Three Tab Asphalt Shingles

What It Is

For decades this was the standard roof in America and there are still tens of thousands of them on this side of the river. It is a single layer of mat with three notches cut in it. Simple, light and cheap.

Where It Wins

• The lowest price to get a sound roof on a building
• Light, so it suits an old frame with no capacity to spare
• Fine on a rental, a garage or a house being sold

Where It Does Not

• Hail splits it far more readily than a laminated shingle
• Wind gets under the tabs once the seal strip lets go
• Fifteen years is a realistic life here, not the number on the wrapper
• It telegraphs every dip and ripple in the decking

In the Quad Cities

We install it when somebody asks for it and we rarely recommend it. The gap in price to an architectural shingle is smaller than the gap in life, so the cheaper roof usually costs more per year.

Colors