalt manufacturers can simply
add the cost of projected claim payments
to the initial product pricing to offset
all the claims associated with expected premature failures.
This strategy allows use of "Inflated" warranty
periods
(to increase market share) while still maintaining their desired
profit margins.
Consumers should Not be Shocked
by the idea that asphalt manufacturers (and
asphalt roofers) are currently
selling roofing shingles with a history of premature failures -
Selling shingles they already know will be
defective.
The truth is, asphalt manufacturers and asphalt roofers have been
selling defective shingles for a very long time.
The sales of defective asphalt shingles has been widespread and
pervasive - over a period of almost 30 years.
And consumers Should Never
Expect asphalt manufacturers, or asphalt
roofers, to disclose information on the
history of premature failure (or the claims history) for shingles
they are currently selling - they could not
sell defective
shingles for 30 years by disclosing the actual history of premature
failures or documented history of claim
payments.
There is always an adversarial
relationship between consumers and sellers
(manufacturers and roofers) because
their financial interests are diametrically opposed. Do not
EVER expect sellers of roofing to provide full
disclosure
about the history of premature failures - or the documented claim
payments for shingles they are currently
selling.
Asphalt Durability of 5 to 10
years
Asphalt
shingle manufacturers are notorious for not
honoring their warranties,
they always
have an excuse, and people do not file suit due
to high legal costs... Our area,
near
Chicago... We are tearing off more and more of
the so-called "40 year" asphalt shingles that
are from 8
to 11 years old. If the homeowner is
concerned with how the roof looks (and not just
being weather
tight) they are usually unhappy at the 6 to
10 year point. [1]
Asphalt Durability of 10 to 15
years
Most
homeowners are lulled into thinking that, if a
30-year roof shingle is installed on their home
(as stated by
the roof manufacturer), then that roof will last
the suggested life expectancy.
Not so!
Most roofs fail in 10 to 15 years. Very
few roofs last past 15 years!
[2]
We have found that most of our asphalt shingle
re-roofing in the Seattle area
is replacement of
fiberglass shingles that are only 10 years to
15 years old and that
very few fiberglass
shingles have lasted past 15 years.
Shingles reaching that age
tend to look
pretty nasty and often could not pass a Re-Sale
Inspection. [3]
Today's asphalt shingles are not the asphalt
shingles of 30 years ago.
Today,
asphalt shingles are only 10 to 30 percent
asphalt by weight - and less asphalt
means poorer
performance... Today's asphalt shingles are so
susceptible to damage from heat,
cold,
thermo-shock, algae and mold that asphalt
roofs today most often last only 10 - 15 years.
By that time
a good deal of the shingle has washed into the
rain gutters. [4]
Most of us have been programmed into thinking
that asphalt roofing is the only real option
since its
inexpensive and get the job done, at least in
the short term. You get what you pay
for...
The problem
is Asphalt doesn't hold up to the requirements
that most homeowner have...
Asphalt
usually protects your home for about 10 - 15
years... [5]
In Florida, an asphalt roof will last
approximately 10 to 15 years,
so use that
as a guideline. If you plan on another
asphalt shingle roof,
you should
expect to replace it again in 10 to 15 years.
[6]
Asphalt Durability of 15 to 20
years
Asphalt roof coverings have a typical
statistical life expectancy from fifteen to
twenty years.
Beware of
those saying that life expectancy of asphalt
roofs are longer than 25 years.
You would be
hard pressed to locate a roof still in useful
condition that is
more than
twenty years old. [7]
In fact, its layered construction allowed
manufacturers to use a much thinner layer of
asphalt,
which
resulted in a baseline 30-year laminated shingle
that had a realistic life expectancy
that was less
than the 20-year and 25-year organic shingles
they were designed to replace.
Realistic
life expectancy... 15 - 20 years.
[8]
According to the asphalt roofing industry,
the average shingle roof lasts 17 - 19 years.
The actual
lifetime is dramatically lower than this in hot
climates and extreme weather situations.
Unfortunately, the warranties on these products
do not cover natural wear and tear from weather.
Damage
resulting from high winds, hail, rain and
extreme temperatures are also not covered.
[9]
You can expect a metal roof to last at least 2
to 3 times longer than a regular roof. In
general terms,
count on a
metal roof lasting 40 to 60 years and beyond.
To put it in context, the average life span
of an
asphalt roof is 12 to 20 years. That
lifespan can be shorter depending on the pitch
of your roof
and the
climate in your area... asphalt begins to
deteriorate as soon as you expose it to normal
weather. [10]
When buyers are considering a home, they're
always concerned about the condition of the
roof...
With metal,
they know they won't need to do anything to it
for at least 50 years. With an asphalt
roof
they'll
need to replace it within 15 to 20 years.
[11]
Asphalt can require re-roofing every 12 to 20
years, with the average age of roofing in
the U.S.
being only
17 years. That's because asphalt
roofing, being made of oil impregnated paper or
fiberglass
begins to
deteriorate as soon as you put it on your roof.
