Thermal Splitting Roof Shingles

It s possible that shingles made by some manufacturers do not meet the astm standards for tear resistance.

Thermal splitting roof shingles.

Thermal splitting is due to the contraction and expansion the shingle experiences as a result of changing temperatures. This damage would lower the defense of your home by allowing water to leak into your roof. Thermal splitting happens when the shingles on your roof expand and contract at quickly. Thermal splitting is common in low quality asphalt shingles.

It is characterized by thin large cracks between asphalt shingles. Thermal splitting typically happens where shingles bridge the joints in the underlying layer of shingles. It may also form a diagonal pattern up the roof following the stair up pattern of the offset joints made during installation. The term thermal splitting or cracking is a bit of a misnomer as in most cases the result of thermal splitting is a tearing of the shingles.

Reason behind thermal splitting in asphalt shingles. This usually happens where the roof shingles connect to the joints in the underlying layer of shingles. Splitting happens when thermal expansion causes the different layers of a shingle to literally pull themselves apart from each other because one of the layers is secured by a fastener. On the other hand cracking is caused by more gradual wear and tear with thermal expansion creating smaller tears at a time so the cracks are more shallow.

Shingle splitting due to temperature related expansion and contraction is called thermal splitting. Even where shingles meet the standards it s possible that the standards themselves were defective. Splitting over shingle joints. A variety of factors lead to this problem including thermal cycling and the adhesive that holds each shingle in place.

Splitting thermal splitting occurs due to changes in temperature that cause shingles to expand and contract. Shingles expand in warm temperatures which cause the joints between them to decrease in size. These conditions create stresses between the two assemblies that if extreme enough can result in shingle splitting or buckling. Meanwhile they shrink in cold temperature and the joints between them become larger.

Regardless of what you call it this tearing is caused by thermal expansion of the material. Thermal splitting is due to temperature related expansion and contraction. Just because shingles are thermal cracked dosen t give the insurance company a get out of jail free card. Whether you have conventional 3 tab shingles or laminated asphalt shingles you may have to deal with thermal damage like this if your home is exposed to extreme temperature swings.

There are no industry standards that specify the minimum bond strength of shingle adhesive strips.