Shingle choices for 1990s colonials in Stow, Ohio

Quail Highlands and Eastwicke Farms were built in the 1990s, and their two-story colonials are now 25 to 35 years old. Many still carry the shingles the builder installed. When those come off, the shingle that replaces them will sit on the house into the 2050s. It is worth an hour of thought. This post covers the choices that matter on a tall, many-gabled Stow colonial. The basics are on the page about architectural shingles for Stow roofs.

What is on a 1990s Stow colonial now?

Builders of that decade used either 3-tab shingles or the early laminated shingles that were just becoming standard. You can tell from the driveway. Flat, even rows with a slot every twelve inches are 3-tabs. A surface with random tabs and shadow lines is laminated. Either way, a first roof from 1994 is past the 20 or 25 years those products were commonly sold for.

Why do architectural shingles suit a tall house?

Three reasons, and the first is wind. A two-story roof sits higher and catches more of it, and the steep front gables present a broad face. Architectural shingles commonly carry wind ratings of 110 to 130 mph, against 60 to 70 mph for many 3-tabs. Stow's permit guide lists a design wind speed of 90 mph, so the first clears it and the second does not.

The second reason is thickness. Two laminated layers hide small waves in thirty-year-old sheathing that a thin shingle would show. On a steep gable facing the street, every ripple is on display.

The third is life. In the Midwest an architectural shingle usually gives 25 to 30 years.

How should you pick a color for a two-story?

On a ranch you barely see the roof from the street. On a colonial with an 8/12 or 9/12 pitch, the roof can be a third of what you see. Color carries more weight, so take more care with it.

• Start with what will not change. Brick, stone and vinyl siding are staying. The roof has to agree with them, not the other way round.
• Match warm to warm and cool to cool. Red and tan brick sit well under brown and weathered wood blends. Gray, white and blue siding sit well under charcoal and gray blends.
• Mind the contrast. Busy multi-color brick wants a calm roof. A plain sided front can take a shingle with more variation in it.
• View samples outdoors. Hold them against the house in morning and afternoon light.
• Read the association rules. If your subdivision has a homeowners association, it may limit colors or ask to approve the choice.

What about shade, streaks and algae?

The street trees planted in these neighborhoods in the 1990s are now about thirty years old. Stow has been a Tree City USA community for more than forty years, so those trees are not going anywhere. A front slope in shade stays damp, and damp north-facing shingles grow the dark streaks most people take for dirt. It is algae. Many architectural shingles are made with algae-resistant granules that slow it. Ask about that feature if your north or east slope is under a tree.

Which parts of the shingle system matter on a cut-up roof?

A colonial with three front gables has six valleys, long rakes and a lot of ridge and hip. The field shingle is only part of the picture.

• Valleys. Ice and water shield goes down the full length first. In a closed-cut valley, shingles from one slope run through and the other side is trimmed to a clean line over them. A neat cut matters, since valleys face the street on these houses.
• Ridge and hip caps. Purpose-made cap shingles are thicker than cut-up field shingles and bend over the peak without cracking.
• Starter strip at the rakes. Tall gable ends take the wind first. A sealed starter along the rake, not only the eave, keeps the edge shingles down.
• Ridge vent. A low-profile vent under the caps lets attic heat out along the whole peak. Stow winters in the secondary snowbelt make that more than a summer feature.

What can a shingle not fix?

A new shingle over an old problem is still an old problem. Three things should be dealt with while the roof is open. Pipe boots from the 1990s get replaced, not reused. Step flashing where the garage roof or a dormer meets a wall gets replaced too. And if a skylight is original to the house, this is the cheapest day it will ever be to swap it. The page on skylight and chimney flashing in Stow explains why.

How does the choice get made?

At the house, with the owner. He inspects every job himself, so the person who walked your valleys is the person helping you choose. You get a photo report the same day, and if the roof is due, one written price good for a year. That gives you months, not minutes, to settle on a color. Installs begin in spring 2027.

Next steps: read the full page on Stow shingle options and wind ratings, see the neighborhood page for roofing in Quail Highlands and Eastwicke Farms, or go to roof replacement in Stow for the whole scope.