Ok I did an inspection today on an asphalt shingle roof with numerous problems such as cracked and broken shingles. The installer left part of the black on the shingle exposed I believe for appearance purposes as the whole roof is done this way with the exception of one area where no black is shown. My initial reaction is improper overlap is causing the cracking due to flaps not adhering properly. Roof is 7 years old. I feel that the install is faulty but would like a second opinion.
Faulty install is an understatement. I am amazed at the butchers that try and pass themselves off as tradesmen.
Ya don’t need a second opinion just write what you see;-)
That’s what I figured. Thanks for the input.
The installation is crappy but not due to the overlap change in #2. Those are three tab shingles meant to look like architectural grade shingles or wood shingles/shakes. A slight reveal of the black is correct to imitate the shadow of a thick wood shake. It looks like someone had the first 15-20 rows down and then realized that. The whole thing looks like a DIY install. The cracking may be due to expansion and contraction and it can actually be caused by the adhesion of the shingles being too great, not too little. We’re there tabs not adhered throughout the roof?
I agree, those are shadow lines meant to be exposed. The exposure is set by the top of the key slot cut-out. It is a very bad install however, with other issues.
I have seen a lot of 3-tab shingles which are designed to look like architecture shingles, but have never seen any that has left black showing like this for a shadow effect. Our most popular shingle brands in this area are Owens Corning, GAF, and Certainteed. I have been on the manufacturers websites and no where have I seen a 3-tab shingle with a shadow like that. OC and Certainteed has a product that looks similar. I am trying to find out for sure who is the manufacturer but have had no luck to this point. Some tabs are loose others are sealed. Many have had adhesive added to hold them down. This is on a 6 unit townhome building.
They are all discontinued. Look up:
These could just be a generic brand meant to imitate the name brand faux-architectural meant to imitate the laminated architectural meant to imitate real wood shakes. 
The irregularity of the black stripe is the key, that can’t be an adhesive strip because it doesn’t cover the full shingle. It is printed or colored onto the shingle.
Interesting. Thanks for that info Cameron. We have mostly architecture shingles here due to the wind and storms. That explains the differences too. It’s most likely they’ve had to replace some of the shingles already and whom ever did the repair matched them as close as they could since it is a discontinued product.
Since the end exposed portion of the shingle is showing this is a shadow line built into the shingle. If you like the line you keep it if you don’t you move up higher and keep it hidden.
If it is not a shadow line you find the black part is sticky and generally not that wide at least from what I see here.
Overall I see nothing wrong other than the obvious loose shingles, cracked shingles, etc. As long as the roof was overall was nailed sufficently, then you would be foolish to write the whole thing up. I would say whoever installed it had difficulty at valleys and ridges.
I also would say that there are two different brands of shingles. They may have ran out of the ones with black edges and finished up with a plain 3 tab.
The exposure looks excessive, but good point about the cutouts. Shingles are often designed to terminate the butts 1/4" or so above the cutouts.
Adhesive strips are not always continuous but when they’re applied in sections, I think it’s a it’s a sign of a cheap shingle. The adhesive strip is the most important component in wind resistance.
Bad install. Comment on overall bonding condition too.
They are designed to be installed with the shadow part showing. If you don’t want the shadow…don’t order the shingles that have a shadow! :roll:
The cracking may be due to improper handling or installation when it was too cold. Some of the cracking actually looks like tearing, and judging by the rest of the installation, poor workmanship.
It is an improper install…tell them to try again.
