Many people search to find a true hail-proof roofing option for their home or building. The idea that a roofing shingle or roofing system exists that is completely hail-resistant seems absurd to many. Hail is very destructive.
Hail destroys a lot of roofs every year in Denver and across many parts of the US. If you have been through the process of getting your roof replaced due to hail, you would probably prefer to not do it again. This is why so many homeowners search to find a better, longer-lasting shingle. A shingle that will survive the next storm.
“There is No Such Thing as a Hail-Proof Roof”
Some roofing consultants will tell you “there is no such thing as a hail-proof roof”. Why they tell you this is likely for one of two reasons.
A. They don’t know about any product that is Hail Proof
B. They don’t want to sell it to you because the roof lasts too long!
Hail Resistant Roofing vs Hail Proof Roofing
Roofing manufacturers steer clear of saying “Hail Proof”. The phrase “hail-proof” is much more definitive than the phrase “hail-resistant” Hail Proof makes one think that hail cannot damage it. Hail Resistant sounds similar but lawyers got involved to put limits on how much hail the resistant label can support, so to speak.
Here is an article in the Denver Post from a couple of years ago about Hail Proof Roofing
Here is an article from Owens Corning – a huge manufacturer of Class 4 Roofing Shingles with the Hail Resistant label.
The subtlety here is using the word Hail “resistant” instead of Hail “Proof”, but only if you are a lawyer, and we are not. To us, HailProof is the most durable. It can take a real hail storm and survive. There is only one product we are familiar with that does this and it is Euroshield. We will discuss this next.
Hail Proof Roofing by Euroshield
This product is impressive. It looks fantastic too. It also has a 50-year warranty. If you don’t want to replace your roof again, look closely at this option.
Euroshield clearly believes in its product. They make a lot of promises and claims and a huge warranty to back it up. We have written a lot about this and you can read more here about Euroshield.
Class 4 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles
Class 4 Shingles are the highest official designation for impact-resistant shingles. While it is the “best” rated, it may not survive a real nasty hailstorm. But it is still the best asphalt shingle that can be purchased and installed at a reasonable price.
Owens Corning Duration Storm Shingle is a class 4-rated shingle. It looks fantastic and comes in a bunch of options for color. We install a lot of this product. You can’t go wrong with it for sure.
We have written about this shingle as well and you can read more about Class 4 Shingles here
Class 3 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles
You won’t find much written about this category of impact-resistant shingle. It’s fine but nothing to write about that is exciting. This is what you would consider a standard roofing shingle, like an Owens Corning Duration shingle. It looks great and performs excellently in normal conditions. But if it is in the way of some decent-sized hail, it will get damaged. This is what most roofing contractors, who are volume sellers, want you to buy. This way they can replace it again 5 years after the next storm.
A lot of homeowners choose it because of cost too.
There is nothing wrong with this shingle. We install them often. It just doesn’t give you extra protection like the other choices. There are thinner shingles you can buy than Class 3. Read on!
Class 2 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles
Class 2 shingles are one of the cheapest options you can buy. Depending on the situation, this shingle can make sense. There are many areas in the US that get no hail. So why would you care about hail resistance? If you live in most areas west of the Rocky Mountains, hail is not an issue. But other weather elements may be. The wind is everywhere so no matter where you live this is a consideration. A better shingle will be designed to handle wind.
Fire can be an issue in some areas. Class 2 is not good for fire worries but it is sufficient for general roofing needs.
Non-Impact Resistant Shingles
This is the final category and it simply means, it is not made for any impacts from the sky or ground, other than rain.
Fire Resistant Roofing
In our next blog post, we are going to do a deep dive into Fire Resistant Roofing for Colorado. We escaped most fires this year (2022) but this is a
regular annual problem for many buildings in Colorado. In 2021 the fires were devastating in both the mountains and right here in the Denver metro area. Fires ripped through suburbs as wind exploded a small human-caused fire into a catastrophic wildfire that destroyed hundreds of beautiful homes in Arvada, Superior, and Broomfield.
We have written about Fire Resistant Roofing in Colorado in the Denver Post previously and you can read more here. If you live in a fire-prone area, considering fireproof shingles is a worthy investigation. We will try to provide you with some new insight in our next post.
Until then, thank you for reading, and let us know if you have any questions we can answer.
