There’s nothing like a Wet Coast winter to drive home the importance of having a good roof over your head.

According to James Van Domselaar, the go-to guy for outside sales and everything roofing related at Slegg Building Materials Nanaimo,  asphalt shingles remain the most viable form of roofing for our climate.

Of all the different forms of roofing,  asphalt shingles, he says, “is your most cost effective. There are other options out there like metal, but you’re paying a lot more. You get your best bang for the buck in terms of longevity with shingles.”

Asked for some tips on what should be done when it comes time to choose a new roof, Van Domselaar says first and foremost “is making sure you have a good contractor — assuring that they’re reputable, insured, and experienced. And the second thing is to insure the shingle you’re choosing has the best technology, including advanced wind blowoff protection and algae resistance. Especially on the west coast.”

In terms of changes in materials, Van Domselaar says the type of asphalt used in shingle manufacturing has remained pretty much unchanged for the past hundred-plus years, “but there has been some significant advancement in the technology of asphalt shingle manufacturing.

“What’s happened now is that instead of the oxidized asphalt, there are companies that are switching to polymer modified asphalt, which stabilizes at higher temperatures, and takes 95 per cent less energy to produce, which means it’s much better for the atmosphere.

“It’s a much better quality product,” he says. “You can’t compare one to the other.”

And while this new technology has been available for high-end projects for a while, it is only now coming online for the general public, “so the affordability is there now, and I think it’s going to actually change the industry.”

Terra-coda shingles are always an option, “but we’ve never found if to be particularly popular on the west coast.”

Clay tiles are not condusive to our climate, and ditto he says for the costly concrete tiles which are not a viable form of roofing for the wet coast.

As far as roof warranties are concerned, Van Domselaar says the company’s are making lots of promises.

“They keep trying to one-up each other, but they’ve pretty much maxed out (what they can do),” he said, pointing out consumers can now get a 50-year non pro-rated warranty on asphalt shingles, “but statistically people only stay in there homes seven years,  so (the warranty) is really more smoke and mirrors than anything else.”

That said, most of those warranty’s are transferable should the home be sold, but as a pro-rated warranty of whatever is left on it.

Another option available to homeowners are shingles with a reinforced fastening strip.

Shoreline Roofing & Exteriors is a Victoria roofing contractor and specializes in all Victoria roofing systems. Call or email us for a FREE quote.