Thread: Cap shingles cosmetic or does it matter?

I see this periodically and always write it up and will continue to do so. I'm really wondering for my own knowledge.... Does it really matter if field shingles are used on the cap? Has anyone ever seen a leak because of this? How about a higher instance of blowing off?

Just curious what you guys think....

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Matt,

I can't imagine that it would really matter from a practical standpoint. They are both manufactured the same. However, if the manufacturer states that you must use ridge cap shingles, then they might not warranty an installation otherwise. Roofing manufacturers are not the most scrupulous.

I would mention it in the report, but tell my client(s) that it should work fine. Obviously they ran out of hip and ridge at the end.

that wouldnt fly where i am, i mean that garbage would absolutely fly and wouldnt last a year in florida. Those loose ends would become wings and end up on the neighbors house. Asphalt shingles are part of the water proofing syatem, not much but to my knowledge are part of it and this installation would not be acceptable in my report, for what that is worth to you. I would recommend repairs regardless of who pays for it.

I agree with Jerome. Proper material fo proper job. Ridge shingles are thicker than regular. The uneven areas on the others will cause lift in high wind and water can go right under. Besides looking like BS. Was my electrician up there doing some roofing again?

Have to agree with Jerome and Wayne. They should have used manufactured ridge caps. With a dimensional or architectural shingle the manufactured ridge caps that I have seen are a single shingle and do not have all of those edges.

The manufacturer's installation instructions that I have seen for typical three-tab shingles allow you to use either factory made hip and ridge caps or allow you to make your own by trimming tabs off the field shingles. The installation instructions for architectural shingles specify only factory made caps and have no provision for making your own.

The three-tab shingles are a single layer while the architectural shingles are made with multiple layers that are laminated together. The architectural shingles need to lay flat. Bending them over the ridge can cause the layers to delaminate or the layers on the outside of the bend radius to tear. This will result in failure of the roof covering at the ridge long before the shingles in the field reach the end of their life. The factory made cap shingles are designed to be able to bend across the ridge.

It's hard to tell because the view from the photo is not close enough, but it looks to me like the shingle on the end of the ridge that is nearest to the camera has a vertical crack down the center.

Two more comments:

If the roofer was lazy and cut corners here, where else on the job did he do the same -- especially in areas that may not be visible during the inspection?

I point out that the roof covering on a steep pitched roof has two primary purposes. One is to keep out the water and the other is to look nice when you pull into the driveway after a long day at work. Those home made caps mixed together with the factory made caps look like crap.

The problem with using the laminated shingle as a ridge cap is when you bend them the lamination tends to let go therefor water ingress is possible, minimal, as it is at the top of the slope, but definitely not good practice (they shouldn't blow off as the shingles will self seal).
By the look of it a relatively inexpensive fix. 1 bundle of 3-tab shingles (approx $20) a knife to cut them ($5-10) handful of nails ($0.50),a hammer ($10-30 if you don't have one already) a roofer to cheap to take the time ..... ALL TOO COMMON!