New roof, Gaf or owens corning

[DRH1175]

Looking at a new roof for my house. Looking at the Timberline in Gaf or the equivelent in owens corning. Is one better than the other?

[Roofer]

Certainteed Landmark is much better than both. I have used all three. The only time we use Timberlines is because of a color wanted by a homeowner, but now Certainteed has expanded their color lineup.

[Coach1310]

Roofer- what are the positives to Certainteed Landmark over Timberlines? Just curious what the goods/bads are.

[JAR JAR]

I sell both the Timberline 30 Prestique and the Landmark 30. They both rate high for a architect shingle. IMO the Timberlines have a better looking shadow line that makes it look alittle sharper on the roof but the Landmark has a 5 yr Sure Start warranty that will cover 100% of the cost of the shingles and labor to repair any defective shingles.Timberline also has a similar warranty.They both also have a 70 MPH wind warranty. You can't go wrong with either product.

They both are a top of the line product and have a wide varity of colors.

Jar Jar

[Roofer]

Certainteed has more copper in them for algae resistance.

-they have a better warranty

-they are a heavier shingle

-they have a better nailing line

-Landmarks do not crack

-the laminates are more tar on them to keep them together

-overall better shingle and often a better price by a few dollars.

I would take the Owens Corning laminate over Timberlines any day, but the Landmarks are even much better than the Owen Corning.

My wife's uncle works for GAF. Now that they bought out Elk, they now have the Elk colors added to the lineup.

[Roofer]

Another thing that bothers me is that in order to be a certified GAF installer you have to pay, I think it is around $4500. Certainteed on the other hand, to be a certified installer, they use education credit, not money. They have seminars and classes for install and new products. I just went to a seminar lately. Very good info and it gets you on their site as an installer. You also get one on one time with the local claims rep. It's called the Cetainteed Roofing advisory council.

Which company would you put your trust in?

[JohnMickish]

I just had 4 reputable established roofing/remodeling contractors give me quotes on some storm damage I had. All four said that the GAF/Elk is the only way to go. All four complained that the Certanteed company was tough to work with if you have issues. I don't know about Certanteed but GAF/Elk has a transferable warranty wich could make selling a house easier.

[Roofer]

Yep, that's a GAF seller for ya.

We use them if the customer wants a certain color, but they are inferior to Certainteed in every way.

I would like to know what reputable contractors you are talking about.

[bowhunter54]

I have issues with the Certainteed shingles, they have been on the house for about six years and look like they are thirty years old. I have contacted them and sent them samples and are willing to give a whole $407 for 47 square. I would never again purchase a product from them.

[Roofer]

Should have went with Landmarks. If you have Horizons, you have other options for getting them replaced. My guess is you have the cheaper 3 tabs.

My landmarks on my house are 8-9 years old. They have had hail twice and they are starting to show wear now. I never got a hail claim because the shingles are so tough, but the edges are starting to show the signs of hail after a few years now.

Believe what you want. I work with the different brands day in and day out.

We did a multi-plex building a few years ago that had GAF Timberlines on it. They were 5 years old. They cracked in lines top to bottom of the 40 foot roofs. GAF paid for the replacement, but each of the 6 residents had to pay $1000 out of pocket. Too bad we had to put the same shingles back on. I have plenty of pictures of the Timberlines failing within 5 years and causing leaks. The 3tabs are even worse.

A builder we did new houses for always had problems with GAF's flying off the roof before they were even sold (he did build houses in wide open fields though). Got him to switch to Certaineed and never had a problem since.

[dougger222]

I have issues with the Certainteed shingles, they have been on the house for about six years and look like they are thirty years old. I have contacted them and sent them samples and are willing to give a whole $407 for 47 square. I would never again purchase a product from them.

I hope you didn't sign off and cash the check. You should get double to triple that amount.

[dougger222]

Certainteed Landmark is a top of the line laminate shingle. I have laid them all and keep going back to the best, the Landmarks. Last year did several Landmark Premium roofs and have done a few Landmark TL roofs which is the nicest laminate you can buy.

Was up on a 10 year old Landmark roof which got light hail the other day and found no cracking at all and minumal granular loss. Looked good for another 10 years no problem.

