I am getting ready to reroof my house. This will be done by a contractor.
While getting estimates, what is beter not counting on how they look and which cost more . The 3 tab or the architecutural type ?
What are some of the beter brand names of the shingles ?
Certainteed offers a lifetime warranty, but only on the laminates. It is generally considered that laminates last longer, but if you are one foot in the grave already, it isn't worth it.
I am in good health, but I and my wife are 65 so anything much over 20 years is a waste, but I don't want to go to the least expensive either. don't think I will have to put on another roof , so the metal is out due to cost.
I am in the middle of NC so the weather is not too extreme either way.
Usually the 20 year are the 3 tab. The 30 or 40 years are Architectural and, IMO, have a better look to them.
I saw that you are 65. I'd go for the 30 year so the house is in better shape should you have to sell and go to a nursing home or, you must might live to 87 and at that point, you don't want to have to screw with a room.
Look at some stuff here
I just had a new roof put on my home by a local contractor. He claimed there is not much of a price difference between 3 tab and architectural shingles. We went with GAF Timberline architectural shingles. Shingles are useless if the prep work is not carried out properly. Replacement plywood and labor can be expensive. They put a metal drip edge on all roof edges, new flashing and seals along the porch roof line, vent pipe, and chimney, 3 foot wide leak barriers, and more.
The only item the contractor suggested not to purchase were Energy Star rated shingles that are covered with highly reflective granules. He claimed they were 3 times the price of normal shingles and were not cost effective.
Never buy the cheapest or most expensive materials. The cost of the shingles is less than half the cost of the roof, so the incrimental cost to go to a better shingle is not as bad as it looks at first glance - particularly when ammortized over the expected longer lifespan. Roofs generally do NOT last the projected warranty span. Make sure the roof is properly prepaired for shingles, with eave starter, proper roofing felt, solid sheathing, etc - as well as adequate venting.
My roof is over 25 years old and still looks good done with architectural shingles. We were advised to use these as re-roofing our first roof which was badly warped would make flat shingles unsightly. Warranty was 25 years but I expect to get many more years out of them.
Architectural is what is going on all the better homes today. They have a 3D profile that looks much better than 3 tab, are heavier, have a longer life and don't cost that much more.
I went with Owens Corning. GAF, CertainTeed are some other major brands. And of course even more important is who does the work. I would always do a tear off, and not put new over old.
snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote: ...
check BBB, ask for references and go inspect some jobs they've done. when we redid the roof here the prices quoted from various contractors was quite a bit more (three times the lowest), but when asking around i found out that one company that gave a really high quote also had really crappy work and made a mess of things all over the place, etc. the BBB check found a lot of complaints too. company we ended up going with was a much larger company that does several hundred roofs a season and had an excellent BBB rating.
there was an option to pay 10% extra for a longer lifetime guarantee and we took it because it added
25 years more and is transferable to next owner.multiple layer shingles, replaced decking and put down heavy plastic/rubber sheeting along the edges where ice can build up at times.
songbird
It seems rather odd that paying 10% more magically makes the roof last 25 years longer. What company stands behind that guarantee? I'll bet it's not the shingle manufacturer. More likely it's just the local contractor who figures almost no one will ever make a claim on it. And if anyone does, they'll be lucky to collect.
trader_4 wrote: ...
it actually is the manufacturer who backs the guarantee, had to send in papers to them.
and it isn't "magically", as they do more prep work and add better materials along the edges for preventing ice dam leaks, etc. considering the cost of a new roof is not going to get any cheaper i figure any extra years i can get out of this one is worth it for that price.
songbird
Who is the manufacturer and the product?
Ice damming would be unrelated to roof life. If it's going to leak because of inadequate ice damming underlayment, it's just as likely to leak in year 1 as in year 35.
The specifics of the warranty are critical. For example, if it only covers defects in materials and workmanship, I would expect that at year 35, they are going to say it's not a defect, it's just normal.
And flashing, adequate venting is very, very, very important. In real life Rarely people redo roofs when the shingles reach warranted life span, it is done usually before. Our house has metal tile roof. I don't need to worry about roof. In the city there is asphalt shingle plant where they often have fires. Because it happened so frequently FD even imposed fine.
35 year one is quite heavier than 25 year one. Some roof can't afford heavier roofing material - some thing to consider. Up here we always remove old roof before installing new one. No one puts down new one on top of old.
BBB? what for? They don't have any legal authority or power. I have a little dent on the front fender to fix on my car. I checked ratings of repair outfits at local BBB. One AAA rated outfit quoted 1800.00. Two other not even BBB member both quoted
250.00. One of this gave discount for AAA memeber(I am) they did super job. I can't see any sign of dent on the fender. BBB? Go figure.
There are lifetime manufacturer warranties and a company I spent 10 years with also offered lifetime workmanship warranties. Not everyone is out to screw you.
And typically, they have enough exclusions, loopholes, etc so that what you think is "lifetime" doesn't really turn out to be lifetime. I don't believe you can take a roofing product and magically change it from a 30 year product to a 55 year or lifetime one by charging 10% more for the job. One way to offer such a warranty is what I pointed out, that it may cover "manufacturing defects". If the roof starts leaking at 35 years, it can be from the fact that there is no "manufacturing defect", it's just worn out from typical usage in the environment it's in.
Certainteed Landmark Shingles, 5 Star Coverage:
summary of coverage:
- Extends standard SureStart duration and coverage to 50 years - Fully transferable one time for 15 years - Covers materials, labor, tear-off and disposal for 50 years - Covers contractor workmanship for 25 years - Increases wind warranty to 130mph for 15 years
if you want details you can google it.
if the roof is leaking due to ice dams, you may not know it for many years as snow and weather conditions can vary a great deal from year to year. you must not live in the north country.
i suspect you are jumping at shadows here... so far the company has been professional, courteous, prompt, decent, etc. when dealing with things that have happened since they've installed the roof and it's already beyond their 2 year warranty. we had a small tornado near miss last summer with no damage and no leaks. small leak since then, but i think we have it solved. the journey continues...
songbird
Did the company last life time or was taken over by another co. carrying old policy? I hope so.
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