[12]
Asphalt Durability of 20 years?
A recent study for the National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) determined the average life
expectancy
for asphalt
shingles is only 20 years. [13] Even the Asphalt Roofing
Manufacturers Association (ARMA),
recommends replacement of asphalt shingles
every 20 years. [14]
However, estimates from both the National
Association of Home Builders (20 years) and the
Asphalt Roofing
Manufacturers
Association (20 years) are NOT indicating the
Re-Sale Window for asphalt shingles - which
includes a
Five Year Certification. If asphalt
shingles have a 20 year "functional
lifespan," that DOES NOT
mean
they can actually pass a Re-Sale Inspection at that time,
please see: What
Constitutes a Roof Failure?
Homeowners can be excused for
considering an idea as ridiculous as 30, 40 or 50 year
asphalt shingles... they are
unsuspecting consumers, not roofing experts.
But what about the roofing contractors? What
about manufacturers?
Can they ever be excused for using deception to
sell defective products? See:
Selling
Defective Shingles in Seattle
It's very easy to "sell" inexperienced and
unsuspecting buyers the idea of a long-term
lifespan for asphalt shingles,
when the only examples shown are
less than 10 years old. It's something
altogether different when consumers have
the opportunity to actually see the
condition of a 20 year fiberglass installation.
See: Recent Class
Action Lawsuits
Fiberglass shingles have been on the market for
over 30 years. Even "luxury" shingles like
the Presidential Shake
have been produced for over 23 years. If a
manufacturer or roofing contractor is unwilling
(or unable) to let you see
what you can expect your roof to look like in 15
or 20
years... maybe you should look for a
different roofing material.
Learn what roofers (and
manufacturers) DON'T WANT you to know.
Also see:
The Truth on Presidential Shingles
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
On the issue of failed / failing roofing, it's
important to understand that "expert" opinions
will reflect the fundamental
perspective of those expressing the opinion. And often the
difference between the perspective of (roof)
Sellers
and the perspective of (roof) Buyers can be quite extreme.
The perspective of sellers and buyers differs
because
their financial interests are diametrically opposed.
All
roofers claim to have the best product
and all roofers claim to provide the best
installation.
Obviously, that Can Not be True.
There is always an adversarial relationship
between buyers and sellers
roofing buyers should never expect full
disclosure or unbiased information
from asphalt manufacturers, asphalt
distributors/suppliers or asphalt roofers.
Sellers (like CertainTeed) may consider roofing
"failed" when shingles pass their functional
lifespan and threaten
damage from leaking. Buyers (homeowners) may consider
"failure" to occur whenever the shingles are past
their
Re-Sale Window and require either replacement or payment of a
"Roofing Allowance" in order to sell their home.*
Sellers (like CertainTeed) may consider a
certain percentage of premature failures to be
acceptable because the
cost of paying claims is already built into the shingle price - and
very few failures get submitted as warranty
claims.
However, most buyers (homeowners) will consider ANY
premature failure to be unacceptable -
especially when the
warranty payment is just a small percentage of actual replacement
costs... and failure was expected by the Seller.
* Based on product design and proven
performance, there are only two (2)
conventional
fiberglass shingles that we find ANY evidence of
typical durability beyond 20 years. These
shingles are NOT popular products (in the
Seattle area) as most roofers don't tell
consumers
about the history of premature failures - and
the very limited durability of fiberglass
shingles.
Do you want to get the BEST VALUE on your
roofing project?
You will need Full Disclosure and Unbiased
Information.
Contact us for Specific Advice on your Project.
Free Consultation Anywhere in U.S.
Seattle Roof Brokers
___________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] 'Roofing -
CertainTeed Shingles', en.allexperts.com
[2] 'What's in a Roof Shingle Warranty',
inspectionconcepts.com
[3] 'Fiberglass Shingle Durability',
seattleroofbroker.com
[4] 'Problems with Today's Asphalt',
chandlermetalroofing.com
[5] 'Compare Roofs', metalroofsunlimited.com
[6] 'Residential Roof Replacement',
solarshieldroofing.com
[7] 'Asphalt Roof Coverings',
looksmarthomeinspections.com
[8] 'Composition', larryoweseverythingtojim.com
[9] 'Homeowners Guide to Roofing', classicroofing.com
[10] 'Frequently Asked Questions', metalroofing.com
[11] 'Excellent Roofing', excellentroofinghomeimprovements.com
[12] 'Benefits of a Metal Roof', metalshingle.com
[13] 'Study of Life Expectancy', National Association of Home
Builders
[14] 'All About Roofing', asphaltroofing.org
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This is not an advertisement or a solicitation
and information is provided only as a public
service.
The information above is presented for educational
purposes only. The commentary and all
contents reflect
the professional opinion and experience of the author
alone and are subject to error or change without
notice.
The presence of a link to a website does not indicate
approval or endorsement of that website or any
products,
services or opinions that may be offered by them.
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