Style and Design

Shingle Styles and Design

Residential Roofing Style & Design

For most people, re-roofing is a daunting task. It is one of the more costly and more important home improvements projects you will undertake. It might also be one of the most rewarding. Installing a new roof is one of the few ways of dramatically altering the look of your home.

Homeowners are increasingly opting for architectural or "designer" shingles. Manufacturers across North America are very much aware of the trend and, in recent years, have introduced shingles with upgraded materials, new designs and more sophisticated colours.

The most popular architectural shingle today is the multi-layer laminate. For most of our lifetime, the classic 3-tab shingle dominated the roofing scene. Slowly but surely the benefits of the laminated shingle became apparent to homeowners: the upscale look their shake-like design imparts to a home's exterior; the added protection, often backed by additional warranty coverage; the value both in terms of performance and additional return from the investment if and when the house is put up for sale.

With the increasing volume of sales, the cost of these high-end shingles has gradually come down. At the same time, manufacturers like Building Products of Canada have sought to offer the look in even more economical versions. The Mirage GS shingle uses a proprietary high-definition granule lay-down technology to achieve the multi-layered look.

Roofmaster is the lowest cost and best-selling non-laminate. Its rustic appearance, thanks to embossed character lines and shadow bands, has made it hugely popular in cottage country, especially on Canadiana-style homes with steep slopes and dormers.

The Perfect Tool for the Perfect Job

For those of you who find yourselves frustrated by products that fail to live up to expectations, the asphalt shingle is a remarkable product. It does precisely what it was meant to do... quietly and without fuss.

Shingles protect you, your home and its contents. Your roof is subject to incredible stresses. Yet, when installed properly, it gives years of trouble-free performance with little or no maintenance. Apart from periodic inspections, just reroof and relax.

Few building materials give you the kind of value shingles do. You get a surprising amount of material and technology for your money. It is unusual to think of a shingle as a high-tech item, but it has to be. The chemistry of blending materials to achieve perfect compatibility, more perfect weatherability and reduced aging; the physics of resisting stresses caused, for example, by fluctuating temperatures; the engineering of the product so that easier application features are built in without affecting its ultimate appearance... these are just some of the things that go into a shingle so that you can get so much out of it.

BP Shingle Technology

Several BP shingles, including Roofmaster, have "doglegs" instead of straight edges where shingles butt together. This self-aligning feature not only simplifies and speeds installation but provides a barrier to water penetration at the seams. If water does get in under the shingles (e.g., by wind-driven rain), carefully calculated spacing between the sun-activated adhesive strips under the shingles allows for the water to escape, all the while ensuring maximum adhesion.

Fire-retardant ceramic mineral granules are carefully embedded in the top-coating of asphalt. Once again, balance is the key. The GEM (Granule Embedment Maximization) Process ensures a brighter, more uniform appearance to the shingles and less granule loss.

Regardless of whether the shingle is fibreglass or organic-based, all BP shingles must perform in all climates in all the markets the company serves. The felt used in all organic shingles is made by proprietary paper mills to provide the greatest strength and flexibility. All its fiberglass shingles only use glass mat made by Johns Manville, respected as the finest glass mat available. Unique asphalt formulations make BP shingles more resilient and less brittle in cold weather.

Beyond these "givens" comes a broad selection of style, size and performance options. By design, there's a shingle that's right for every home, every type of roof and every pocketbook.