The Ultimate Roofing Showroom

Landmark  Premium AR

Landmark Premium shingles are a mid-thickness and mid-weight fiberglass asphalt laminated shingle. The last consumer product report rated this shingle as the Number 2 rated shingle in North America (right after Certainteed's Grand Manor which was rated as number 1).

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These high quality laminated shingles produce good texture with its two layers of architectural style on a heavier fiberglass mat.

Although not anywhere near as thick looking as the Landmark "TL" Ultimate, also made by Certainteed, the Landmark Premium is less expensive and rated very highly by consumer reporting and testing agencies  ( Its earlier,lighter version called the Landmark 50 is the Number 2 rated shingle, compared to virtually all other shingles) {Grand Manor was rated as number 1}.

We believe the texture of a roof is very important to better define a true real wood look, and in the category of 40 year and 50 year laminated shingles the Landmark Premium does a better job of replicating cedar or slate texture, compared to its competitors. Currently in 2008, the Landmark Premium is our thickest and heaviest 2 layer laminate of all the brands on the market.

In fact, it is our opinion that the Landmark Premium is probably the thinnest "category" of asphalt shingles one should consider as an alternative to real wood shingles. For that matter, in any other shingle manufacturer's laminated shingle portfolio that is either "30 year, 40 year, or 50 year" laminated shingles, all of them appear thinner than the new Landmark Premium and all of them do not do any justice to the actual look of real cedar shingles. But if you believe you cannot afford the Landmark "TL" Ultimate( only about $0.40 more per square foot) or the Super-Thick Presidential "TL" Ultimate, then the Landmark Premium is a good investment in texture compared to any other laminated shingles. Our point here is that Landmark "TL" Ultimate shingles really are thick (triple layer laminated high definition), yet Landmark Premium evokes the look and appearance of wood shingles for a little less money.

The Landmark Premium AR, the type we stock and sell in this region, include copper granules within the top granulation to provide algae resistance. The encapsulated copper granules go to work to reduce algae staining on the roofs which could have made unsightly black streaks on the roof. In our climate we believe that the copper granule algae resistant protection should always be used whenever selecting asphalt shingles, and the Landmark Premium "AR" includes this important feature within their construction.

Certainteed recently celebrated its one hundred year anniversary, and is renowned for high quality shingle construction, high quality asphalts, high quality fiberglass mat, and innovative product designs. The company has the history and the solid financial position to provide a solid foundation to its material warranties.

The Landmark Premium now also includes one of the widest nailing areas in the industry. In the critical area where most laminated shingle manufacturers scrimp on the width of the nailing area, Certainteed now has a nailing area about three times as wide as almost every other brand ( with the exception of Malarkey ).

Now fastening shingles just got easier. The roofing installer can now nail these laminates faster and you will have far great expectation that the shingle installer placed the fasteners in the warranted "properly installed" area. Certainteed Landmark Premium shingles using this new "Landmark Wide-Track Q.B." now include a 1.5" wide nailing area versus the normal 0.50" width. The function of this new wide nail zone is to avoid misapplied fasteners, it has a wide nailing area for greater installation accuracy within manufacturer specifications, and improve the shingle performance. In addition Certainteed has added 33% more laminating adhesive by applying four stripes of specially formulated Quadra-Bond laminating adhesive to hold the two-piece laminated shingle together. Finally the wind sealant, that is thermally activated by the sun after installation, is placed on the lower back of the shingle thereby eliminating any chance for the roofers pneumatic nail guns to gum up from the asphalt sealant. This rear placement of the sealant also is an improvement over the traditional top-of-shingle sealant method as it better avoids side-ways tracking of rainwater behind the shingle.

The popular colours for Landmark Premium AR include Mountain Timber, Country Gray, Graphite, Hearthstone, and Platinum. These colours have been the most used in our region as they work well when replacing real wood shingles with these new architectural shingles. Colours such as Mountain Timber and Country Gray blend in well with other existing wood shakes roofs, and thus respects the architecture look of the existing home or subdivision.

As of spring 2008, the Landmark Premium is in the process of changing the name on their colour selection. The colours apparently are not changing, only the name. Graphite will be known as Moire Black Maximum Definition, Hearthstone will b e known as Heatherblend Maximum Definition. Shortly we will reveal the other colour names too. (Marketing departments just can't leave perfectly good names alone.)

The Landmark shingle is also available in a lighter weight and less thick format called the Landmark 30. A very high quality for a typical fiberglass laminated shingle the Landmark 30 weighs about 240 lbs per roofing square, and also includes the Wide-Track QB wide nail zone. These 30 year warranty shingles are typically used by builders in starter level homes, or for homeowners who are re-roofing their existing "normal" asphalt shingles.

Although we have some buyers who select the Landmark 30 when re-roofing their existing cedar shakes, we highly recommend going with much thicker shingles such as Landmark "TL" Ultimate, Presidential Shakes, or Presidential "TL" Ultimate. The problem has been that too many consumers are talked into selecting their shingle by the length of the warranty, and let's face it, 30 years is a long time and its those Landmark 30 type shingles that sell the most as a result. But always remember that the term "30" year is just a way of "classifying" the shingle, and that all 30 year shingles are not very thick, they do not have a high wind warranty, they include a lot less asphalts by weight (the stuff which provides the actual waterproofing properties) are probably not a great choice for a home's protection for the next 15 years, never mind 30 years.

Think of all "30 year" laminates as being THIN, "40 Year" as less THIN, 50 year (now called Landmark Premium) as a MEDIUM thickness, and the Landmark "TL" Ultimate as THICKER texture. The Presidential "TL" Ultimate is ultimate thickness and texture (SUPER-THICK). In the scheme of things the Landmark "TL" Ultimate is a mid-priced solution, the Presidential "TL" is a higher priced solution (yet far less expensive than synthetic slates, wood shakes, or synthetic shakes), and the Grand Manor is a HISTORIC texture but one of the higher priced solutions in asphalt shingles.

If you desire to have worry-free weather and storm resistance from your roofing system, especially in the first ten years primarily, then a "50" year classified shingle such as a Landmark Premium is a better solution. 330 pounds of quality shingle materials will perform better in wind-storms than 240 pound per square 30 year laminates. That alone is a good enough reason to spend an additional $0.40 per square foot, in order to provide peace of mind during those inevitable stormy days and nights.

All in all, the Landmark Premium is a good choice. In a "good-better-best" decision process for selecting shingles, if you are going to replace a wood shake roof the Landmark 50 would be "good", the Landmark "TL" Ultimate would be "better" and sometimes "best", and the Presidential "TL" would be an "ultimate" choice in style, thickness, and texture.

This product is certified by Underwriters Laboratories to meet ASTM D3462, a tough shingle performance standard that is required in many of today's building codes.

This shingle also conforms to CSA Standard A123.5-98