Architectural Shingle Roofing in North Canton, Ohio

What are architectural shingles?

An architectural shingle is two layers of asphalt mat bonded together. It is also called a laminated or dimensional shingle. The doubled layers make it thicker and heavier than the flat 3-tab shingle that covered most North Canton roofs for decades. The staggered tabs cast a shadow line, so the roof reads as textured instead of striped.

How do architectural shingles compare with 3-tab?

The longer life is why 3-tab is not used for whole roofs here. Much of what a new roof costs is labor, tear-off and disposal, and those are the same for either shingle.

How long will a shingle roof last in North Canton?

Plan on 25 to 30 years from an architectural shingle in this climate. Where your roof lands in that span depends on a few local things.

• Shade. Slopes that face north or sit under big trees stay damp, and moss takes hold there first.
• Attic air. A hot, stale attic bakes shingles from below. A ridge vent with open soffits lets that heat out.
• Winter. The Akron-Canton area sees about 47 inches of snow in a season, with months of freezing and thawing.
• The edges. Ice and water shield at the eaves and valleys protects the deck when melted snow backs up behind ice.

North Canton calls itself the Dogwood City, and trees are part of the deal here. A shaded roof means a cooler house in July and a damper roof in April.

What do wind ratings mean?

The rating is the wind speed a shingle is tested to resist once its sealant strip has bonded. Each shingle has a strip of adhesive that softens in warm sun and glues it to the course below. Until that bond forms, a shingle is held by nails alone. That is one reason installs are booked for spring and not for January. Starter strip matters here too. It is a sealed first course at the eaves and rakes, and it keeps wind from getting under the bottom row.

What about the black streaks on older roofs?

Those streaks are algae, not dirt and not wear. They show most on north slopes and under trees. Many current architectural shingles carry copper-bearing granules that slow algae growth. If streaks bother you on the present roof, say so when the color is chosen.

How is the shingle color chosen?

Colors are chosen with the owner, at your house. Looking at samples against your own brick, siding and trim, in daylight, beats picking from a screen. A few things worth knowing:

• Brick does not change, so match the roof to the brick first and the shutters second.
• Blended colors with several tones hide dirt and algae better than one flat tone.
• Dark shingles show less staining, and lighter ones keep an attic slightly cooler.
• On a low ranch, much of what you see from the street is roof, so color matters more than on a tall house.

The color and the shingle line are written on the quote, so there is no doubt about what was agreed.

What goes on with the shingles?

Shingles are the top of a system. Under and around them go synthetic underlayment, ice and water shield at the eaves and valleys, metal drip edge, starter strip, and a ridge vent capped with matching ridge shingles. The full scope is on the roof replacement in North Canton page. How the drip edge meets the gutter is covered under roof and gutters together, and the money side is covered under roof replacement cost.

Which roofing materials are not offered?

Metal, slate, tile and flat-roof membranes. This site is for asphalt shingle roofs on houses. A low porch roof that is too shallow for shingles will be pointed out in the photo report after the free roof inspection.