You probably are wondering why the roof you put on less than fifteen (15) years ago is failing. You thought you bought the best. The sales person told you to buy the 40 year heavy architectural shingle and you will never worry about your roof again. So what happened?

Did You Miss the Warnings?
“While asphalt shingles come with warranties ranging from 20 to as long as 45 years, roofers and builders remain skeptical of those warranties. Since warranties are a marketing device, they are not a reliable predictor of lifespan. In the past decade, there have been many complaints of asphalt shingle failure long before warranties expired.”

Manufactures have also been telling homeowners that today’s shingles will not perform like shingles of old. Over a decade ago, the Certainteed Corporation made the following statement in their own publication: “Due to the severity of the roof environment, even a one year old roof may look different from a roof that was just installed. While you may have first noticed the cracks or blistering from the ladder as you were cleaning the gutters, please be mindful that these normal weathering characteristics may not be visible when you view your roof from your front lawn or driveway.”

So What Happens to Asphalt Roofs?
Asphalt shingles are dried out by heat and ultraviolet sun rays. Eventually the loss of the heavy oils causes the fibers to shrink, exposing the nail heads under the shingle flaps. The shrinkage also breaks up the surface coating of sand granules adhered to underlying asphalt-coated paper. Without the protection of the embeded granules, the paper begins to tear itself apart.

Once the nail heads are exposed, water running down the roof can seep into the building around the nail shank, resulting in rotting of roof building materials and causing moisture damage to ceilings and paint inside.

What Is the Best Solution?
The asphalt industry has long known of the problems of today’s modern asphalt shingles. The solution is simple. Make a shingle like they did 40 years ago. However, in order to do that, the oil content of a shingle would need to be dramatically increased making the product cost prohibitive. Dwain Bouton President of Certified Roofing Consultants explains, “The pressures placed on large, public companies to maintain profitability brought forward good old American ingenuity: reduce fiberglass mat weight (fibers were expensive) and increase filler content (asphalt was also expensive).”

While the asphalt industry has its problems the metal roof industry continues to grow in market share. This growth has been fueled in part by the short comings of asphalt roofs. But the beauty and maintenance-free aspects homeowners get by installing a metal roof is the larger reason for the industry’s growth.