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The family of laminated fiberglass shingles produced by Malarkey includes the Highlander 30, the Northwest XL 40, and the incredible and unequaled Legacy 50. They provide a unique architectural appeal simulating natural products such as slate and wood shingles.

All these shingles are produced with the new and Patented "Zone" shingle technology, making Malarkey laminated shingles the most advanced, and the most leak resistant technology available in the industry.

Laminated shingles are the fastest growing type of shingle available today. This is because they offer a very pleasing appearance, enhancing the visual appeal of your project. However, laminated shingles have traditionally provided the roofing contractor with a very small area in which the fasteners must be placed (generally 1/2" to 3/4" ).

The average 25 square house requires over 6000 fasteners to install the roof. Correct placement of so many fasteners in such a small area is extremely difficult and time consuming. Most roofing crews are paid "piece work rates" based on numbers of bundles installed, and they tend to be in a real hurry to nail as fast as possible. Market research indicates that a substantial majority of laminated shingle roofs are not being installed correctly. Manufacturers require correct installation for their warranties to be in effect.

Malarkey created "The Zone" to eliminate the conflict between speedy installation and accuracy in fastener placement. Malarkey laminated shingles equipped with "The Zone" have a nailing area of 1.75", more than three times larger than other laminated shingles. With the larger nailing area offered by "The Zone" your contractor's crews can rapidly and accurately install the fasteners so critical to a successful project.

Voiding the manufacturer's warranty is not the only problem with laminated shingles which are not correctly installed. One of the more noticeable effects of poor fastener placement, especially on steep roofs, is the possibility that the backing strip may slip out from underneath the top layer of the laminated shingle, resulting in roof failure, or at the very least, a very unsightly and probably leaky roof.

Another problem with laminated shingles without the "Zone" is troughing. Troughing occurs where the laminated shingle transitions from a two layer product to a single layer. When installing a non-zone laminate it is not uncommon for nails to be driven just above the critical area where the two layers end  (note: this would be considered an incorrect installation). This "pulls" the single top layer of a laminated shingle down to the roof deck, creating a trough. The troughing effect allows water to run sideways under the shingle, resulting in leaks.

Shingles which feature "The Zone", in addition to providing a much larger overlap area, are constructed with the underlying strip being tapered. This eliminates troughing.

An additional advantage of products with "The Zone" is a significant reduction in the possibility of "blow-back leaks". A blow-back leak occurs when the rain seal (the glue line at the top of the backing strip of laminated shingles)  is breached. when this happens, rain only needs to be blown up about 1/2" to get behind most laminated shingles. This, when added to the troughing effect referred to above, leads to additional leaks. To address this problem Malarkey not only increased the size (tripled) of the overlap area, but added a second rain seal line for increased protection from blow-back leaks.

The result is Malarkey's "Zone" laminated shingle provides twice the protection of other laminated shingles.

No matter what criteria you use in selecting shingles for your next project insist on their correct installation. We live in a "rainforest" in this region, with stormy, windy, rainy, and just plain wet weather attacking our homes. The risks associated with incorrect application far outweigh any other consideration.