Should you get Architectural Shingles or Regular Shingles for your roof? Many homeowners are confused between the two types of shingles because they both look the same and are primarily made of asphalt. However, they are both designed for different purposes. In this article we will compare the two types of roofing materials to help you make a decision as to which type of shingles will be best for your home.
First, we need to take a closer look at what “standard” shingles are. And by “we” I mean me, because if someone had taken the time to thoroughly explain this to me before I went out and started purchasing all sorts of samples in various sizes to test out on my driveway, I would have saved myself a lot of time and been much wiser for it. But, alas, I digress.
What “standard” actually means
Most people are familiar with the regular roofing shingles. They are the typical flat shingles that are found on most homes and are known as three-tab shingles. Yes, that is what they are called even though each shingle has only 2 sections on either side of the middle section of the shingle. The regular roofing shingles have been the most popular style of roofing for decades. This is because they are inexpensive to make. In fact, they are typically the lowest cost roofing material on the market. Three-tab shingles have been around since the 1960s when architectural shingles first hit the market. They are reliable and will perform their intended function of protecting a home from the elements. However, as with anything, there are a few instances in which regular three-tab shingles would be better for a homeowner than a more expensive architectural style of roofing.
In an effort to keep prices low in price as much as possible to sell more roofs for less money, standard shingles are designed to use the least amount of material possible to cover a roof. Three-tab shingles are made from flat pieces of asphalt material, and the bottom of each is cut with three separations in order to create the illusion that there are three different shingles on top of your home from the ground. There are many different kinds
So what actually makes architectural shingles different?
As was noted above the architectural shingle is made with two layers of asphalt material that are bonded together. The combination of a larger and heavier shingle (typically weighing between 350-400 pounds per square compared to 200-250 pounds per square for 3-tab shingles) provides additional strength to the roofing system in terms of structural integrity as well as added protection against high winds and objects that fall on the roof and cause damage. Weight matters more here than people expect. A square of three-tab shingles might run around 200-250 pounds. Architectural shingles often land at 350-400 pounds per square. That extra mass isn’t just bulk. It’s a meaningful part of why they perform better against high winds and impact from debris. Physics, not marketing.
As with any roofing material the weight of the roofing material will have an impact on the performance of the roofing material. The 3-tab shingle will weigh anywhere from 200-250 pounds per square of roofing. Architectural shingles will weigh anywhere from 350-400 pounds per square. Please note the additional weight of an architectural shingle is not all bulk. The additional weight of an architectural shingle will allow for the roofing material to perform better in high winds as well as withstand impacts from debris that may fall on your home.
This architectural shingle roofing details all of the styles of roofing that can be covered with architectural shingle roofing and the specifications of each style.
A side-by-side look
| Feature | Three-tab (standard) | Architectural (laminated) |
| Thickness | Single layer | Double layer or more |
| Typical lifespan | 15-25 years | 25-40+ years |
| Wind resistance | 60-70 mph rated | Up to 130 mph rated |
| Visual texture | Flat, uniform | Dimensional, varied |
| Cost per square | Lower upfront | Higher upfront, longer ROI |
Typically, Architectural Shingles will have an average roof life of 35 years. They are generally priced about 20-30% higher than 3-tab shingles initially, but you get a lot more life out of them. So after 35 years, you would have to replace your roof once. After 20 years with 3-tab shingles, you would have to replace your roof twice. This is a huge cost savings over the life of the roof.
When standard shingles still make sense
While standard three-tabbed shingles are recommended for most home owners, there are several specific cases in which they are preferred by builders and home owners alike. We outline a few of the instances below.
- Short-term ownership where you’re selling the house within a few years and just need it to pass inspection
- Very tight budget with no flexibility, and a roof that needs covering now rather than later
- Low-slope roofs in genuinely mild climates where wind and impact risk is minimal
The error is in selecting 3-tab shingles for projects for which they would be excessive cost for lower quality – not that they don’t work, because they do.
The mistakes that haunt people later
Many people make mistakes when deciding on what type of roofing they should use. The mistakes listed below can be prevented by researching your options before starting your search for a roofing solution.
- Comparing upfront cost only, without accounting for lifespan differences or warranty terms that diverge dramatically between product tiers
- Trusting a single quote that presents only one option, as if the contractor’s preferred margin is the same as your preferred outcome
- Ignoring local climate, particularly if you’re in a hail-prone or high-wind region, where the performance gap between shingle types becomes very real very fast
- Assuming the visual difference is cosmetic and therefore irrelevant to resale, when curb appeal and home appraisals tell a different story
What to expect when they go on
The amount of time to install architectural shingles and three-tab shingles is similar, but it’s how the roofer is going to nail the architectural shingles that is more important. Because the architectural shingles are laminated, they have to be nailed in a very specific place to keep the bond between the two layers of asphalt intact. If the bond is weakened in any place, it could take away from the life and durability of the roof.
Most importantly, ask your contractor how he or she uses for roofing the laminated shingles (architectural type shingles). Ask him or her how he or she nails the shingles. Does it matter? If your contractor says no and then proceeds to explain why, then you have your answer.
As with any comparison between two different products the above information will also provide information to compare two different roofing jobs (installing architectural shingles vs 3 tab shingles). When looking at the two products to compare two different roofing jobs. The two different roofing jobs would be installing 2 squares of architectural shingles versus installing 2 squares of 3 tab shingles. In that case 2 squares of 3 tab shingles would be two scheduled contractor events (the contractor’s arrival to start and the contractors arrival to complete the job), two periods of roof debris (the roof debris from the initial installation of the 3 tab shingles to be cleaned up and the roof debris from the final demo of the old roof to be cleaned up), and two chances for roofing installation errors (the first being the errors that could have occurred during the installation of the first square and the second being the errors that could have occurred during the installation of the second square). As you can see from the information above installing 2 squares of 3 tab shingles would be two roofing jobs, with two scheduled contractor events, two periods of roof debris, and two chances for roofing installation errors
The bottom line
Three-tab shingles cover a roof. Architectural shingles protect a roof. Of course both products can be used to cover a roof at the lowest possible cost using the lowest possible amount of materials. However there is a huge amount of difference between the two in terms of structure and durability. Most architectural shingles are made of two or more layers of asphalt in a laminated design. These layers of asphalt increase the structural integrity of the roofing material as well as the roofs appearance. These types of shingles have a textured appearance which can mimic the look of natural shingles such as wood shakes or slate tiles. Many architectural shingles also have increased wind resistance, impact resistance and a longer lifespan than three-tab shingles. Architectural shingles come in many different styles as well as different performance specs
See More: RedandWhiteMagzcom