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GAF has the best warranty hands down, CertainTeed has 25+ class action lawsuits against almost every line of their shingles. TAMKO is def my second choice, if you live in a townhouse or MDU, TAMKO is the best. IKO and Owens are generally on the bottom.

Tamko 30 year shingles were rated poorly by Consumer Reports compared to the Certainteed Landmarks. We are putting a new roof on our house (replacing 11 year old Tamko Shingles/ which fell off during Hurricane Sandy). I realized that there was a hurricane but am bitter that my Tamko 25 year shingles didn't hold up better. We also had some significant black stains on the roof like 5 years ago. Tamko 30 year shingles are rated poorly for wind resistance by Consumer Reports. I'd advise anyone who is going to replace their roof to actually go to a roofing center and feel/look at all of the different materials that they offer since it is such a large expense for most homeowners. You can't tell much from the boards the sales folks bring to your house since they bring only partial shingles fully stuck to boards.

We didn't even look at Tamko's new offerings. We were disappointed with the product the first time.

GAF no longer publishes weights of their product online and historically it has been said a heavier weight shingle will last longer. Verbally, we were able to get the information from GAF on approximate weights and they were substantially lighter than the Certainteed ones that we looked at per the roofing guy at the store. The Camelot II felt pretty substantial but since it was lighter than the shingle we ultimately went with and not rated by Consumer Reports so we passed. It was about 20% cheaper than the shingle we ended up using. Camelot II might have been a good choice- I don't know.

We have just signed a contract for the Certainteed Landmark Premium shingles which are very well rated. They are about 50% more expensive than regular Landmark shingles and were only one notch above the regular shingles on the Consumer Reports Board so they are probably not the right choice for everyone. So why Landmark Premium then? They are 50 pounds heavier than the regular Landmark Shingles and they felt and looked a lot more substantial. The premium shingles use to be called their "50 year shingles". I think the regular Landmarks use to be the "30 year shingles". From reading the message boards my understanding is that the products have remained the same but warranties have changed for marketing reasons. We are on top of a hill and have heavy winds and thought that the extra weight would help the shingle last longer.

We also looked at the Certainteed Grand Manor which are one of the top two shingles rated by Consumer Reports but these were too expensive. It was a 135% increase in material over the Landmark plus labor is more expensive for the shingle as it is over 400 pounds.

Certainteed, GAF, and Owens Corning are all considered top teir shingle brands. Personally, I prefer Certainteed but I would gladly install either of the other brands if a customer requested them. More important that shingle brand or is the shingle installer. I would say that a vast majority of premature roof problems are caused by poor workmanship as opposed to material failure. You would be better off with a bargain shingle like Tamko, IKO, or Atlas installed by a true professional over a Certainteed/OC/GAF shingle poorly installed. That being said, the true professionals in the industry generally offer one of the top tier brands. If a contractor is coming to you offering bargain shingles, what other "bargains" are you going to recieve with his low-price bid?

Source: Distinctive Roof Services http://www.distinctiveroof.com

Tamko has a clause in their warranty that states every issue must go through arbitration, every issue. They now have a class action lawsuit against them. You will likely never have a claim paid in your favor if it goes through arbitration. But, even if you did, the roof has to leak. It the granuals falls off, not covered. It it cracks, not covered, it must leak.

After hours of reading warranties, I have concluded that CertainTeed has the best warranty. They cover astetics. If they roof just doesn't look right it is covered and they do not put anything in their warranty about leaks. I found this "leaks" clause in every warranty but theirs. I'm going with LandMark from CertainTeed.

Read the fine print and you will come to the same conclusion.

DONT BUY TAMKO! Whatever you do. I have had two roofs put on with their products and neiother one lasted anywhere near what they should have. I have had several people look at this and they have been amazed at the defective material. Then they dont want to back it up. The last time I put on their best product and it still did not last but 8 years and the shingles are ligerraly discentergrating. My insurance professionsal and the roofer have never seen anything like it. Yet they still will not replace the roof. DONT WASSTE YOUR MONEY!

I'm a Senior Field Inspector with Aspen Roofing and Exteriors in Lakewood, Colorado. The best architectural shingles - Bar none is the Owen Corning Tru-Definition Duration Storm series, Class 4, Impact Resistant. A lifetime shingle made to last. They are literally impervious to wind and hail. The best of the best. Best nailing strip (sure nail) avoids blow through. Nothing even comes close.

Tamko shingles. By the time I noticed the fading the full warranty was up..5 yrs was the warranty when I purchased...I noticed the problem at 6 yrs. slight color difference at first and gradually gets worse. Closer inspection shows rust spots on all of the shingles. Tamko said they will only prorate and agreed to give me 70% new shingles. I have to purchase the other 30% along with paper, caps etc and pay a roofer to remove old shingles and replace with new shingles. The warranty says if defect was before 5 yrs they will pay roofer to replace and give you all the shingles. I sent photos from dated Google Earth to prove the discolor started before the 5 years was up...although I didn't notice at that time...they refuse to give me full warranty replacement.

They never pay to have shingles removed!! And the new shingles they give you are NOT covered by any warranty!

I built new house in 2007 put tamko heritage 30 year shingles on in the fall. They didn't set and they replaced them a few months later. Since then I have had to replace dozens of shingles every year since I did their version of what they neededfor a claim and they denied my claim

. If thy wind blows 40 miles an hour from the right direction more shingles come off. I called tamko again just last week and the said my first claim was denied because I did not notifie them within 20 days of a shingle blowin off . My opinion, do your research, and buy anything but a tamko

TAMKO has the best upfront warranty in the industry with the first 15 years covered at 100%. I understand they have had their problems in the past but so has every shingle manufacturer. I like the colors that TAMKO offers and their fair prices. The manufacturers label their shingles as "limited lifetime" warranty. What does that even mean? My lifetime? The roofs lifetime? When the shingles go bad do I get a new roof? The answer is no. Limit lifetime means it's a 40 year shingle and after 40 years they value the roof at 20% and that's it. That doesn't mean lifetime to me. Contractors are trying to upsell a false warranty to gain more profits for their business. I rather have integrity with my business. That is characteristic to have rather than making the most money on a false warranty.

Source: homeowner

I put on Tamko Heritage 40 year shingles over 25 years ago and have had no problems at all.

I did the work myself in my own way which is slower but in my opinion a lot better.

I start by putting down one run of 30 pound tar paper then shingle up to the top of that run. I then make another run of tar paper that comes down to the next exposed shingle line on the already laid shingles. This way a leak should run out onto the shingles below it and not under them and the tar paper all the way to the bottom.

Tamko is 100% crap. I've had TWO failures of my Tamko roof in 6 months. That's two new roofs, failed...

Certainteed Landmark Pro MaxDef is the only way to go. Best quality control of any shingle firm and they look amazing.. Tamko is also reported to use cardboard in their shingles.. Go ahead, play with a tamko then bend around a certainteed landmark pro.. Tamko feels like paper. This is what my two BRAND NEW roofs ended up like with defective Tamko crap.