How often do you stop to think about your roof? It’s a rather remarkable structure that keeps everything inside your home, including you and your loved ones, safe and secure. It protects you from rain, sleet, and snow. It provides shelter from scorching heat and dryness as well.
All that hard work is done by the roof shingles. Shingles are individual overlapping pieces of material laid out from the bottom edge of a roof in rows. The next row is laid down on top of the last, slightly overlapping, and so on and so forth until your roof is completely covered and protected.
What Materials Are Roof Shingles Made Of?
Shingles undergo many treatments and refining processes before they are ready to go on your roof.
You might live in an area where the homes all have the same types of shingles on their roofs. It would be very understandable if you then assumed that shingles can only be made from that one, single material. However, that is not the case. Where you live and the kind of climate you enjoy will certainly make a difference in the type of shingle material used on homes and buildings. However, the reality is that shingles can be made from a wide range of materials such as wood, metal, plastic, flagstone, slate, asphalt, and fiber cement.
We’ll take a closer look at what makes up the composition of three of the more common types of shingles: asphalt, composite, and fiberglass.
What are Asphalt Roofing Shingles Made Of?
Asphalt shingles are the most commonly used type of shingle in the United States. Asphalt itself is water-resistant and goes through a processing treatment that gives it a high degree of hardness to function as a shingle. Following that, the material is oxidized for increased viscosity by having air blown through it.
What are Composite Roof Shingles Made Of?
Composite, or synthetic shingles, are made up of a mixture of commonly used roofing material, including fiberglass, asphalt, recycled paper products, laminate, or wood. This combination increases life expectancy and gives them an added measure of strength. Composite shingles are also fire-resistant and won’t have any issues with moisture in the form of rain or snow.
What Are Fiberglass Roof Shingles Made Of?
Fiberglass roof shingles are part of a continuous sheet of fiberglass that stands as the foundation on which the other materials are put together. Glass fibers connect to binders and stable resins onto which a waterproof asphalt coating is placed. On top of that goes a layer of granules that protect the shingle from harmful UV rays. Traditional asphalt shingles can also be reinforced with fiberglass.
How are Roof Shingles Made?
Because shingles can be made with a range of different materials, the process for making them will vary. In general, however, the process for making a shingle involves first rolling the material into the right rectangular shape. Then the shingle will pass through a chamber that prepares it for roof mounting. This is the part of the process that will vary the most for different types of shingles. Ultimately, the end result will be a shingle that is the proper size and shape and which has been coated and finished as needed.
American Roofing Company Has the Answers
Call us today with any questions regarding roofing shingles, what they’re made of, and which option would be the best fit for your home apartment, condo, or any other roofing needs.
About the Author: Andrew Yorgason