GAF has had it's issues just like Certainteed. Certainteed stopped making organic shingles a few years ago. GAF is still making the same fiberglass three tabs that I tear off at age 15 with thermal cracks running all the way through the shingles.

The GAF/ELK merge has left a lot of home owners with blow offs and additions high and dry. The colors no longer are the same.

The last roof I did with a shingle different than the Landmark was the new GAF/ELK last Winter and got 8 slivers in 8 hours. At a rate of one sliver per hour it really cut down on production. The double laminate sections pulled off with ease and they seemed to easy to cut even in 40 degrees weather.

Most salesmen who preach Timberlines don't speak enough Spanish to really know what the installers think of them.

What sets Landmark apart from the rest is 3M. 3M helped with designing a few things on the Landmark a couple years ago. One was the quadra-bond tar strip and the other was the copper granular technology.

I would try out Tamko Heritage before Timberline. The Duration may be a tad better than Timberlines too. I Have good luck a few years ago with IKO Cambridge and IKO Dynasty laminates.

Here's how I look at it. GAF has made Timberlines since 1967. Over the years they have made a few improvements but they pale in comparison to the improvements that Certainteed has made with the Landmarks in the past 10 years.

[JohnMickish]

Yep, that's a GAF seller for ya.

We use them if the customer wants a certain color, but they are inferior to Certainteed in every way.

I would like to know what reputable contractors you are talking about.

I can't/won't tell you (forum policy) but if you do a net search you could probably figure out a couple of them.

You say "that's a GAF seller for ya." for saying Certanteed isn't a good, but aren't you a Certanteed seller saying GAF isn't as good? Every seller believes their product is the best and it's up to us homeowners to get opinions for both sides and go with what we trust is the right choice. Not trying to start a fight, just point it out.

Honestly as a homeonwer I don't really care who's shingles I have as they are both good. IMO. Anyways, the 30-35-40 year warranty is a moot point because shingles won't last that long in this location (that's a safe bet) and I won't be in this house that long.

[Roofer]

I'm not a Certainteed only seller. That's the point. We put on what the homeowner wants, but will sway them to Certainteed because I know they are better.

See if those reputable companies actually have laid a shingle. Most of the salesmen you talk to have never had a tool pouch on, let alone put on shingles. It's simple to show a homeowner in person. We take a GAF shingle and a Certainteed side by side and it's rather simple to tell which is better.

Not saying Timberlines are the worst out there, but there are others that are better and some that are worse.

I understand your point of view, but don't buy something just because a petty salesman says one is better than the other. Chances are, they have never touched a shingle.

[JohnMickish]

If you notice in my original post I didn't say that Certanteed is an bad product, just that the company is tough to work with IF you have warranty issues.

[Roofer]

I agree. All of the companies are tough to deal with for warranty, especially outside of 5 years.

The warranty claim I mentioned earlier for GAF took over a year to get through. It didn't help that the company who installed them the first time installed them incorrectly with a 6" offset and racking them straight up the roof.

[Huskie]

Roofer: Who sells the certainteed landmark shingles, the big box stores or smaller lumberyards like we have here in southern mn. I'm looking at re shingling this summer, smaller roof 27 sq. What do they run a square and what would a good overall price be for my size roof, with tear off-- basic rambler no valleys just a half a dozen vents etc.

[Roofer]

Lumberyards usually have them in stock or they will order for you. If you hire someone, they will get them for you. They are around $54 (our price)a square to buy now, but will be closer to $68 by August. Timberlines are usually about the same price.

Remember to check local codes. You will need I&W shield installed at the eaves up to 2 ft. past interior wall line (usually two rows). With prices now, it would be a good guesstimate to figure $100 a square for materials.

Labor prices will vary depending on where you are.

[Roofer]

Just finished a job with GAF/ELK Prestique. I got plenty of slivers for the trouble. The tar started to fall off of them before we put them down. Luckily for this person, we just threw away a few bundles of the worst ones and did the job with what we could. We were subbed to do the job and I hope the people have no problems. They chose the shingle and the color. At least they will have a warranty with our shingling system. They have been turning down wind warranty claims because of contractor's improper installation.