Shingle roofing

We install GAF shingle, and it comes in three grades. The lifespans below are the ranges usually quoted for each grade nationally. The next section is about what a Valley summer does to them.

• 3-tab (GAF Royal Sovereign). A single flat layer: lighter, the lowest price, 20–30 years, and the first thing UV and heat go after. It makes sense on a rental or a house you're about to sell.
• Architectural (GAF Timberline HDZ and UHDZ). Two layers laminated together, which gives it more mass to absorb heat, wind and impact, and a dimensional look like wood shake. Mid-range price, 25–50 years. This is the grade we quote by default.
• Designer (GAF Grand Sequoia, Glenwood and Camelot II). Extra-thick shingle made to look like slate or cedar shake. Premium price, 30 to 50-plus years, for when the look of the house is the point.

On a house you're planning to live in, we'll steer you to architectural. 3-tab saves money up front and gives back years, and out here those years go faster. If the goal really is lowest cost and a short hold, it's a defensible call and we'll quote it.

Manufacturer ratings are tested against a national average climate, and shingle can carry a warranty up to 50 years on paper. A Valley roof doesn't get a national average climate. It gets full sun, a deck that runs well past 150°F in summer, and almost no relief overnight for months at a time. Realistic service life here runs 20–30 years, and which end of that range you land on has less to do with the shingle than with what's happening underneath it, which is the next section.

Our own workmanship warranty on the install is separate from the manufacturer's material warranty, because we're only willing to stand behind what we control. The terms depend on the products and application on your job, and they're in your quote.

Shingle needs balanced intake and exhaust. Air moving in low, out high, to keep attic heat from getting trapped against the underside of the deck. When that balance is wrong, the attic runs hotter than the outside air, and the shingle gets cooked from below on top of what the sun is doing from above. That's how a roof rated for 20–30 years comes off in twelve.

It's also usually the cheapest thing wrong with the roof to fix, and the one most likely to get skipped, because it's invisible from the ground and doesn't show up until the shingles above it are already failing. If your ventilation is wrong, we correct it as part of the replacement rather than putting a new roof over the same problem.