The dirty secret about the roofing industry. Here's what they don't want you to know...and, yes, hail proof shingles DO exist.

It's no secret hail storms drive the roofing business in Denver. Actually, hail is very prevalent during the late Spring and Summer along the entire front range - basically Colorado Springs up to Fort Collins - and roofing companies from all over the U.S. come to Colorado to take advantage of this opportunity.

If you've never had your home damaged by hail or you've never climbed up on your roof to inspect your roof after a storm then you probably don't have a solid understanding of what hail can do to your roof covering, especially asphalt shingles.

Large hail (let's say quarter size and larger) can reach speeds of roughly 50 MPH and up to 100+ MPH depending on the size (https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/hail). 3-4" hail not only does more damage because of its size, but it's also coming down much faster! Imagine a legion of major league baseball pitchers hurling 1000s of fastballs at your roof!! That's going to do a lot of damage.

Smaller hail (dime size and less) doesn't typically do much damage to roofs, especially if the shingles are newer and in good shape (meaning the attic is properly ventilated and the sun hasn't dried them out too much). Your plants may get shredded, but the likelihood of the shingles getting damaged is pretty slim.

Big hail coming down at 100 MPH is going to do damage, of course. BUT, what about hail in the quarter sized to golf ball sized range (1-1.75")? With a standard 25-30 year asphalt shingle, even brand new, it's very likely this will get damage.

Now, what does that mean? What is hail damage? We hear this phrase all the time from homeowners, "I don't have hail damage. My roof looks fine from the ground." Yes, you're right, it does look fine...from the ground. This is why we get up and do a visual AND physical inspection. Your eyes can deceive you, especially at the wrong angle (like, from the ground).

When hail hits the shingles traveling even at 50 MPH, it impacts the shingle with a ton of force and damages the surface. Now, unlike the hood of your car, the hail hits can actually break the backing of the mat and that's where the trouble begins.

If the backing is broken, now water can potentially get down to the decking and into your house. After a storm, your roof has 100s or 1000s of these hits on it - all are potential leak points. The only option at this point is to file an insurance claim and get the roof replaced. No big deal, right?

It's no big deal if you don't mind paying your deductible each time, having a claim against your policy now, your premiums going up, having your life disrupted during the build, and having all of that roofing waste piling up the landfills. Sure, no sweat.

Roofing materials are the 2nd biggest contributor to landfills and, with the large number of hail claims each year in Denver, it's just getting worse. You'd think roofing manufacturers would create a hailproof roof by now, right? Well, at least one that's affordable anyways.

Tile is probably the most hail"proof" of the products out there, but it's super heavy and a pain to deal with down the road (tiles will chip and break and replacing them isn't always cheap). Metal and synthetic products have been out for years but are generally very expensive to install and often out of the price range for most homeowners.

Asphalt is the most common roofing product in Colorado, by far. It's cheap, easy to install, and is fairly lightweight (compared to tile). But, and here's the part other companies don't want you to know, it gets damaged SUPER easily. Almost TOO easily.

Why? Why not just make a better product so you don't have to get your roof replaced after every moderately severe hail storm??

Why? Because both the manufacturers AND the roofing companies are banking on doing your same roof again a few years down the road. There, I said it. They want your shingles to get damaged. It's a big part of their business model. It's the same reason cell phone companies make new phone models and car companies make new car models - repeat business.

If everyone had indestructible shingles, they'd be out of business. Well, good thing not every company thinks like this.

We have embraced a new line of products from a company out of Burleson, TX called F-Wave. They have developed a line of synthetic shingles that are truly the roofing product of the future. Hail storms are going to be a part of our future, but replacing roofs doesn't have to be!

They are designed to withstand even the largest hail. F-Wave is so confident in their product that they include a 5-year hail warranty! No asphalt product has that, not even the Class 4 impact resistant shingles.

Why? That's because even Class 4 shingles will get damaged in golf ball sized hail.

Many of our clients have become tired of the status quo and are asking us for another solution. F-Wave is the best option we've found on the market! It performs well in both the ice ball and steel ball tests (the main 2 testing practices for determining impact resistance) and is the only product out there to pass BOTH tests.

It looks amazing and is incredibly affordable. It's a little more than high-end asphalt, but less than tile. When you factor in the premium savings you should be able to receive from your insurance company AND not having to pay multiple deductibles down the road, F-Wave is a no-brainer upgrade.

Our stance is that we want to put on the best roof possible that's within your budget and not have to do your roof again in 3-5 years. Instead, when your house does get hit again, you'll refer all of your neighbors to us who didn't upgrade to F-Wave before and now are stuck replacing their roofs again and you're not!

If any roofer tries to get you to put on standard asphalt shingles and has not given you the option of upgrading to F-Wave, tell them to pound sand! They don't have your best interests and financial well-being at heart and they need to hit the road.

Now, don't get me wrong, we DO install a lot of asphalt roofs. F-Wave is new to the Colorado market and IS a premium product so not everyone is in a position to upgrade. We get that, but we've made a commitment to doing roofing the right way and that's by showing you that there IS a better way than sticking with the same ol', same ol'.

Don't fall for the old way of doing things. It'll just cost you more in the long run!

If you have any questions about F-Wave shingles or would like to see some samples, get in contact with us today!