Three tab vs architectural shingles

bigboreG

Member
Needing to re roof the house. My roof has the old three tab shingle on it, only one layer. There is an area over the porch that I think will need new sheeting, as back in June we had 16 inches of rain and it developed a leak for a short time until I fixed it. That was only temporary, and I need to do the whole roof. I used some leftover three tabs I got from my dad that matched. Anyways, I don't think I want to go with three tab this time. The neighbor just did his roof with architectural and it sure looks nice. He said they are more costly, but last a lot longer. Anyone have a preference on either kind? Keeping it tractor related I will be hooking the 300 up to a Heider wagon to hold all the roofing material.
 
Everybody seems to be going to architectural these days, and I like them better. BUT- DO NOT put them over 3 tab! Strip the roof. Because of the uneven-ness, architectural will cup if installed over 3 tab, and the water will run sideways and it will leak. I spent a whole summer re-roofing arch. over 3 tab, and had to have the whole thing stripped and done over after only 7 years.
 
You also have to read the instruction sheet for the architectural shingles. The manufacturers have specific nailing lines for maximum installed strength. If you install them like they were three tab shingles you make them more susceptible to wind damage.
 
Yep, I think you're right. Back in the days of only 3 tab, you could get away with one reroof over the old without stripping. But not with architectural.
 
Take it down to the wood. Replace any weak or water damaged places. New felt, ice dam around all edges, and metal or vinyl drip edge on all exposed wood edges. Also, if you haven't already addressed vents, nail over ridge vent on all ridges with adequate under eave vents. Will all help it last longer. Just my 2 cents from years of experience.
 
No waste with the Architectural shingle. Everything that is cutoff can be used somewhere else. i'd never use the 3 tab again.
 
I think I would look hard at the steel shingles, they have some out now that look like normal shingles they are supposed to last like metal roofing and in 100 years when they need to be replaced they're scrap metal instead of land fill.
 
Another point of value whether architectural or three tab, you must follow the installation pattern the manufacturer requires or risk not being covered by the manufacturer warranty when something happens to some of your shingles. If your roofer runs the shingle in sections up the roof you void most warranties. Most manufacturers specify running across the roof. Most roofers say it doesn't matter but if the adjuster finds the same batch number at the ridge and the gutter on the shingles that didn"t mess up then your claim can be voided. The numbers are on the back of the shingle.
 

I had my house and one barn reroofed about five years ago with arcs. There is nothing wrong with them and I expect that I will get thirty years out of them, but I am now kicking myself for not going metal at that time. There are two different kinds of metal; standing seam and all of the others.
 
I have looked into steel, but im not sure that's what I want or not. In regards to the arch, I think my mind is made up on those over 3 tab. The whole thing will be stripped and repaired as needed. Thanks for the ideas and input! On a side note. . .do I have to do anything special with the hydraulics on my 300 Farmall to use the one way hoist on my wagon? I have all three remotes set up for two way cylinders right now.
 
My roofer likes architectural shingles. He can put them up real fast. No chaulk lines. Architectural shingles I use are 35 year shingles, life time where I live, considering a hail storm will come along before 35 years are up. I only pay the deductable, not pro-rated, so I consider using 35 year shingles a win win over metal. Something about a metal roof reminds me of living in a 12x60 trailer when I first got married. I can't look at metal without thinking of a trailer. Back then they were called trailers, not mobile homes.
 
This house was built in 2000 with arch shingles.

They started blowing off in 2010 with 50 mph winds.

In 2012 a 70 mph wind took off a large section.

I now have a metal roof.

My mothers house, a rental house and daughters house shingles all lasted 10 to 16 years.

They all have metal now. I will never again buy an asphalt single in my life time.

Gary

Gary
 
I've lived in the same house since it was built back in 57. We get a lot of wind and as a result have to add a dab of tar under each tab on a 3 tab shingle. Never seen any shingles last more then 10 years here. We put on those 30 year shingles and the company goes bankrupt when ever there is a claim. This year we had real bad wind storms and 6 inches of rain. I had decided to put steel on and had it ordered before the storm hit. After the storm I was told to check my policy and discovered I had replacement ins so the ins company had to pay as if I was replacing with regular shingles. Sometimes we get lucky turning a lemon into lemonade. By the way I am 69 so shouldn't have to worry about any more roof problems. The last few years it has been harder to crawl up and patch things so decided to do it right. I have had a lot of compliments on the appearance.
 
