ASPHALT (Composition)
ROOFING SHINGLES
In the past, Seattle
Roof Brokers have recommended asphalt roofing
shingles as an appropriate short-term
roofing solution. And, while modern (fiberglass)
asphalt roofing can still be viewed as the most
cost effective
roofing option - when the intention is to sell a home
within 8 to 10 years - because of the recent and
current
class action lawsuits against major asphalt
manufacturers for selling "defective" asphalt
roofing, responsible
roofing consultants must now advise consumers to give
careful consideration to the effect of trying to
market
their home with defective roofing... Defective roofing
must be disclosed to all potential home buyers!
To learn more about
recent and current class action lawsuits for
defective asphalt shingles - Click Here
The common perception, promoted by roof
manufacturers and roofing contractors, is the
modern (fiberglass)
asphalt roofing shingle marketed today is vastly superior to the
traditional (organic) asphalt roofing design.
These new shingles MUST be better because they come with 50 year
warranties! In fact, the opposite is true.
History of Asphalt Roofing Shingles
From the early 1900'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" roofing shingles came with 15 year or 20 year warranties
- but would often last over 30 years.
With the 1974 oil embargo increasing
costs, manufacturers sought to produce roofing
shingles with less asphalt
and began converting to a "fiberglass" reinforced roofing mat that was
layered with asphalt and a stone coating.
At that time, asphalt content was further reduced in fiberglass roofing
by adding filler materials to the
asphalt.
With the addition of filler materials and
multiple layers over limited areas
It is no longer possible to determine shingle
quality by weight
In the 1990's, to enhance sales, roofing
manufacturers started to offer limited
"manufacturing defect" warranties
of 30, 40 and eventually 50 year periods. Roofing manufacturers
insisted the warranties DID NOT provide
any
assurance or coverage of durability, only that the roofing shingle met
their own internal production specifications.
In fact, roofing manufacturers admitted that
product warranties were only "marketing tools"
and openly joked (in major trade magazines) of
providing 150 year warranties it it would help
sell product
Initially, roofing contractors were upset
with the limited durability of fiberglass
roofing shingles because, at that time,
it was customary for the roofing contractor to provide a personal 20 year
guarantee on the product being installed.
Roofing manufacturers responded to these initial contractor complaints by
explaining that lower cost roofing was
their primary concern and, if any roofing contractors were afraid to
stand behind the (cheap) shingles, they should
not guarantee the durability of the roofing product but, instead, only
guarantee their own workmanship / installation.
That is why, today, buyers of asphalt roofing
can receive a 50 year "limited" product warranty
but only a 5 year to 10 year roofing contractor
"workmanship" guarantee
To be sure, when confronted with the
truth about fiberglass roofing shingles, many
roofing contractors will respond
with assurances that the "new" fiberglass roofing shingles are better
products than those manufactured a few years
ago. They will offer no evidence or proof to those claims, only
point to the vast crowd of fellow roofing
contractors
that have no problem sleeping at night - after selling some poor soul a
"50 year" or "lifetime" asphalt roof.
Imagine, the cheapest roofing product on the
planet
with the same durability as steel roofing or
concrete roofing!
There are also those wishful thinkers
that insist the "multi-layered" roofing product
they purchased will really last
because it is so very thick (at the bottom edge). Unfortunately,
their roofing contractor never showed them the
back side of the roofing shingle - so they could see how much of the
shingle consists of only one thin layer...
a roofing product is only as strong as the weakest link.
Most people do not want to hear that cheap
shingles are just cheap... and will not last
long.
And this wishful thinking is promoted by
everyone dependent on selling cheap roofing.
But truth is never determined by popular opinion
or deceptive salesmanship, and
a THIN LAYER of asphalt does not wear like
metal, concrete or slate roofing.
In fact, roof manufacturers and roofing
contractors are currently selling asphalt
shingles without disclosing any
information about recent (and current) CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS for
"defective" asphalt shingles -
Click Here.
If you want to hear the truth on roofing
products
Contact Us for a FREE
Consultation
ASPHALT ROOFING SHINGLES
Contact Us for a FREE
Consultation
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