Architectural shingles, and what goes under them
Nearly every roof in York County and south Charlotte is asphalt shingle. That makes it the easiest job to bid cheap and the easiest one to do badly, because most of the work that decides how long the roof lasts is covered up by lunchtime.
The owner quotes the job, orders the material, is there the day of install, and inspects the finished roof himself. The photographs further down this page are the deck and the underlayment on our own jobs, which is the part nobody photographs because nobody ever sees it.
What an architectural shingle is
Also sold as dimensional or laminated shingle. It is the product most homeowners mean when they say “a new shingle roof”, and it is not the same thing as the flat 3-tab it usually replaces.
- Built from multiple asphalt layers laminated together, rather than the single flat layer of a 3-tab shingle.
- That extra layer is what gives the roof its depth and shadow line, closer to a wood shake than a flat sheet.
- Heavier per square than 3-tab, and rated by manufacturers for higher wind uplift.
- Made in a range of colors and profiles, so a replacement can match the street or change the look of the house.
What goes on the roof
Owens Corning is the preferred shingle here. In the owner’s words: he prefers installing their products because they are the best, but he will install any product based on what you want and need.
- 25-year 3-tab shingles
- 30-year architectural (laminated) shingles, the one on most of the roofs in the gallery
- 40- and 50-year premium designer shingles
Why homeowners here choose them
It is what the houses here already wear
Drive any neighborhood in York County or south Charlotte and the roofs are asphalt shingle. Replacing like for like keeps the house looking like it belongs on its street, which matters when you sell.
It holds up better than what it replaces
Most of these jobs are an architectural shingle going over a roof that was 3-tab or a worn-out builder-grade layer. The laminated shingle is heavier and rated for more wind, and wind is what puts roofs here into a claim.
Insurance pays for a roof like the one you had
On most houses in this area that means shingle for shingle, which keeps the material side of a claim simple. Getting the carrier to agree to a full replacement instead of a patch is the hard part, and that is the part the owner handles.
It can be repaired, up to a point
Wind-lifted shingles, a slope, a flashing detail: a shingle roof can be fixed in pieces. Color matching gets harder as a roof weathers, so at some age repair stops being the cheaper answer. You will be told which side of that line your roof is on.
How the install goes
Step 1
Tear-off to the deck
The old roof comes off. Layering new shingles over old buries every problem the tear-off would have found, and it is the fastest way for a bid to look cheaper than it is.
Step 2
The deck gets inspected and repaired
Soft or rotten plywood is replaced before anything goes over it. Nobody can price this from the driveway, which is why an honest quote says what happens if the deck is bad rather than pretending it will not be.
Step 3
Underlayment across the whole roof
Synthetic underlayment goes down over the bare deck. It keeps water out while the roof is open and it is the backstop for the rest of the roof life. Photographs of this step on our own jobs are below.
Step 4
Ice and water membrane on all flashings, valleys and penetrations
Roofs leak at the chimney, the valleys, the vents, and the wall transitions, not in the middle of a slope. Every one of those gets ice and water membrane, a self-sealing waterproof layer, before a shingle goes near it, and then gets flashed instead of sealed around and forgotten.
Step 5
Shingles on, site cleaned, owner inspects
The shingles go on, the property gets cleaned up, and the owner walks the finished roof himself before the job is called done. Not somebody who has never seen the house.
Deck, underlayment, finished roof
Our own photographs from jobs across York County and the Charlotte area, in the order the work happens. Not stock, not somebody else's roof.
Shingle or metal
Shingle is the right answer on most houses here. Metal is a longer-horizon decision and it is worth asking about if you plan to stay in the house, so both get quoted honestly and you get told when the cheaper one is the better one.
A shingle roof sold to a house that needed a repair is a bad job with a bigger invoice attached. So is a repair sold to a roof that was finished.
If the roof is going on because of a storm, the owner handles the claim as well. That process is set out in full on the storm damage page.
Know somebody who needs a roof? Refer them and get a $200 Visa gift card when their job is done and paid.