I hope you aren't thinking of putting a second layer over your existing shingles. This is always a bad idea, but it's particularly bad if you're using metric-sized architectural shingles over three-tab. Tear off all the old shingles and repair the sheathing. Rather than replace the bad sheathing, you can put a layer of 7/16" OSB over the existing sheathing.

I've done a lot of roofs with three-tab, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I used architectural shingles. The price difference between architectural and three-tab isn't enough these days to justify using the cheaper three-tab shingles. I will never do another roof with three-tab unless I have to match some existing shingles.

It's easy to see why roofers like the metric architectural shingles: you can be REALLY SLOPPY and still come out with a decent-looking roof. With three-tab, you can easily see if the roofer took his time or not. Architectural shingles can be cut just about anywhere and put down crooked and nobody will be the wiser. The metric shingles are significantly larger, so you use fewer shingles and drive fewer nails per square compared to three-tab.
 
I thought I wanted three tab but after looking at other roofs decided that the Dimensional or Architectural looked better. I bought the GAF brand in the "Natural Shadow" not the "High Definition" as the "High Definition" looked too aggressive for my tastes. Also if you are having it done get quotes form Master installers who are approved by the factory. I bought the "Golden Pledge Warranty" from GAF and they send out an inspector from the factory to review the job. The inspector found an issue and had the installer come back and fix the problem.
 
Had the house roof shingled two days ago. The local lumber yards and roofers quit selling three tab because they can't get them anymore.
 
(quoted from post at 01:46:00 08/17/14) Had the house roof shingled two days ago. The local lumber yards and roofers quit selling three tab because they can't get them anymore.
don't believe that ,you still need 3-tabs for the caps.
 
Contractor fiend has been putting on a few steel shingles. He says he really likes them. A little costly now, but should get cheaper as time goes on. I guess time will tell. They look really nice on the roof. Steel roofs look okay on multi story houses, but I still like shingles on single story ranches.
 
They make special roof caps for the architectural ones they
don't cost much and look great I have them on my old house.
Walt
 
We re-roofed our house in Dallas about a month ago. The attic had almost no ventilation. The roofing company suggested ridge vents. They installed them the length of the peak. The really work! Had to get in the attic one day last week. Wasn"t sure what to expect, but the attic wasn"t any hotter than it was outside.

Prior to installing the ridge vents, it would have been extremely hot in the attic.

If you are down south, I recommend you take a look at ridge vents.
 
(quoted from post at 18:07:19 08/16/14)
(quoted from post at 01:46:00 08/17/14) Had the house roof shingled two days ago. The local lumber yards and roofers quit selling three tab because they can't get them anymore.
don't believe that ,you still need 3-tabs for the caps.

Clearly you can still get three-tab shingles! I did a shed roof with them just a few months ago. Even if nobody uses them for re-roofing jobs, they're still needed for repairs. But the market for three-tab has dwindled seriously over the past ten years to the point where they're seldom used for new roofs. Lack of demand has made them more expensive (economies of scale), so the market has shifted to the point where suppliers stock mainly architectural shingles.

I've never been in a shingle plant, but I assume that when manufacturers add new plant capacity or replace old machines, the new machines are for metric shingles and can't process three-tab.

As for the ridge shingles, these start out life as three-tabs, but are scored so you don't have to cut them by hand. Presumably they're processed by the same machines used to make standard three-tab shingles.
 
I saw a few comments on nailing the arch shingles in a specific area marked on the shingle---this is very important! If the nail is placed too high up it will not penetrate both layer of the shingle, and when they get hot on a summer day the tar that holds them together gets soft and the part not nailed will slide out and fall off t he roof. At work we had a fellow who nailed shingles high because he could go quicker with a nail gun--didn't have to take time for careful aim--so now we are going back fixing loose shingles. That fellow no longer works for us.
shinlges sliding off
 
Yep, that's a problem with three-tabs as well. The correct location of the nail is pretty small, and it's a lot easier to nail on or above the glue strip than to nail slightly below the strip.

Certainteed architectural shingles have the nail band clearly marked, which I found real helpful.
 

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