Just got the roof appraiser out to look it over. Soon I’ll need new shingles. I’ll discuss it with the roofing guy we’ll use, but I would like to get suggestions from the knowledgeable among you. It’ll be ‘regular’ type shingles, but I want the good stuff.

Get the highest MPH rating you can get, especially if you're in a hurricane zone.

"Droptine" on here is a reputable roofer and would be a good source.

Class 4 if you can find them.

Best bet is to use whatever brand your roofer might be a master installer for assuming they do enough business with a particular brand to have that classification. Class 4 could give you a discount on your insurance and can be worth it as long as your roofer is upgrading for free or at the worst you pay the material cost difference. The labor is almost exactly the same as current shingles with exception of an extra nail or 2 per shingle. Some roofers quote it off the insurance estimating system and rip people off since insurance is already paying for the labor.

FYI I’m an adjuster with USAA and was with Farmers for lots of years. If you have any questions I’m happy to assist.

This is what we went with after the last bad hail storm a few years ago. We had another hail storm earlier this year and the local roof chasers came thru the neighborhood. When they looked up at our roof the guy said never mind, you have Class 4 so there is no need to even inspect with the size of hail we had.

I had a roofer tell me that the Class 4 does not work long term in Texas as the heat is too high. His supplier does not ship them to Texas for that reason.

I have no idea if he was blowing smoke or what.

Or the additional cost may be prohibitive. It is a commercial building.

Here are a couple of links of homework. It looks like you need to copy and paste the top one.

https://www.abcroofingcorp.com/2023-shingle-roof-quality-guide/#:~:text=CertainTeed%20has%20the%20heaviest%20shingle,They%20also%20have%20fiberglass%20reinforcement.

https://www.certainteed.com/pros-and-cons-impact-resistant-shingles

He lied, class 4 is just an impact rating. My entire neighborhood is class 4

The roofing company you hire is more important than the brand of shingle that is installed. There are a few brands that we will not install due to issues we have encountered either with the shingle itself or with the customer service side of the company, but you really won't see much of a difference in any of the bigger providers. Most roofers have one they prefer but it doesn't mean that the others are bad.

I would talk to the roofer about upgrading to a class IV and see if that is a viable option.

All good advice and much appreciated. The roofer we’ll use is established and well known and has done some work for us before. I know enough now, thanks to ya’ll, to have a discussion with him about what to use.

I don’t know what the insurance company will come back with, but when the appraiser left, the roof was covered in orange chalk marks. Per photos by the roofer, who was first to look at the roof, there was a very large amount of large impact marks.

As long as you don’t put a cheap a$$ 3 tab and go with architectural it won’t much matter. Hail and wind will damage your roof long before they get the chance to deteriorate on their own as a result of quality. Just use a reputable company and you’re good. No funny business companies

Get a class 4 hail resistant shingle, makes a big difference not having to replace the roof every few years and also get 26% discount on your yearly insurance premium, it matters.

When I got my last roof a few years ago, I had my guy put on Class 4 Shingles and it was the same price as regular shingles, I get some kind of Home Owners Discount

My last roof was back when the roofer would eat your deductible, not sure how that game works now of days.

I got my wood fence restained, new gutters, Window screens replaced and even got some glass panes replaced on my windows.

I would see if the insurance company would let me pay the difference for a steel roof.

I would at least ask, at the same time ask what discount steel gets.

they make all kinds of styles in steel shingle type, we used the timberline style.

As far as insurance company is compared you can go back with anything you want but they won’t pay more than cost to go back with what was there originally.

Question?
Do you have spray foam insulation in attic? Some class 4 manufacturers won’t warrant their shingles over foamed attics.

Class 4 is a good shingle but is not last roof you will ever have to put on. I’ve paid for lots and just paid for several in Granbury that were only a couple months old but got hit with tennis to baseball hail. I haven’t seen them stand up to 2-2 1/2” hail they claim to but then you really don’t want that bc your roof will get worn out but not be damaged and then insurance can’t help when time to replace come around.

I do have a foamed attic. Let’s see how this factors in.

my suggestion, although I have no idea of cost now.

get some bids on steel shingles, see what the insurance discount is (fire/hail) and see if it is affordable for your repairs.

you won't live long enough for properly installed to go bad. jmo after a few yrs. building custom homes.

it is probably worth the added expense over time.

^^^This is what I’ve heard. No expert, but heard very little difference in 3 an 4.