Defective Asphalt #2

PREMATURE FAILURE OF FIBERGLASS SHINGLES

As manufacturers sought to produce shingles with less asphalt, traditional organic shingles were replaced with
the modern "fiberglass" shingle - made of a paper thin LAYER (not saturation) of asphalt and stone coating.
The new design contained much less asphalt - and, therefore, was of lower quality than traditional organic.

Asphalt content was further reduced in the new fiberglass design by adding FILLER materials.  These "fillers"
were usually sand and/or fine minerals (often Limestone) and were used primarily to lower production costs.
However, the addition of filler also resulted in production of even lower quality, and less durable, shingles.

       The composition shingle industry has had difficulty with the performance of conventional fiberglass
       shingles almost since their introduction in the late 1970's... Lack of Asphalt Content: Failed shingles
       that we tested contain approximately 30% asphalt by weight.  New shingles contain less than 25%
       This asphalt is mixed with sand and fine mineral matter and then has granules embedded in it.   [1]

       There is no separate asphalt mat "coating", there is only asphalt as binder for the filler...
       No wonder shingles "weep" water after only a few years!   [2]

Historically, the premature failure of fiberglass shingles has involved granular loss and brittleness,
cracking and splitting, blistering, curling, buckling and "weeping" (water seeping through the shingle).
When a thorough inspection reveals ANY of these conditions the roof is beyond the "Re-Sale Window"
and normally requires either replacement or negotiation of a "Roofing Allowance" in order to sell the home.

While the common perception, promoted by asphalt manufacturers (and asphalt roofers) is that "fiberglass"
shingles are superior to the traditional "organic" design, the fact is - there has been a documented history
of premature failure of all asphalt shingles manufactured since 1980, both fiberglass and the newer organic.
Since only fiberglass are sold today - it's important to know the History of Defective Fiberglass Shingles.

       Fiberglass mats are much thinner, and are not saturated with asphalt...
       Several roofing contractor associations have heard complaints from their members
       that fiberglass shingles are failing within ten years...   [3]

       Recently, our company had a roof fail in less than eight years.
       When removing shingles in leaky areas, it became apparent that the water
       was going right through the shingles, and had been for some time.   [4]

       In Central California we have seen shingles split on roofs in less than five years.
       From what we have seen to date, the problem seems to occur to shingles with a thin
       or nonexistent back coating... These shingles also seem to have a very high filler content
       about 70% and limited tensile strength.   [5]

       Filler was not used to stabilize asphalt so much as it appeared it was used
       to attempt to control profitability and/or market share... Buckling, cupping, splitting
       and poor granular retention problems began to manifest in relatively short time frames.   [6]

The premature failure of fiberglass shingles is simply Historical Fact.  By the mid-1990's defective fiberglass
shingles were reported by consumers and contractors and documented in several major industry publications.
Fiberglass shingles were failing in less than 15 years but asphalt manufacturers did not initiate product recalls,
or even warn consumers about the known defects.  Instead, asphalt manufacturers started to increase the
warranty periods in order to sell more (defective) shingles.

Asphalt manufacturers have continued to increase the warranty periods for fiberglass shingles so that now,
most conventional shingles come with 30, 40 50 year and "lifetime" warranties.  However, with much less
asphalt content, these new fiberglass shingle have a documented History of Premature Failures - and,
very often, these defective shingles fail within 10 to 15 years.

Most inexperienced roof buyers ASSUME warranties provide an indication of shingle quality or durability...
they do NOT.  roof warranties are designed to sell more shingles - and longer warranties sell more product.
That is why traditional 15 year and 20 year warranties were "Inflated" to the more marketable 30 year,
40 year, 50 year and (wait for it)... "Lifetime" warranty periods.

Bottom Line:  Warranties are simply "marketing tools" and DO NOT indicate either product quality
                        or product durability.  See:  Warranties are Marketing Tools

There is an adversarial relationship between (roof) Buyers and (roof) Sellers because their Financial Interests
are diametrically opposed.  Consumers should not EVER expect roofing sellers (manufacturers or installers)
to provide full disclosure on information on the documented history of premature failure of shingles
they are currently trying to sell.

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[1]  Richard Tippett, 'Fiberglass Shingles: More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Shingle Failures'
       Western Roofing Magazine, (May/June 1991)
[2]  ibid.
[3]  Ted Cushman, 'Choosing and Asphalt Shingle: Organic vs Fiberglass'
       Journal of Light Construction Magazine, (May 1993)
[4]  Ray Bolt, Shingle Problems: 20 Year Shingles are Posing Problems in the West'
       Western Roofing Magazine, (Jan/Feb 1991)
[5]  Richard Tippett, 'Fiberglass Shingles'
[6]  Dwain Boulton, 'Return to Basics: Suggestions for Asphalt Shingles'
       Western Roofing Magazine, Sept/Oct 1992)
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