When researching the best materials for your roof, you can’t overlook composition shingles. These shingles are one of the most popular roofing materials today, and they’re known for their longevity, strength, and beauty. This article offers you the pros and cons of composition shingles.
What Are Composition Shingles?
Composition shingles are simply asphalt shingles. The term composition comes from shingles, a composite of artificial materials like fiberglass, granules on fiberglass mats, and tar. These composition shingles come in three major types: architectural (laminate or dimensional), luxury (slate or shake appearance), and three-tab shingles.
Each type of composition shingles has its unique look. Architectural shingles feature random patterns and shadow lines for improved dimension, whereas three-tab shingles feature three tabs on every shingle strip and lay flat. Luxury shingles are thicker in size than the other two shingles and are meant to resemble slates.
With these looks, every homeowner is guaranteed to find composition shingles that match their preferred aesthetic element.
Pros of Composition Shingles
Easy to Install and Maintain
Composition shingles are known for their ease of installation, and their lightweight and simple designs make them easy to install and replace when damaged. This means that your roofing contractor can successfully install your roof within a day or two.
Highly Versatile
Composition shingles are available in almost any color and design you might think of. That makes them the most versatile roofing materials for homeowners who want something unique for their roofs and suitable for any type of roof.
Very Affordable
Unlike other roofing materials like metal sheets, slates, and tiles, composition shingles are readily available, which makes them quite affordable. Asphalt shingles are suitable roofing materials if you don’t plan to keep the house for a long time. They also cost less to install than other roofing materials because they don’t require much work.
Cons of Composition Shingles
Easy to Break or Crack
Your composition shingles will likely break or develop cracks when something heavy, like a hailstone or a tree branch, falls on them. These cracks will eventually cause leaks. So, you have to replace them immediately after the impact.
Premature Breakdown
If your composition shingles are continuously exposed to excessive sun or moisture, they’re likely to break down prematurely, leaving your house and valuables exposed to the elements.