Posted by roofcoadmin February 14, 2018
If you are somewhat familiar with houses, and to be more precise, roofing, then you must know about asphalt shingles and those kinds of stuff. So I will not waste your time explaining what a shingle is or what an asphalt is, but I will go straight to the bottom line and point you in a direction that you may not have thought of before–using fiberglass laminated shingles rather than regular shingles.
Fiberglass shingles are somewhat on an upward trend as one of the more popular roofing alternatives today. And as we’ll see in a bit, they have a lot of points going for them as opposed to using the traditional asphalt shingles. But first, some technical specs you might be interested to know.
Getting Technical
If you must know, fiberglass simply is literally made from remarkably fine threads of glass. Too obvious? Try this–this synthetic pattern (glass fiber) may be a thermoset polymer form – usually based on the likes of polyester resin, epoxy, or a thermoplastic.
Fiberglass shingles are created from an interwoven foundational mesh of fiberglass, and then encased with a water-resistant layer of asphalt, and then covered with other compounds that protect the shingles from the sun’s damaging UV rays.
Fiberglass shingles are generally produced in two different kinds: three-tab shingles and the architectural fiberglass shingles. More people prefer the architectural ones because it can be molded into anything that you want but still maintain that stability and all the other aspects of the fiberglass. To finish it off, asphalt sealant connects the separate panels, bolstering the shingles’ watertight characteristic.
Advantages
Inexpensive–it usually costs less than $4 per square foot. This is the first thing we always look at when we’re trying to build something. Well, not only is fiberglass shingles cheap but it’s also high quality. See next point.
Durable–I don’t think we need to say anything more about this fiberglass characteristic. In addition to the toughness, it also does not hold liquid or moisture thereby reducing the risk of damage. Oh one last thing, fiberglass shingles have a greater fire grade than the regular asphalt shingles. That’s a big plus.
DIY–because fiberglass is so thin and therefore lightweight, you can actually learn to install these by yourself. Still, if you want it done expertly and without having to go back and redo some mistakes, you can let the professionals do it for a lesser fee than when they’re installing regular asphalt shingles.
Disadvantages
There’s not a lot of disadvantage here really. I can only point out a couple of them. One would be that having fiberglass shingles would not perform as well in cold weather than when they are in warmer conditions. That being said, it is a negligible discrepancy and the difference in all the other points we just mentioned will more likely cancel out this issue.
The second “disadvantage” would presumably be environmental in nature. Due to the fiberglass endurance, these materials don’t necessarily just degrade and dissolve in a few years, they could go on for a thousand year easy. A solution to this is that they can easily be recycled and used for other purposes.
Ask For Help
So, if you want a durable, lightweight and practical roofing solution, take a close look at fiberglass laminate shingles. But don’t take my word for it, research yourself and look at the several pros and cons of the different options and then determine the best one for you.
There should be a roofing company in your area that you can easily contact and ask for their help. Most companies offer a free assessment and even free quotation for the service you want them to do. Don’t delay, locate one now.