A shingle starter strip is an important part of a residential roofing system. It plays a critical role in reducing the risk of shingle blow-off along the eaves and rakes of the roof. It provides a base under the shingle at the eaves, helping the roof shed water efficiently. As its name implies, every asphalt shingle roof will start with this shingle.

A low-slope commercial roofing system is responsible for keeping the elements out of the building. During times of heavy rain, water with nowhere else to go may pond on the roof. A roof drain prevents water from ponding by providing a way for it to leave the roof.

Growing up in the northeast, tornadoes were these random events that occurred in the movies, and far off places like Kansas. But according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), roughly 1,200 tornadoes occur in the US each year! AND they occur in all 50 states, but primarily in the lower 48 and east of the Rocky Mountains. Given that tornadoes kill more people per year in the U.S. than hurricanes and earthquakes combined, ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute revised the ASCE 7 Standard for Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures in hopes that it will be adopted into the 2024 International Building Code.

If you're a homeowner researching new roofing options, you may be seeing a lot of information on architectural shingles as a popular choice for roof replacements. So, what are architectural shingles? Let's dive in to learn all about architectural shingles and why they are growing in popularity.