30 year vs 50 year shingles?

What is the difference between a 30 year and a 50 year shingle? Fundamentally there is very little difference. They are both asphalt shingles. The question remains, will a 50 year shingle even last the full 50 years? The manufactures say they will, but roofers and homeowners alike have their doubts.

Let's talk the cost difference between a 30 year and a 50 year shingle.  Really there is none, unless we are talking about maybe $500 when it comes to buying the materials from a roofing supplier such as ABC supply, SRS distribution, Beacon Supply, Home Depot, Lowes or anywhere else. So then why do we hear about 30 year vs 50 year shingle options so often from roofers? 

Well, the real reason may shock you. Frankly there are differences in the shingles, lets talk those, price aside. Typically a 50 year shingle is going to be heavier, also it is going to be Higher Definition such as the GAF Timberline UHDZ or Timberline HDZ vs something like a IKO Cambridge or a Tamko Heritage which are both 30 year shingles whereas the GAF's are 50 years. Secondly, is the warranty from the manufactures because let's face it, they are the ones giving them. 

So then why do companies show you one price for a 50 year shingle and another price for a 30 year shingle that is thousands of dollars less? The answer is simple. It's sales, and they are giving you the illusion of choice through options. But the reality is they are about the same thing and about the same cost. Nothing proprietary when it comes to an asphalt shingle. As we say in roofing a roof is a roof.

​So then should we just go for the 30 year shingle and save money? Well it isn't that simple. If you are choosing our roofing service then we won't even offer you the 30 year shingle to begin with and we'll just save you money on your purchase as a service provider and give you the best option. But if you are going with another roofing service provider then maybe you should so long as you are getting a registered warranty in your hand from the manufacturer by the roofing company you chose, and we'll talk about that in another Blog post. And look, if it really comes down to that $500 and we can't make it work still with a 50 year GAF shingle, then maybe we aren't the right company for you and you may have bigger problems to deal with such as budgeting for your next roof replacement. Because even the cheapest roof from the cheapest company is still going to be expensive no matter how you slice it. 

To summarize, yes there are small minor differences mainly in the cost, but it is negligible and a reputable roofing company should just offer you the better option to begin with. But don't just take our word for it either. Do your own research and call the suppliers yourself and you may find that it cost a roofing company about the same to install either one. If a roofing company can't give you the 50 year shingle for about $500 more than their 30 year shingle price they've just given you  then you may be getting bamboozled.