Roofer input, best brand roofing?

[NONHOG]

I had a roofer tell me Owen-Corning (big box store brand) is not what I want.
I figured I would ask around what is a good brand roofing?
Comp, architectural style is what we are looking at.

[mongocanfly]

a friend of mine and his dad just had timberline shingles put on...they look great...I'm gonna use the same on my house I do believe

[Deer_hunter_088]

We use Tamko!

[67ChevyRedneck]

We had owens put on in 2011 after a bad hail storm. Aside from fading a bit (as they ALL do) they have held up very well to the SC sun the past 6 years until they were replaced last week due to ANOTHER hour long 1"+ hail storm.

Went from black to a new flagstone? color. Can't remember the name.

House is 20 years old now. I guess thanks to hail we replaced all windows last year (I paid for half and installed 6 of them myself to save some $), new roof, and the siding is badly faded and a color my wife has hated since we bought it, so new siding this winter. It will be more of a 50's green color which goes great with the roof color.

[NONHOG]

Thanks guys!
Funny, O-C has one of (if not the) best rated roofing in the style we want.
Wish I could spring for metal like the shop has but its not in the cards unless I do it and that doesn't seem to be such a good idea.

[dieseldawg142]

as mentioned, GAF Timberlines are some of the better shingles on the market, and at a decent price.
Pabco also makes an excellent fiberglass shingle, little more expensive, but made right here in WA.
Despite what you may have read, O-C is not very popular in the Pac Northwest. they need to put algae block (or more of it) in their shingles. And i hate to say it, for anybody who has O-C shingles, they are one of the more "difficult" company's to deal with when it comes to warranty. i know this cause i have been roofing in the pac nwest for 36 yrs..... and 15 more 'till retiement....
Gaf, by the way has a pro-rated life-time warranty to the orig owner.
if your into spending money, one of, if not the best would be CertainTeed presidential shake/shingle. it's the most dimensional, shake look-a-like shingle on the market.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=presi...w=1527&bih=875

and the sad thing about metal, it's not really expensive, but it's "perceived" to be expensive, so there is a HUGE mark-up on it. we do all styles of cladding, and it only costs us a couple bucks per lineal foot. we actually manufactor Pro-Lok hidden fastner metal in our shop, it costs us only about a buck a foot.....but we dont sell it for that....

one type i would avoid, or be careful what you buy, is composites. they came out with great fanfare 20 or so yrs ago, but there not living up to the hype. there are some class action lawsuits against some of the biggest, major comp. manufactors. a lot of them seem to be succumbing to cracking....

[NONHOG]

Thanks DD. Chilliwack is a bit far from Tacoma otherwise I would get a bid.
So since you know PNW. What roofing would you suggest (type) not brand.
For a guy like me who is limited in funds currently.
My trees and more importantly the neighbors trees are not helping not only with needles but shade which brings in the moss. Nothing works on the moss.
Tried Tide, Moss away (or b gone whatever its called) and zinc strips.

Thinking I don't want 3 tab, but like I mentioned money is a concern.

ps I am probably 20 years from retirement. but at 53 years old my knees say no to roofing it myself.

[special-K]

They're all good in Architectural grade. Some are better but you can't go wrong. Owens-Corning has been making shingles since before Home Depot came to town. Timberlines are great and so is Certainteed. I like Tamko myself.

[68c10airstream]

And a little detail that sometimes isn't mentioned is no warranty unless you tear of ALL old roofing and start over. i have IKO brand and been good.

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by special-K

They're all good in Architectural grade. Some are better but you can't go wrong. Owens-Corning has been making shingles since before Home Depot came to town. Timberlines are great and so is Certainteed. I like Tamko myself.

Thanks Tim!

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by 68c10airstream

And a little detail that sometimes isn't mentioned is no warranty unless you tear of ALL old roofing and start over. i have IKO brand and been good.

I am certain part of my problem is the idiot who roofed last went over a existing bad roof. Only lasted 10 years.

[dieseldawg142]

ya, money is always tight when it comes to roofs...understandable for what you have to pay for a roof. I tell customers that the $5000 price may only be about 5% of the value of the house, but it covers 100% of your investment...
i would get a laminate shingle, they have pretty much taken over the shingle market, 97% of shingles we do are laminates. all the shingles i mentioned if installed AND detailed properly, will get you a solid 25-30 yrs. ya, they come longer rated, but unless your roof is strait up and down, count on 25-30, anything after that will be money you should have just put towards a new roof anyways...
with the trees you have surrounding your house, moss will pretty much be a way of life ....unless ya clearcut. as you've found out, nothing really works. 'bout the only way to get rid of what you get, is go at it with a broom, zinc strip is pretty useless, moss wont catch on your roof for 3-5 yrs, by then all the zinc on the strip has washed off, it does make a good wind gauge up there cause it almost always blows or rips off anyways.
almost every job we do, we use either Gaf timberlines, CertainTeed Landmarks and Pabco premiers. first two are pretty much the same price, Pabco's are just a touch higher, but being made right in your front yard, you mite get a good price (no shipping or freight)
personally i would go the Pabco premiers, good warranty, there fiberglass so it will take longer for them to moss up than organics, and they have good algae block content in them. they will eventually moss up, will prob take longer though.

go to a few supply stores, real ones, not Home Depot or Lowes. Up here we have Convoy Supply, Roofmart, Proline, dedicated to selling only what you need for any kind of roof, dont know who you have down there, but a google or phone book should get you one. look at the prices, colors, know what you want before you call a roofer-be informed, and dont be afraid to let the roofer know that you will be getting multiple est's. He will sharpen his pencil (esp if there in a slow period) and you will get (he wont tell you though) a better price

[CG]

I had a board member roof our house. Did a really nice job and its holding up nicely. Too bad he moved to another state ... There ya go, no help from me =)

[GOPAPA]

I have heard very little about one brand to another,, workmanship I have ,, I personally do not like the stapled on roof and want roofing nails ,, that's my 2 cents worth

[cypressbog]

ABC Supply sells Tamco and I'm happy with their products.

['63GENIII]

Tamko here as well. Presidential Elk I think. 50yr warranty, installed 10 years ago and doing fine. Not nearly as wet in our area but I do have a HUGE Valley Oak over the house. Very little moss on ours. The neighbors houses are a little different story.

This roof replaced one of the composite slate look roofs that disintegrated when you looked at it. The skip sheeting was re done with OSB and then the roofer laid down 2 of layers of 30# felt. We have 2 California Valleys (I think that is what they are called) where the comp is sort of woven to form the valley. The whole thing has held up well IMO.

[special-K]

California weave, and you thought that was for hair . Heat kills a roof worse than wet. Ventilation is very important to roof life.

Improper flashing work is one of the most common causes of roof leaks I find.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I've only spent a few days total up in the PNW, but one thing I definitely noticed was how many houses had moldy roofs, it was a lot.

We get some around here on really old roofs on homes surrounded by trees, but it's not a common thing to see here.

[NONHOG]

Thanks all! Have a guy coming over tonight for a quote. See what his thoughts are. I'll report back.