Composition Shingles
Imagine taking the best aspects of a number of different roofing types and combining them into one. This is the principle behind composition shingles. These revolutionary products have a fiberglass reinforcement at the center with asphalt surrounding that structure to provide a leakproof barrier. Ceramic granules are then embedded on the surface to give your home aesthetic style but with superior protection.
There are many problems with other types of shingles, especially when installed in Southern California. Asphalt for example will absorb heat and drive up your utility bills. Clay tiles are durable, but are also heavy and will require structural reinforcements. Other types of shingles offer a bland style that is underwhelming for home aesthetics. There is arguably no shingle choice that offers the lightweight durability, enhanced life span, and wonderful design benefits that composition materials do.
When having composition shingles installed on your Los Angeles home it’s important to protect your investment by hiring a quality roofing contractor like Rooftoppers. We have been in business in Southern California since the early 1980s and our service team has a combined 100 years of experience in the industry. We are a Golden Star Applicator of Certainteed fiberglass shingled roofing systems which ensures your project will be installed to full manufacturer specifications.
Learn more about Composition Shingles
What Are Composition Shingles?
For all their benefits, there are still many faults with traditional types of shingles which is why composition shingles were developed. Composition shingles are manufactured with energy efficiency as well as product performance in mind. They consist of a fiberglass reinforcing mat that makes the product more durable than a traditional asphalt shingle. Asphalt still has a lot of positive properties as a roofing material however which is why it (as well as mineral fillers) is still used in composition shingles as a leak proof coating. An embedded layer of ceramic granules adds to the durability and assists with watershedding capabilities.
Types of Composition Shingles
There are three major categories of composition shingles with each section being differentiated based mostly on durability (with some changes to looks in the process). 3-tab shingles for example are basically one layer of product with a distinct pattern of tabs caused by vertical slots. Laminates are a mid-level type of composition shingle that has become very popular in Southern California. This design is basically a “double shingle” with an extra layer fused to the base shingle to create a more durable product. Finally Premium composition shingles are the heaviest and largest shingle on the market and are often coated with moss retardants and asphalt modifiers.
How It Benefits
Taking the best features of anything and fusing it into one product is going to have obvious benefits and that holds true for composition shingles in the way of:
- being an extremely durable product
- deflecting harmful rays
- providing energy efficiency properties
- being more resistant to mold, algae, and fungus than other roofing types
- carrying a class 4 impact resistance rating, the best in the industry
- having a class A fire rating which is the top available
- an eco-friendly product that can be recycled
