You’re shopping for a specific roofing shingle in Colorado, perhaps a cool one. You know the manufacturer makes them you have a friend in California or Arizona that has them, but they’re not available here in Colorado. How do you get those cool shingles? Why does asphalt shingle availability vary from one part of the country to another? We know this can be frustrating, and we’re here to help.
Short Answer: Asphalt shingle availability primarily depends upon supply and demand. Cool shingles aren’t as in demand in Colorado as they are in Arizona, that’s why they generally aren’t available here. You can get them, you just have to find a distributor. Keep reading to learn more.
Demand
The primary reason asphalt shingle availability varies is because of demand. Simply put, there’s not enough demand in a certain area for Shingle X. For example, a homeowner in Phoenix, Arizona, doesn’t need high-wind resistant shingles. The wind doesn’t blow very often there. And when it does, it’s not very strong. There’s no demand for that product there. What that person does need, however, is a cool asphalt shingle because of the blistering heat. So, it doesn’t make sense to offer a product to that Phoenix homeowner that doesn’t match their region, or weather, or climate.
That’s not to say you can’t get a product that isn’t generally offered in your area. Let’s say you want that asphalt shingle with the high Energy Star rating. You can get it. You just have to find a distributor that will ship or deliver it to you. However, something you need to keep in mind is that that particular product might not completely fit all of your requirements.
Maybe you’re most concerned about the warming climate and you want an asphalt shingle with the highest SRI (Solar Reflective Index). A higher SRI value, the more heat is reflected, which means a lower Summer cooling bill for you 🙂 Using Owens Corning as an example, that’s going to be their TruDefinition Duration Cool line of shingles. They have a SRI of 20 or higher, but they are not impact rated. You might be better off with Owens Corning’s TruDefinition Duration Storm line in Antique Silver. These are at least impact resistant, and the color will reflect more heat than, say, Onyx Black 😉
NOTE: if you want a roofing product that has a high SRI AND impact resistant, you should seriously consider either stone-coated metal shingles, such as Westlake’s Barrel-Vault in Dover white, or any sheet metal roofing product, such as standing seam. Any sheet metal product, in any color, is the coolest roofing material for Colorado. And that includes all of their colors.
Production Issues
Shingle demand aside, sometimes there can be other asphalt shingle availability issues. As we’ve all noticed lately, some companies are struggling to fulfill orders or keep inventory on the shelves, primarily due to Covid. Covid aside, sometimes there are production problems. The roofing industry is not immune to this. We’ve gotten reports from some of our suppliers that, although a particular asphalt shingle is normally available, it isn’t at this time due to their inability to get raw materials from their supplier to manufacturer the shingles.
If you’ve encountered this with a roofing product you want, your options are (a) be patient or (b) , if you need new asphalt shingles right away, choose another product. Luckily there are different roofing manufacturers and products to choose from. If this is a situation you’re in, contact us and let us know which product(s) you’re interested in. We might be able to find an alternative product or manufacturer.
Staffing
We’ve all gotten sick from the common cold, or flu. Sometimes you get sick and you can’t go to work. Or, lately, a lot of people are calling-in sick from Covid. Again, asphalt shingle manufacturers are not immune to this problem. Sometimes shingle manufacturers, or their suppliers, don’t have the staff to manufacture the raw materials, such as the granules on the shingles, or assemble the products, or deliver them. Unfortunately, this happens, and, the best we can do is be understanding and patient, or choose a different shingle.
The Bottom Line
If you’re having a hard time finding the shingle you want on your own, let us know. Sometimes we can find a different shingle supplier or a different manufacturer. We can help. Keep in mind, sometimes the shingle you want, isn’t necessarily the one you need, as the Rolling Stone’s song ‘You can’t always get what you want’ goes 🙂