Suppose you’re one of the millions of American property owners who reside in a location where intense storms frequently occur. In that case, your selection of roofing shingles plays a crucial role in protecting your home’s roof from hurricane damage.
Hard storms that bring hail, airborne debris, and winds placed your home’s roof in danger of harm, and setting up impact-proof shingles might be a worthwhile purchase.
Impact- Resistant Roof Shingles
Impact-resistant roof structure shingles – sometimes known as “IR” roof structure shingles – are made to help minimize roofing harm during a significant weather event and may potentially increase the lifespan of your respective roofing. You may also qualify for a homeowner’s insurance policy discount when you set up impact-resistant roof structure shingles on your residence. Question your insurance provider for more information.
That will help you get the best possible selection of roof structure material for your residence. Here is what you must understand about the technologies and benefits of Class 4 impact-resistant roofing shingles.
Strength and Durability by Design and Style
Non-impact resistant roof structure shingles may be more easily ruined when hit by hail or other debris during a hurricane. As a result of breakthroughs in shingle style and construction, industry-leading roof structure manufacturers have manufactured asphalt roof structure shingles that could stand up to more significant impact and therefore potentially reduce the quantity of roofing damage the result of a hurricane, like hail damage.
Impact-resistant shingles are generally manufactured in two processes:
- A strengthening, polymer-based mesh is included in the rear of a regular asphalt shingle. This fine mesh is inlaid to the asphalt and will help hold the shingle with each other, stopping the shingle from splitting when bumped by a hailstone or some other objects.
- Rubber-like polymers, like SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene), are included in the asphalt composition. The integration of the SBS polymer blend using the asphalt creates a rubberizing effect, building a far more flexible and more competent shingle at recovering from hail impact.
How Can Roof structure Shingles Be eligible for a Class 4 Rating?
In the middle of-1990s the, soon after several catastrophic hail storms all over the U.S., the roof structure industry designed a test to gauge their products’ resistance to impact. This consistent test is called the Underwriters Laboratory 2218 (UL 2218) and is notably nicknamed “the steel ball test.” UL assigns undoubtedly one of four ratings to shingle in line with these test results, with Class 4 being the most excellent possible rating.
A metal ball is dropped from your stipulated elevation onto a mounted roofing shingle several times throughout this screening method. The shingle will be turned over and examined for any breaks or cracks that may enable water to leak through.
To acquire a Class 4 rating, a roof structure shingle must stand up to having a 2-inch metal ball dropped many times from an elevation of 20 feet. From an additional standpoint, if this same test is repeated with a 4-inch cement paver, the pressure in the metal ball would break the paver in half.
While Class 4 is the top rating for impact resistance, there are lower ratings a shingle can receive, like Class 3 and Class 2. The main difference between the ratings is Class 3 shingles stand up to a smaller metal ball dropped from your lower elevation, and likewise for Class 2.
Are Class 4 Roof structure Shingles Far more Wind Tolerant?
Class 4 roofing shingles do not come with better resistance to the wind. Wind ratings are a different classification. People often discuss Class 4 roofing shingles and opposition to the wind with each other because high winds can cause trash to go airborne, impacting roofing and causing damage.
When Are Class 4, Impact-Resistant Roof Shingles the Right Choice?
Each year, thousands of property owners across the nation go through high-priced harm to their roofing during hail storms as well as other excessive weather situations. In line with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Severe Storms database, 4,610 significant hail situations happened in the U.S. in 2018, which storms caused vast amounts of dollars in damage. A single insurer alone, State Farm, reported spending out greater than $2.7 billion in claims relevant to wind and hail damage in 2018.
Certain areas of the U.S. happen to be far more hail-prone than the others. In line with the Insurance Information Institute, the five worst states for significant hail situations in 2018 were actually:
- Texas, with 508 hail storms
- Kansas, with 493 hail storms
- Colorado, with 332 hail storms
- Nebraska, with 309 hail storms
- South Dakota, with 309 hail storms
Living within a hail-prone region of the nation, or maybe in a location where repeated significant weather events placed your home’s roof at higher risk for damage, then you might like to consider setting up Class 4 roofing shingles.
Advantages of Class 4 Roof Shingles
Class 4 roofing shingles are regarded as being a premium product and, for that reason, could cost more than usual, non-impact resistant shingles. Nevertheless, due to the various benefits of Class 4, impact-resistant shingles, the additional charge upfront might be a worthwhile purchase if you reside in a place where hail and wind storms frequently occur.
Class 4, impact-resistant shingles might:
- Get rid of the need for, or lessen the frequency of, roofing fixes. With shingles this hard, you can loosen up a little more, knowing you have provided your home’s roof its very best chance at holding up against the storms. Less harm means a lot fewer unpredicted restoration expenditures.
- Expand the lifespan of your respective roofing. Your shingles will be the roof’s initial line of defense. Roofing with intact, undamaged shingles is way better protected season after season.
- Save some costs on homeowner’s insurance policy and monthly premiums. Most companies provide discounts for property owners whose roofing is protected in Class 4-rated shingles. Speak to your insurance provider for more information.
- Stop your premiums and insurance deductibles from growing at renewal time. Because of the growing charges of covering hail-prone houses, some insurance firms pass those charges onto property owners.
Possessing Class 4 impact-resistant shingles installed may help you continue your existing costs and avoid future rate hikes. Need a roof specialist? Contact Remarkable Roofing and Construction for more information and avail of our services now!