Impact-Resistant Shingles

Kansas City, KS is no stranger to hail. In 2017, the city had 24 hailstorms, many of them involving golf-ball-sized projectiles. The city is located in “Hail Alley,” a vertical stretch of land spanning the middle of the United States that has the most frequent and severe hailstorms in the country. Throughout the spring and summer, hailstones can pile so high that snowplows are needed to remove them.

These storms also come with a heavy price tag. In 2001 a St. Louis thunderstorm that produced hail and five tornadoes caused an estimated $2.2 billion in damages. It was the second-costliest thunderstorm in U.S. history, after a 2010 Phoenix storm that caused $2.8 billion in damages1.  

Shawn Bellis, owner and operator of Kansas City-based Epic Exteriors, has seen this in action. Eastern Kansas was battered by storms in March of 2017, including a highly destructive one. “The hail was massive,” said Bellis. “People were on the news showing off the baseball-sized pieces of hail. We replaced 30-40 roofs in the weeks after.” 

One local homeowner replaced a roof just a few weeks before the big storm hit, but it was so badly damaged by the March storm that another roof replacement was needed. This time, instead of going with a standard asphalt shingle, Bellis and the homeowner tried something different: NorthGate® ClimateFlex® impact-resistant shingles from CertainTeed. NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles are made with rubber-like polymers that enhance weatherability and provide an industry-leading Class 4 impact-resistance rating. It looks like a standard architectural asphalt shingle, installs just as easily, yet offers greater resistance to cracking, tearing, and surface granule loss. Not long after Bellis installed NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles on his client’s home, they were put to the test. Another bad hailstorm hit the city just two months after the new roof installation.  

“A lot of roofs were destroyed—around 15 of which had been replaced after the March storm. They were now totaled again,” said Bellis. “The hail wasn’t as large that time, but the level of damage was the same.”

While other roofs in the area had to be replaced, the NorthGate ClimateFlex roof was undamaged and remained so through an onslaught of 2018 storms.  

Bellis isn’t the only roofing professional pleased by impact-resistant NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles. Michele Doning, owner of Edgerton, Kansas-based KNM Construction LLC, has firsthand experience with NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles as well. After her client’s roof failed in December 2017, Doning replaced it with NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles.  

“The roof looks great, and it survived our first round of severe weather in late April,” said Doning. “Several homes nearby needed roof repairs and had to await insurance adjusters.”

Many insurance agencies offer discounts if homeowners choose to install impact-resistant roofing products. Polymer-modified shingles like NorthGate ClimateFlex offer more impact protection than the typical asphalt shingle, and often qualify for discounts.  

With extreme weather becoming more common in all regions of North America, impact-resistant roofing materials may soon be the norm. Not only can they help homeowners save money on insurance premiums, but they also offer the peace of mind that comes in knowing that everything and everyone under the roof is protected by shingles that meet the industry’s toughest impact-resistance testing standards.

Staying Safe During a Storm

Part of keeping your family safe during a storm is having a plan. Here are tips you can follow before a storm occurs to keep you and your loved ones safe.

• Develop an emergency communication plan and enclose printed copies of important numbers, IDs, medical records, credit cards, etc., in watertight folders  \
• Put away some emergency cash—credit may not work in a major disaster 
• Know your emergency evacuation route and share it with your family 
• Purchase an NOAA-approved weather radio and pay attention to warnings
• Build an emergency preparedness kit 
• Know where to take shelter during different types of storms
• Keep a backup generator ready in case of power outages
• Keep portable phone chargers and/or extra phone batteries charged

For more storm safety tips, visit www.ready.gov  

Sources:

1. https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/cost-of-hail-damage