# Which brand shingles do you install & why?



## Miami Roofer

We mainly use GAF and they have a large presence in my area. On occasion, we've installed Certainteed and OC and don't have any complaints about them. The couple times we used Tamco, I was not impressed and it took a while for them to seal and that's in the Florida sun. What are you guys installing? Tell me your likes and dislikes. Additionally, do your shingle wrappers have the Miami-Dade product approval logo on them?


http://www.affordableroofingcontractors.com


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## MGP Roofing

Certainteed, they are heavier than the others we have available here in NZ. I have also used Gaf-Elk and OC, the Gaf-Elk definitely got thinner when Gaf took over elk's product lines. Pabco are available here, I have not used them other than for repairs, they give too many problems with blowoffs and premature failure.


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## shazapple

I've tried the Witch brand shingles, but find they melt when it rains!


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## JR Roofing

_We use Atlas, The SBS hail resistant class 4 features are such an easy sell vs. other products my sales force loves it! and now they have Scotchgard Protector all those stained roofs we run into. We have used everything but Pabco, nothing has lasted like the Atlas Stormmaster series in bad weather. 
_


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## Townsend

With our relationship with GAF as a Master Elite contractor we use GAF 99% of the time.


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## JWRoofing

shazapple said:


> I've tried the Witch brand shingles, but find they melt when it rains!


There's no place like home...


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## vtroofing

GAF. Yes they are thinner but they are more flexible when cold- lay flat right away, and when they are hot they do not mark as the CertainTeed's do. 

This year the CertainTeed went metric- making them a little more appealing. Most of my competition uses them so when doing the "sit down" and following two other reputable roofers showing CertainTeed it's a little easier. We have done a few in CT but not really impressed. Un-square, thick, easily marked up on warm days, and wrapped in plastic and they don't sit well on 2x4 cleats. 

Not a bitch on the CT's, but a real concern might be the wide un-reinforced nail strip- the upper line being way higher than the laminate line and to be considered an acceptable compliant installation- and we have certainly all seen over the years delaminated shingles on high pitched roofs, this level of acceptance I think will be a future problem. 

Yes they are thicker than the GAF, but using less garbage/ filler- ie: limestone, if it is not necessary why should it be there? 

12 or so years ago we used Tamko Heritage and they held up very well, but really hard to get up here. 

We used to be on the IKO bandwagon, until legitimate claims on faulty products were denied, 25 year shingles lasted only 9, or 10- worst case a 4 year old showing early signs of curled corners. Yes these are the organic versions, the old 30 year heavyweight went bad early as well. Now I think they are all fiberglass matts.

We are GAF Certified, and withe the opinion of GAF being the best available, best branded product line with a great Warranty they are our first choice.


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## dougger222

Certainteed Landmarks on most roofs. They are thicker than the others in the standard line and have a good warranty.

Done a few OC Duration installs. They lay out nice thicker than GAF/ELK and Tamko's. The full tar line will trap moisture and will rust out the nails, heard reports for a few years and seen it first hand on a 2 year old roof. The four roofs we did all had missmatched color bundles.

Tamko Heritage, did one for the first time a couple weeks ago. Thinner than what I expected but laid out nice and flat. Seemed higher quality than GAF/ELK.

GAF/ELK? perfect for a dog house... IMO complete garbage. Wonder if they will hold up as long as the original Timberline or Prestiques and crack at 10 years???


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## Interloc

dougger222 said:


> GAF/ELK? perfect for a dog house...


 Why you wanna do that to your dog?


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## dougger222

Interloc said:


> Why you wanna do that to your dog?


LOL!

In all reality the three dogs sleep in the bedroom. One under the bed, one next to the bed, and one on the bed.


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## Grumpy

Certainteeds because I find their produt line superior to any other I have worked with. However the main reason is the training and support certainteed gives their certified contractors.

