Asphalt roof shingles are the most popular roofing material used on homes across North America, and with good reason. They are designed to protect a home through decades of weathering with minimal upkeep, and are available in hundreds of colors and styles.

Readily Available & A Great Value

In additional to offering a variety of style choices, asphalt shingles are also widely available throughout the U.S. and Canada, and are easy to install, making them an attractive option for professional roofing contractors to offer to their customers. And while getting a new roof is by no means an inexpensive project, asphalt shingles are among the most affordable options available. In fact, if an existing roof deck (the structural surface beneath the roofing system) is in good condition, new asphalt shingles can even be installed over older shingles, reducing the need (and cost) of a tear off of the old roofing. Check with your Lewis Walker contractor to see if this is a viable money-saving option for your roofing project.

Different Types of Roof Shingles

There are three major categories of asphalt roofing shingle products available today – strip shingles, architectural shingles, and HDZ GAF Timberline. It is important to understand the differences between each type of roofing shingle in order to pick the right product for your home.

The Dynamic Benefits of Asphalt

Due to modern engineering techniques and the dynamic properties of asphalt, manufacturers are capable of producing numerous specialty products that exist across all shingle types. These include shingles that fight algae growth, offer enhanced resistance to damaging hail, and offer cool roof color technologies that reflect the heat of the sun to keep homes cooler and can reduce the expenses of air conditioning. Depending on your location, choosing a specialty shingle can even reduce your insurance costs (e.g. – an impact-resistant shingle installed on a home in a hail zone). In addition, asphalt shingles are naturally fire resistant, making them an ideal choice for areas where wildfires are prominent.