Over the last 3 years, Dmitry has been reviewing and calling our shingles manufactures for best and worst asphalt shingles performances. From Class action law suites to massive granule loss. From warranty failure to algae resistance.
But in this attempt to shed the light on the quality of roofing products, Dmitry is simply trying to overview the best 3 and the worst 3 in his opinion manufacturer of shingle products on the market in 2019.
According to Dmitry, numerous surveys of installers throughout the country, the best shingle manufacturers are CertainTeed, Owens Corning, and Atlas. All top 3 has major issues like warranty issues, class action lawsuits, etc. But these top 3 stand out by the army of followers and loyal installers who wouldn’t install anything else.
These manufacturers are very active in assisting installers with training and certifications (noted to do the best job in certifying installers, and IKO is doing the worst job in qualifying installers).
Other key points of making the best shingles are registering warranties and covering them, constantly improving products, consistency in weight, easy to read and follow instructions of nailing zones, usually heavier shingles (we admit it has never been the key factor of a better shingle alone), and better and more generous sealants on the back.
On other side what makes the worst shingles? Second grade shingles do take place on the market: builders, wholesalers, anyone who is trying to save a few bucks and don’t care about 30-year roofing warranty can save by installing lower quality.
Shingles in this categories are made by Tampko, IKO, BP, and others don’t have installers fans, don’t have strict rules to become certified installers, not knowing for backing up their claims and usually not required to register warranties with manufacture. Shingles usually lighter, nailing zones are hard to read or understand and become issues for roofing companies later when warranty claims are taking place (they get denied).
All of that summarizes our opinion who makes the best and the worst shingles in 2019.
Last tip is for homeowners looking for contractors.
Stay away from contractors who don’t stand behind any brand and install them all. You will be safe going with any top 3 brands: Certanteed, Atlas and Owens Corning (as long as they register warranties and have good relationships with those brands). Try to avoid installers who claims that all manufacturers are the same and made even.