I used to use alot of tamkos if the customer beat me up on price, since tamko is a little cheaper than certainteed, however I have been seeing some issies with tamko seal strips which has me very hesistant to install them anymore. That and they failed to adopt the lifetimes warranty and I don't feel like wating my breath explaining why a 50 year is just as good as a lifetimes. Not worth the effort. Lifetimes, what a joke.


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## vtroofing

IMO we use the best shingle on the market, GAF Timberline. If you think you have the best, speak up- but no need to turn this into a bashing contest, its not professional, but most importantly I may be slightly outnumbered now- deep into roofing season, all the GAF guys are out roofing- installing quality GAF Products, while all the CT guys are wondering why they are not busy, enough time to contribute to what is designed to be helpful Forum.


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## Interloc

vtroofing said:


> deep into roofing season, all the GAF guys are out roofing- installing quality GAF Products, while all the CT guys are wondering why they are not busy,


 :laughing:


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## morrissey roofing

I like Tamko
GAF says everything is lifetime, read the fine print, prorated after 5 years?
Tamko is full replacement for 15 years, labor and material, lets face it, residential roofing contractors come and go, real fast around here, our warranty means little, my customers snatch up the Tamko warranty, and weatherbond for EPDM, lifetime on the membrane, itsa no brainer


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## 1985gt

morrissey roofing said:


> I like Tamko
> GAF says everything is lifetime, read the fine print, prorated after 5 years?
> Tamko is full replacement for 15 years, labor and material, lets face it, residential roofing contractors come and go, real fast around here, our warranty means little, my customers snatch up the Tamko warranty, and weatherbond for EPDM, lifetime on the membrane, itsa no brainer


I love these warranty they mean jack. Weatherbond warranty is only limited life time for residential, they bank on the fact no one will read them. It states they will cover the cost to repair the effected areas only or give credit for new replacement. Its only for the length they live in the home. Most likely not a life time. Just like the shingle warrantys they are all smoke and mirrors. If you read the whole thing they can basically say to bad so sad for a number of reasons. Anyway my two cents. I much prefer to go to the customer and say here is a 60 mil EPDM roof 20 year NDL warranty. Then confuse them with a heres your limited and very limited 20 year warranty (commercial) Most manufactures wont warranty residential except for a select few thats where we offer our warranty. Granted it may not mean a lot to some people but being in business for 30 years helps out. Plus most of our residential customers are referrals and actually some are repeats.


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## dougger222

vtroofing said:


> IMO we use the best shingle on the market, GAF Timberline. If you think you have the best, speak up- but no need to turn this into a bashing contest, its not professional, but most importantly I may be slightly outnumbered now- deep into roofing season, all the GAF guys are out roofing- installing quality GAF Products, while all the CT guys are wondering why they are not busy, enough time to contribute to what is designed to be helpful Forum.


Again, CT here.

Swamped... Starting to get booked next Spring.........


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## morrissey roofing

1985gt said:


> I love these warranty they mean jack. Weatherbond warranty is only limited life time for residential, they bank on the fact no one will read them. It states they will cover the cost to repair the effected areas only or give credit for new replacement. Its only for the length they live in the home. Most likely not a life time. Just like the shingle warrantys they are all smoke and mirrors. If you read the whole thing they can basically say to bad so sad for a number of reasons. Anyway my two cents. I much prefer to go to the customer and say here is a 60 mil EPDM roof 20 year NDL warranty. Then confuse them with a heres your limited and very limited 20 year warranty (commercial) Most manufactures wont warranty residential except for a select few thats where we offer our warranty. Granted it may not mean a lot to some people but being in business for 30 years helps out. Plus most of our residential customers are referrals and actually some are repeats.


My point was just this, I like tamko and weatherbond cause their lie of a warranty lies best! 
Ive done 3 material fail GAF roofs in Connecticut, and the people had to fight for the accessories, never mind the labor


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## RooferJim

We use them all , but I will rate them in this order.

GAF Timberline
IKO Cambridge
Certainteed Landmark-Woodscape


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## Grumpy

This conversations boil down to nothing more than pissing contests with meaningless opinions.


