Roofing Materials

IKO Roofing Shingles Review: Quality, Costs, Pros & Cons

IKO shingles are available in most regions of the country, though they certainly don’t sell as well as GAF, Atlas, Owens Corning, CertainTeed, and selection is more limited than what’s available from other leading brands.

Yeah, but aren’t IKO shingles junk?

Problem: Reputation is a major reason why IKO asphalt shingles remain a second-tier player in market share.

The brand was once notorious for poor quality. Particularly bad was the issue of granule loss.

Granules are the colored ceramic beads embedded in the surface of the shingle for various purposes that include reflecting the sun to protect the asphalt from heat damage and from drying out and cracking.

Solved: However, IKO seems to have solved the issue. The company spent millions of dollars in the last few years to improve this aspect of manufacturing. Granules are staying on better than they were just a few years ago in tests of brand-new shingles.

While IKO’s reputation still needs rehabbing, the products have improved to the point IKO asphalt shingles are worth considering alongside the names mentioned.

Cheap, good, and premium: To be sure, IKO still makes shingles at various quality levels, just like the other brands, so making blanket statements about quality is meaningless.

This IKO asphalt shingles review breaks down the IKO lines with information and quality ratings for each.

Read more

CertainTeed Roofing Shingles: Landmark Shingles Costs, Pros & Cons

CertainTeed is considered one of the asphalt shingle industry’s top-tier manufacturers for quality and performance. But is it?

Lines like Presidential Shake and super-premium Grand Manor shingles live up to CertainTeed’s reputation; the brand’s largest line, the mid-level Landmark shingles, don’t get the ratings you might expect – ratings are discussed below.

Overview of Options and Cost

CertainTeed carries a huge selection of shingle products from their luxury, mid-grade dimensional or designer shingles, to their standard strip shingles, aka 3-tab shingles.

CertainTeed products tend to be slightly more expensive than most other brands at the top end. But these premium shingles do get generally high marks for durability and longevity. And they are backed by Lifetime warranties.

Asphalt Shingles

$8,500
Average Cost
Metal Roof

$15,500
Average Cost
Flat Roof Membrane

$11,500
Average Cost

See what local pros charge Enter your zip code

All lines considered; CertainTeed shingles typically cost between $4.00 and $8.50 per square foot installed – that’s the same as saying $400 to $850 per square (100 square feet of roofing) installed.

Read more

GAF Roofing Shingles: Timberline Shingles Costs, Pros & Cons

GAF shingles are among the most popular asphalt roofing shingle brands in North America. While not necessarily considered the very best shingle brand, GAF shingles get good ratings from roofers and homeowners, and are considered a good value for the money at between $4.00 and $7.50 per square foot installed, depending on the shingle and accessory choices.

GAF Timberline Fox Hollow Gray shingles

The GAF Timberline shingles are the best-known of the brand’s products. The company makes complete asphalt roofing systems from underlayment to hip and ridge cap shingles.

This comprehensive GAF shingles guide includes a digest-style overview of available products, pros and cons, costs for shingles and accessories, and additional details to help you make an informed buying decision, as well as compare GAF to Owens Corning, CertainTeed, Atlas, and Malarkey roofing shingles.

This review starts with the GAF Timberline shingles and then moves to 3-tab shingles and premium Designer shingles.

GAF Timberline Shingles

GAF claims that its Timberline shingles are the “North America’s #1 selling shingle.”

Read more