We all know that an Englert Kynar coated standing seam metal roof will not chip, crack, peel, chalk or fade if properly installed on your home or commercial building. And the color you’ve chosen will remain crisp decades from now.
If only the same could be said for an asphalt shingle roof. The simple fact is that because of the kind of material used in shingles, there are many more possibilities for problems.
For example, cosmetic asphalt shingle roof problems such as shadow lines, blistering, uneven surfaces and improper randomizing of shingle bundles leading to color patches on the roof—are potential problems you can face if you install a shingle roof.
There are a number of issues you can face with a defective asphalt shingle product including cupping and curling.
These problems are easy to spot – It’s the cause that might be suspect. For example, with cupping roof shingle, the uplifted shingle portions are the outside edges of each shingle while the shingle center is concave or “cupped”. In contrast, with curling roof shingles, the uplifted shingles in curling patterns are at the shingle tab corners.
Another potential problem is rash blistering. Rash blisters on asphalt shingles result from a glitch in the manufacturing process and can be cosmetic or possibly more serious. For example, with rash blistering there is early granule loss at the blister site, resulting in a reduced-life expectancy of the roofing material. The mineral granules at the raised portion of each rash blister can wear off from weather or foot traffic, becoming pits which expose the underlying shingle substrate. These exposed granule-loss pits on roof shingles increase moisture absorption into the shingle body and in cold climates increase in wear rate from frost. This is sometimes mistaken for hail damage or other types of asphalt shingle roof wear but in actuality it’s a manufacturing defect. Shingle blisters may also be caused by too much roofing mastic or other adhesives applied during or after roof installation.
Many of these problems can also apply to fiberglass based shingles as well. Traditional asphalt shingles and fiberglass shingles look the same on a roof. Both have granules held together by hardened tar. Both are flexible and both are installed the same way. However, “thermal splitting,” or “cracking” is considered by independent analysts to be a major problem with fiberglass-based shingles. Sometimes the thin fiberglass shingle substrate is blamed for lacking adequate tear resistance during wind uplift.
Other times, it’s been said the shingle’s bonding adhesive was too strong, preventing necessary adequate movement to respond to dramatic temperature changes without tearing the surface.
Asphalt and fiberglass shingles are also susceptible to hail damage which creates a “scouring” effect in which large areas of shingle surface may lose granules, reducing the effectiveness and life expectancy of the product. Hail damage also has a cosmetic impact in shingled roofs, where patches of lost granules will be apparent, with the most severe effect on roof slopes facing the direction where hail fell.
Despite all these issues, asphalt and fiberglass shingles remain the most popular roofing materials almost entirely because they are the least expensive roofing materials. Nothing is cheaper than the cheapest asphalt shingles, and lots of people choose them for that reason only. Which is a good thing if you’re in the roofing business, because every time someone chooses a cheap shingle roof it guarantees two roofers a job – the one putting it on today, and the one replacing it in a few years. And that’s a guarantee, because there is no recovering them once they’ve lost their elasticity and adhesion or fail and have no more value at all.
Even the least expensive standing seam metal roof has far more value than shingle with the guarantee it will last longer, be easier to maintain and bring added value to your home or business when it comes time to sell.