In 1989, when I installed my first asphalt shingle, there were many changes in the roofing industry. The end result was to reduce the weight to accommodate a more flexible tile. Old shingles in the US were known as asphalt roofing shingles or standard 3-tab strip shingles. At that time there were other shingles on the market known as standard strip asphalt composition shingles or architectural shingles called Timberline or heavy shingles known as random shingles, and three or standard shingles were becoming composition shingles.

The earliest organic shingles were simply called number five crude oil asphalt shingles with the advent of the standard fiberglass strip composition. Owens Corning helped innovate this process. As they are the largest fiberglass manufacture in America today.

Many of the other shingles are made from Owens Corning fiberglass mats. I was told this directly by Owens Corning as a result of a factory tour of the shingle anatomy required by Owens Corning Certification. Most of the old asphalt shingles have been ripped off and are now in landfills across the US.

New fiberglass composition shingles are the norm in today’s society. I know this because I am a professional contractor, not someone who expects to be right in marketing, although marketing takes precedence over anything else for any business model.

References are always best just to let you know my feelings on the subject. I have personally installed many shingles in my life and have always known that the newer shingle is considered composition due to the composite composition of the materials that have been combined by the various manufacturers in the US today.

If you find true asphalt shingles today they are likely made in a third world country where resources are limited, the standard strip shingle was the first of this innovation followed by a host of various shingle brands. Any and all fiberglass shingles are considered composition shingles by most roofing professionals.

These asphalt composition shingles have fire resistance ratings, wind resistance warranties and failure warranties based on fiberglass and asphalt fiberglass thickness, granules and algae resistance ratios. Asphalt composition shingle is made to outlast old asphalt shingles so as not to put more weight than the asphalt roof structure can support in accordance with the ICC specification on roof structure and span weight load limitations . Asphalt composition is lighter, more flexible and durable than the old asphalt shingle from 1989 and earlier.

GAF Elk is the largest asphalt roofing manufacturer in the US and has brands in the world for asphalt roofing shingles. Owens Corning and CertainTeed carry a multitude of standard, architectural and designer strip roofing products. The same can be said for Atlas and Tamco, which today manufacture asphalt composition roof shingles in the United States.

GAF/Elk offers the strongest warranties on its roofing materials for its Master Elite and Certified Roofing Contractors. I welcome any and all feedback from CARE (Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence) and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association of America (ARMA), as well as any National Association of Roofing Contractors of America. (NRCA), members or affiliates to correct my definition on the difference between asphalt roofing shingles and asphalt composition roofing shingles.

There are roofing shingles that I have seen come and go, like masonite tile, which is a composite material that requires flashing between each joint to seal it. There are also concrete tiles that I would consider composite since they don’t have the attributes of slate or clay tiles, known as concrete tiles. There is also another material called Mira Vista which was a fake slate made by Owens Corning that would fall under the composite material which was made of plastic or a plasticizer type composite material.

In any case, it is up to you to decide what type of roof you would like to put on your house. Every shingle manufacturer in the US is an asphalt composition roofing shingle. All Asphalt fiberglass composition shingles come with a 20-year to lifetime warranty and any warranties in between.