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## vtroofing

Probably.


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## Acubis

*My favorites*

After seeing nearly all brand of roofs installed here's my top 4 for a standard dimensional shingle.

Owens Corning Durations: A thicker shingle that installers can easily install with the SureNail strip - good backup from manufacturer's representatives

Certainteed Landmarks: Overall still a great value shingle that hasn't "cheapened" in recent years like many others - Nothing special nothing bad about this shingle, if installed properly should last a lifetime.

Atlas StormMaster SBS shingles: For the limited time we have seen them preform GREAT - the SBS base is a good technology and shingles are more forgiving than most. (time will tell)

Tamko Heritage: Probably the best bang for the buck shingle if you need something relatively inexpensive. Decent quality with nothing too special.

www.researchroofing.com


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## MJW

^^^^^^^I understand that you have never laid a shingle.

Now, start over....What?


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## TipTopRoofing

We let our customers decide which brand they prefer. We inform them of the pros and cons of each brand and let them choose between Certainteed, GafElk, OwensCorning, or Tamko.

----

http://go2tiptop.com


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## OnlytheBEST

*Just the FACTS*

GAF dropped the ELK name this year.. Just like they dropped the ELK Quality.

I would NEVER sell a GAF product to my customer because all they care about is making $$ and controlling market share.

Here is the LATEST of a series of GAF complaints that went class action
*GAF Timberline Shingles Named in Two New Class Action Lawsuits*
*Date Published: Tuesday, August 30th, 2011*

GAF Materials Corporation was named in two class action lawsuits earlier this summer alleging that its Timberline Shingles are defective. The _GAF Timberline Shingle lawsuits_ were filed in Pennsylvania and Virginia on behalf of anyone who owns or owned a structure in the U.S. with Timberline Shingles manufactured after December 31, 1997.

GAF Timberline Shingles are asphalt shingles with a fiberglass base that were marketed as 30-40 year shingles. But according to the GAF Timberline Shingle Class Action lawsuits, the shingles crack prematurely, *and fail to meet **American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)** standards for fiberglass shingles*. The lawsuits further allege that GAF management personnel concealed this, and failed to inform consumers, contractors and homeowners that the Timberline Shingles did not meet ASTM standards, and would degrade and crack prematurely. Finally, the lawsuits contend that any structure that contains these shingles manufactured after December 31, 1997 needs to be re-roofed.

According to both lawsuits, GAF was receiving complaints regarding premature cracking associated with its shingles, including Timberline shingles, by the late 1990s. From 2001 – 2002, GAF fiberglass shingle cracking claims increased 43 percent. It was internally noted by GAF that the shingles made at one of its plants was its “fastest growing problem. 

Timberline Shingles are manufactured at several plant locations across the country, and each uses a different process to manufacture these products. According to the lawsuits, GAF’s own investigation concluded that the problems with the shingles stemmed from raw materials. Plants in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Baltimore, Maryland; Millis, Massachusetts; and Fontana, California, had manufactured shingles with these defective raw materials. Additional investigation found that manufacturing plants in Mobile, Alabama and Dallas, Texas also had the same problems.

Despite changing its specifications for raw materials, GAF never informed consumers about the problems with the shingles about their defects, or issued a recall of the Timberline Shingles, the lawsuits claim.
Both GAF Timberline Shingle lawsuits seek compensation for damages suffered by the plaintiffs and class members, as well as attorneys fees. The lawsuits also ask that GAF be required to initiate a post-sale instruction and warning campaign, to conduct further testing, and to refrain from making unlawful representations about warranty claims.

These are just the latest class action lawsuits to allege GAF Timberline Shingles are defective. Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states, including Alabama and South Carolina. 

_NewsInferno.com disclaimer: This article: GAF Timberline Shingles Named in Two New Class Action Lawsuits was posted on Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 at 8:25 am at NewsInferno.com and is filed under GAF Shingles, Legal News._

My fellow ROOFERS be aware that if you recommend the product and it fails.. you too will be brought into the lawsuit by a lawyer looking for it all.

