Asphalt Roofing

When it comes to quality at a great price point, asphalt roofing is sure to exceed expectations. Advancements in market offering make asphalt shingles a flexible and reliable choice for all styles of home.

The Benefits of Asphalt Roofing

When choosing the right roofing style, it is important to weigh all of your options and find the best fit for you and your home or business. To help in your decision making, we have put together a list of benefits to asphalt shingle roofs below. Take some time to think about what matters most to you and use these details to make an informed decision. If you have any questions or would like to know more about asphalt shingle roofing, contact us!

Popular & Affordable

Asphalt shingles are the most common and most affordable shingle type when considering price, ease of maintenance, and installation.

Lightweight

Increased durability and extreme weather performance, compared to many of the heavy duty alternatives

Fire Resistant

Fiberglass-based asphalt shingles are more fire resistant than other roofing options when paired with fire code-compliant underlayments.

Quality Lifespan

Asphalt shingles last roughly thirty years, and their low initial cost (and Big Fish Contracting’s fifty-year guaranteed warranty) makes them the “best bang for your buck.” Protective treatments are also available for an additional cost to extend the life of your roof even further.

Variety

There are many options of colors, styles, and sizes of asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles can also be modified to mimic other styles of roofing shingles like wood, slate, or tile.

Energy Efficient

Some asphalt shingles have cool-roof technology options that reduces the heat absorbed by your roof which can lower your cooling costs. More so, if your shingles meet ENERGY STAR standards, you may qualify for rebates, which can save even more money.

Low-Maintenance

If asphalt shingles are damaged, they are inexpensive and easy to repair or replace.

Easy Installation

Asphalt roofing installation is shorter, simpler, and the least expensive of any kind of shingle.

Environmentally Friendly

New asphalt shingles can be layered directly on top of old ones lowering landfill impact and many are becoming recyclable as well.

Certification Where it Matters Most

Big Fish Contracting is not only fully insured with 20 years of experience in the industry, we’ve also been awarded several certifications by the country’s leading shingle provider CertainTeed to back up our consistent and quality performance. We have not only been chosen as one of Wisconsin’s few SELECT ShingleMasters (SSM), but we have also been awarded the title of Premier Company.

What Does it Mean to be a Select Shingle Applicator?

SELECT ShingleMaster™ (SSM) – This is the top level CertainTeed roofing credential, and represents the highest standards of excellence, quality, and knowledge in the shingle roofing industry.We are one of a select few in Waukesha and Milwaukee and surrounding counties. An SSM has shown extensive knowledge of shingle installation and quality through rigorous testing, and have provided CertainTeed with proof of workers’ compensation and liability insurance. Only an SSM can offer you the highest level of SureStart PLUS™ extended warranty coverage when an Integrity Roof System is installed on your home.

What Does it Mean to be a Premier Company?

A Select ShingleMaster is in the top 1% of his profession. There are several qualifications a roofing or contracting company must meet in order to be classified as a Premier Company. These qualifications include:

The most well-qualified roofing installers
Excellence in product knowledge
Fully insured and established
Ethical conduct and customer focused
Up-to-date and ongoing credential requirements met
Only a SELECT ShingleMaster can offer Certainteed’s strongest warranty

Our Certified Status Allows Us to Offer the Best Warranties

CertainTeed Landmark Products Explained

There’s more to choosing an asphalt roof than selecting the style alone – you also need to select the type of asphalt shingle you would like applied to your roof. Because Big Fish Contracting only works with the very best, most vetted roofing materials, we’ve gathered all the details on CertainTeed’s Landmark asphalt shingle products for your review.

While you can use these details to help better understand our products, it is our promise to you that we will walk you through all the details together and help you make the best decision for your home.

Good

Landmark Specifications

Dual-layer laminated fiber glass-based construction
Traditional color palette of natural wood or slate
235 lbs. per square
Nail Track for faster installation
Lifetime limited transferable warranty against manufacturing defects on residential applications
10-year algae resistance
10-year SureStart protection includes:
- Materials and labor costs
15-year 110 MPH wind warranty with upgrade to 130 MPH available

Better

Landmark Pro Specifications

Dual-layer laminated fiber glass-based construction
250 lbs. per square
Premium Max Def color palette
Nail Track for faster installation
Lifetime limited transferable warranty against manufacturing defects on residential applications
15-year algae resistance
10-year Sure Start protection includes:
- Materials, labor, tear off and disposal cost
15-year 110 MPH wind warranty with upgrade to 130 MPH available

Best

Northgate Specifications

Dual-layer, high performance
270 lbs. per square
Greater cold-weather flexibility and impact resistance
- Certified UL 2218 Class 4, the highest impact resistance classifcation possible
Increased ductile properties and granule adhesion
Enhanced crack resistance better weatherability
Shrink resistance
Max Def color palette
Lifetime limited transferable warranty against manufacturing defects on residential applications
15-year algae resistance
10-year Sure Start protection includes:
- Materials, labor, tear off and disposal cost
15-year 110 MPH wind warranty with upgrade to 130 MPH available

Understanding Shingle Placement and Type

Learn more about the different shapes and types of shingles that may be applied to your home based on the style of roof you have. Use the diagram below to identify the shapes of shingles that you may need for your home.

WinterGuard

Underlayments are designed for use on residential roof decks as a water-resistant layer beneath roofing shingles. We find that Winterguard is an exceptional product for preventing leaks and ice dams on roofs. Here in Wisconsin, this is a must-have product in order to help your roof weather our tough winters.

Roofers Runner or Diamond Deck

High-performance underlayment provides a water-resistant layer over the roof deck and a secondary barrier against leaks. Roof Runner is the felt that we use the most often and it is a great product. Diamond Deck has slip resistant feature that we would typically use on a steeper pitched roof. Both are excellent products.

Swift Start

The purpose of starter shingles is to save both time and money. The first row has to be half the width of a normal shingle. By using a starter, it eliminates the need for trimming down a regular shingle. This will cut down labor time and make your project go much faster. Swift Start is designed to work specifically with the Landmark series of shingles for consistent appearance and performance.

Shingles

We use high-quality asphalt roofing shingles manufactured by CertainTeed. You will find a wide variety of colors and styles to fit your particular needs. We recommend you choose the best product, covered by the strongest warranty in the business. The two main products that we use are Landmark, and Landmark Pro. We also use Northgate regularly. Which is a product with some better features, but has a very similar look to Landmark.

Shadow Ridge

CertainTeed does an excellent job of matching hip and ridge cap to their shingles. Shadow Ridge works great with there Landmark series to give you a perfect finish for hip and ridge lines.

Ridge Vents

Certainteed Ridge Vents are designed to provide exceptional weather protection and superior ventilation. Ventilation is enhanced by the use of an external baffle that deflects wind weather over the vent and creates negative pressure to “pull” air from the attic, resulting in increased airflow.