Asphalt shingle roofs are an increasingly popular option for residential roofing. This is because it is affordable relative to more premium options, and offers value for money in terms of durability.
They’re defined by their individual overlapping elements placed in rows beginning at the bottom edge of the surface. This placement is vital to the shingle roofing process as it forms a barrier against water, snow, ice and even wind. You can imagine the cascading effect this creates, which makes for perfect conditions to allow water run-off smoothly down to the edges and into gutters.
How Asphalt Shingles Are Made
The manufacturing process of shingles involves dry looping, saturation, wet looping, coating and mineral surfacing. To begin this process, a roll of organic felt or fiberglass is placed into the roofing machine, with the base passing through a dry looper. One side of the base is then sprayed with asphalt in order to aid saturation. It is then further immersed into asphalt in a saturation tank, in which the fibers or mat are coated with asphalt.
During the wet looping stage, the matting forms into accordion-like folds. It is then treated with asphalt once more in a rigorous coating process, which ensures that both surfaces are filled and stabilized.
In the mineral surfacing step, ceramic-coated minerals are added to the surface of the mat, which then passes through rollers in order to embed the coating particles in the asphalt, as well as to cool the material.
There is a variety of asphalt shingle types too, some more common than others. Below we take a look at the top two used most often by Prominent Construction clients, and how they are made.
Architectural Shingles
Also referred to as dimensional shingles, architectural shingles are distinguished by their multi-layered base, which is created by two shingle strips being laminated together. The result is a thicker, durable material that is able to withstand any of the weather elements, like heavy rains and wind, hail and extreme heat.
Three-Tab Shingles
Three-tab shingles, on the other hand, are made up of three individual tabs, as its name suggests. The important distinction is that they consist only of one single layer. Three-tab shingles are commonly lauded for the affordability, however, they are far less durable than architectural shingles, with a lifespan of just 20 years.
Looking for the perfect asphalt shingle roof? Well, then look no further than the team of roofing specialists at Prominent Construction. Our roofers are highly knowledgeable when it comes to asphalt roofing and are there to answer any questions you may have. For all your asphalt roofing needs, give Prominent Construction a call today.