I am in NJ and all the roofers here are on the GAF KOOL-AID train. I see many guys on here who use their experience to chose a product, not marketing hype..

GOOD for you guys..

BTW I prefer TAMKO but am looking into the NEW ATLAS shingle because I like the Scotch Guard feature. Just am a little leery of their long term durability


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## mmbuilds

GAF Timberline
IKO Cambridge
Tamko

Those are the three most popular brands that we sell here in New Jersey.

They seem to work for us and our customers. Good warranties and very few problems if installed correctly.

_____________________________________________________
http://www.mmbuilds.com


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## NLshinglerBC

malarkey ZONE


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## ottawaroofing

*Ottawa Roofers*

Owens Corning is one of the best shingles I've ever installed. With all the tar strips behind forget water, mosquito can't even get through.


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## crumb

as an installer I preferred tamko. They seemed to be made well and had better variation than other shingle manufacturers. When they were installed they always seemed to look better because you couldn't see any patterns from lack of variation.


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Alpine Homes


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## Roofmeister

Mostly Owens Corning here. I just like the pink panther:laughing:


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## bama boy

I like owens corning, they have the best seal and don't mark up in the heat as easily. Can't say anything bad about GAF But they are not the same shingle I was nailing on in the late 90s. Tamko seems like a good choice, but the color fades a lot faster on them compared to others. Who really knows, right? Owens corning has really stood out to me lately as a superior choice, just my opinion


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## mym

*Atlas SBS*

I like GAF and OC. I tried that Atlas Class IV w/SBS technology a few times and it was terrible about marking during installs; easy to sell, but looked terrible as a finished product. Maybe install crews, maybe 100+ degree heat. My 2 cents.


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## Wislon Roofing

Miami Roofer said:


> We mainly use GAF and they have a large presence in my area. On occasion, we've installed Certainteed and OC and don't have any complaints about them. The couple times we used Tamco, I was not impressed and it took a while for them to seal and that's in the Florida sun. What are you guys installing? Tell me your likes and dislikes. Additionally, do your shingle wrappers have the Miami-Dade product approval logo on them?
> 
> 
> http://www.affordableroofingcontractors.com


Yeah we use GAF as well they are a good quality.

www.Wilson-Roofing.com


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## bama boy

Wislon Roofing said:


> Yeah we use GAF as well they are a good quality.
> 
> www.Wilson-Roofing.com


I have to go with GAF now that I went through their MASTER ELITE TRAINING PROGRAM, They really sold me on there product!


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## OldPro

GAF mainly...good quality products = less headache

____________
residential roofing


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## Max00

I would prefer tamko as they are better in every aspect...


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## Davis2021

Mainly use Tamko but also use OC. Both are really reliable shingles


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## nicklhead

Owens corning mostly in Colorado. Installed a lot of malarkey shingles in 2007 and 2008. Getting a lot of calls for blistering. Malarkey has ignored us on past three. This week we will see if they finally come through. When they don't blister they are the best asphalt class 4 I have seen. They have made my company look bad though not fixing roofs with blistering.


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## lilpimp398

Hmm which would I use? Not the same ones as the wicked WITCH!


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## mastersconstruction

Since we are CertainTeed Master Select we use mainly CertainTeed. Good shingles no problems. Many HOA's around here require CT Presidential TL or Shake.

Chuck
www.masterswa.com


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## Joetheroofer

The company I work for installs GAF products. I think they install those just cuz. They are an "elite installer" so they get the lifetime warranty program. I think the shingles are crap, but better than OC, Tamko, and IKO. 

When I start my own business I will only install Certainteed shingles unless someone absolutely won't upgrade to dimensional from 3 tab, then I'll install the cheapest 3 tab I can find and they'll have to live with a cheap roof.


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## Maxon100

Our company uses *Owens Corning. *Its a nice shingle but what sets them apart is the nylon nail strip they have on their shingles. It works ridiculously good.

http://stormproofroofing.org/


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