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Thermal splitting of fiberglass-based asphalt roof shingles was particularly common for product manufactured in the early 1990's. Asphalt Shingle & Other Roofing Material Testing Labs & Services

Roof shingle testing laboratory testing services:

This article lists roof materials testing services and laboratories useful for testing roof shingles and other roof coverings for durability, wind uplift, granule loss, roof covering chemistry, and similar parameters.

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Directory of Roofing Shingle Testing Laboratories

Photograph of reddish brown plumbing flashing rust stains on an asphalt shingle roof (C) Daniel Friedman

[Click to enlarge any image]

Roof shingle testing laboratories support roofing manufacturers by testing shingle samples from the production line to maintain shingle quality control and to avoid manufacturing defects. These same laboratories may provide independent test services to roof failure investigators and insurance companies who are examining roofs for hail damage, storm damage, or other failures that may include defective roofing products.

If your roofing problem is a concern about

Simple roof shingle tests performed by many labs may include moisture and density - in my opinion tests of questionable utility in assessing the cause of a roof failure. Tests of weight and tear resistance and impact resistance and low temperature flexibility are also performed.

A more complex asphalt shingle test performed by some roof shingle testing laboratories is the desaturation test. This procedure analyzes the extent of loss of asphalt from the shingle substrate. As roof shingles age the volatiles are lost from the original asphalt impregnation of the shingle substrate (organic or fiberglass). As the asphalt ages it becomes more dry and brittle and loses some of its adhesive properties.

Roofing tests are guided by a near deluge of ASTM standards - please

see STANDARDS for ROOFING. For example (from the complete list given at this live link)

The asphalt roof shingle desaturation test may look at

Watch out: a desaturation test evaluates the condition of the shingle and may help assess its remaining life but the test alone, without an expert on-site inspection of the building and all roof surfaces, is in my opinion not a complete diagnostic of the cause of roof wear nor an assessment of the condition of the whole roof.

Other critical information is observed on-site such as the condition of different roof slopes exposed to different conditions, variation in roofing over the same roof surfaces, building moisture, roof ventilation, even basement water entry or a history of ice dams that affect roof life. Other critical factors such as original shingle materials and shingle type, thickness, storage conditions, and plies or shingle design are crucial considerations that must be included in any roof assessment of life, condition, cause of damage, etc.

InspectAPedia.com is an independent publisher of building, environmental, and forensic inspection, diagnosis, and repair information for the public - we have no business nor financial connection with any manufacturer or service provider discussed at our website.

Below we list a variety of roof and roofing product testing laboratories who offer roofing durability testing, impact testing, and other roofing material tests.

Laboratories Specializing in Asphalt Roofing Product Testing

Other Roofing Materials & Roof Shingle Test Labs

For Materials, Equipment and Devices Relating to Fire and Extended Coverage Insurance and for Impact Resistant Roofing Materials. Unless otherwise indicated, companies in this list are approved by the Texas Department of Insurance for testing the impact resistance of roofing products. Some of these laboratories offer a wider range of roofing product testing besides impact resistance.

NOTE: listing for Architectural Testing Inc. applies only to the testing of roofing products to determine compliance with UL Standard 2218.

Testing Laboratories Serving a Wider Audience than Roofing Products & Roofing Industry Manufacturers

Asphalt Roofing & Roof Shingle Testing Research

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Qualified experts in the fields discussed at this website (and suitable for the directories listed below), inspectors, forensic engineers, construction & environmental investigators and laboratories: if you are qualified to serve residential or commercial properties and if you are committed to working without actual or apparent conflict of interest (your company does not inspect, test, and also remediate or repair buildings) you may qualify to be listed in this directory without charge.

The content at this website is provided by InspectAPedia.com® as a public service and without any conflicts of interest. This directory receives no support from ASHI, CAHI, CREIA, nor other any home inspection nor from any real estate firm nor any other business, listed or not, at our website. The author reserves the right to list or not list individual or companies and to provide notice of consumer compliments or complaints.

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2019-12-30 by (mod) - looking for roof test lab to send samples from time to time- TPO test cut

George

Thank you for contacting us, as I certainly share your interesting in roofing installation, failures, inspection, diagnosis, and repair - but our forensic lab does not work with roofing test cuts, though we do refer our readers to the roof test labs listed on this page.

In my opinion your tape shows a damaged section that would certainly not give a reliable bond.

For other readers:

TPO Roofing or Thermplastic Polyolefin Roofing is an example of a single ply or membrane roof covering currently widely used on low slope commercial buildings.

TPO roofing test cut for lab analysis - Wilson G (C) InspectApedia.com Wilson

See

TPO ROOFING OPTIONS

On 2019-12-30 by George Wilson - example roofing sample TPO Roofing Test Cut

We are looking for lab to send samples from time to time. I teach a roofing course for industial flat roofing membranes.

This [photo above] is a sample of a TPO cut test.

I show the class cut tests every course.

Please see photo attached. Would your lab consider this a pass or fail? George Wilson, Cindott Inc, 416 606 3270, gwilson18@cogeco.ca. www.roofingtrainingcourse.com

On 2019-05-23 - by (mod) -

Re-posting from private email:

Anonymous asked:

would your lab test reveal the age of a 3-tab shingle

Moderator reply:


At TEST LABS - ROOF SHINGLE https://inspectapedia.com/roof/Roof_Shingle_Test_Labs.php you can find roof and shingle test labs that can do what you need

- keep in mind that nobody is going to tell you the absolute chronological age of a shingle unless you have a receipt or manufacturing date; rather one can tell the wear-age.

On 2019-01-10 by Dennis Klager

I guess what I'm asking is, how evenly spread out is abestos in roof shingles? Could I miss it?

On 2019-01-10 by Dennis Klager

How many samples should I take off of a roof to have tested in a lab for asbestos. Is one sufficient?

On 2017-03-04 - by (mod) -

Possibly, Steve though that sounds odd to me. Usually the minerals in asphalt roofing are copper or possibly zinc, both of which are not particularly attracted to a magnet. There might be metallic fragments in slag or other waste products that might be used in the production of some mineral granules used to coat asphalt shingles. And there might be other metals used in some reflective roof granule coatings.

On 2017-03-04 by Steve Ruiz

I passed a magnet through a pile of granules in the gutter and found many flakes of metal. Are metal flakes part of the "mineral" coat?

On 2016-10-12 by (mod) - shingle product ordered vs installed.

Here are some easy things to check to see if what you paid for is what you got on your roof before looking closely at the shingles themselves

Check what you think you ordered - and what is written in your roof installation contract - against the roofing manufacturer's product catalog. Some shingle types can be immediately distinguished, such as notched 3-tab shingles vs. laminated architectural shingles.

Look at the roof covering material packaging to identify the brand and product model and even the production run number

Ask your contractor for proof of purchase: an invoice from her building supplier, showing what was bought to put on your roof

On 2016-10-12 by Homeowner - product I ordered is not the product that was actually installed.

I feel like the product I ordered is not the product that was actually installed. How do I get a verification. I am certain it is not the same color as I have photos and pieces of my previous roof that was installed less than 1 year ago. The product was the exact same invoice order but the shingles themselves are very thin and as before WRONG color (beyond a variation). Is this a service provided by your company?


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