Shingle choice
Class 4 impact resistant roofing for Memphis homes
Class 4 is the top impact rating under UL 2218, which matters here because Memphis gets hail most springs and the shingle is the only thing between a hailstone and your decking. The other reason to ask about it is your policy: a lot of carriers discount the premium when the roof is rated Class 4.
Why hail is the reason this rating matters here
Memphis sits in the part of the Mid-South that gets hail most springs, and the roof is where it lands.
March through June is when hail shows up here, and it does not take a record storm to do damage. Stone small enough that nobody photographs it still bruises an ordinary asphalt mat without breaking the surface, so the shingle reads as fine from the driveway and fails years early anyway. A Class 4 shingle is built to take that strike and keep its mat intact, which is the entire point of the rating.
Roofs around the metro do not all start from the same place. An older roof whose granule surface has already thinned has nothing left in reserve when hail arrives, and the newer subdivisions out east are mostly carrying whatever shingle went on the day the house was finished. If you are replacing either one, that is the moment the Class 4 question is worth asking, because upgrading the shingle during a tear off is far less trouble than deciding to do it again later.
Shingles are not the only thing hail hits. Gutters, vents and the other soft metal on a roof dent before the field shows anything, which is part of how Jonathan reads a hail event once he is up there. Those dents are also why a Class 4 roof is not a force field. The rating protects the shingle mat, and everything else up there still gets looked at after a storm like it always did.
Class 4 Impact Resistant is one of the 43 things we do across the metro. The class 4 impact resistant page covers the work itself, and if something is wrong at your Memphis property you can send over the details or call (901) 922-9450.
How a Class 4 reroof goes around Memphis
The decision happens before the tear off
Class 4 is a product choice, so it gets made at the quote and not halfway through the job. Jonathan walks the roof, photographs what is up there, and tells you what the deck and the flashing need regardless of which shingle you pick. Then you choose the shingle with real information instead of a brochure.
Call your carrier while you are deciding
Many carriers discount the premium on a Class 4 roof, and the only way to know what yours does is to ask them directly. Get the answer from your agent before the order goes in. We will tell you what rating the shingle carries so you have something specific to ask about rather than a general question.
What goes underneath does not change
A Class 4 shingle over bad decking is still a roof that leaks. The deck gets checked, soft sheathing comes out, new underlayment goes down, and the flashing at every wall and penetration gets handled as metal rather than sealant. Paying for the better shingle and skipping that is money spent on the wrong layer.
The paperwork gets handed to you
Keep the product documentation somewhere you can find it again. When you sell the house, or when a carrier wants proof the roof is rated, that paperwork is the proof. It comes to you at the walkthrough along with the rest of what you paid for, in a folder rather than as a promise to email it later.
Where the Class 4 conversation goes sideways
These are the mix-ups we run into most often once hail is part of the picture.
Class 4 treated as hail proof
Impact resistant is a test rating, not a promise about the sky. A large enough stone in a bad enough storm will still mark a Class 4 roof. What the rating buys you is a mat that survives the strikes that would have finished a lesser shingle, which in this metro is most of them.
Assuming the discount is automatic
Nobody at the insurance company knows your new roof is rated unless somebody tells them. Where a carrier offers a discount it usually needs a document from you after the job is done. Homeowners pay for the upgrade and then never claim the one thing that made the upgrade pay for itself.
An upgraded field with ordinary everything else
A Class 4 field shingle paired with the cheapest ridge cap and the same tired pipe boots is half an upgrade. The rating covers the field shingle and nothing else on the roof, and the accessories are where hail and age usually get in first. If the shingle is moving up, ask what the cap and the boots are.
Deciding it during a claim instead of before one
The week after a line of storms the whole metro is booked and every decision gets made fast. That is the worst week to start reading about ratings. Settle the question while nothing is wrong, and the claim conversation stays about scope because the shingle part is already answered.
Whether the upgrade is worth it on your house
The honest answer depends on what you are buying it for. If you plan to be in the house a long stretch and you have already replaced one hail-damaged roof, the case makes itself. If you are selling inside a year, the premium conversation matters less and the shingle is mostly a line in the listing. Jonathan will say which of those he thinks you are in, and he has told people to stay with the ordinary shingle.
Ask for the rating in writing on the quote rather than in conversation. A quote that names the product and the rating is something you can take to your agent, hold up against another bid, and keep in a drawer for the next owner. A verbal assurance that it is impact rated is worth nothing to a carrier two years from now, and that is when somebody asks.
Financing is available here for roofing and exterior projects, which is worth knowing if the upgrade makes sense on the roof but not on the calendar. Either way, nothing has to be decided while somebody is standing in your driveway. Get the roof looked at, get the findings and the product in writing, and take the weekend with it. The look is free and carries no obligation.
We wrote this one up at more length on the blog: Class 3 and Class 4 Shingles in a Hail Metro.
Where this work happens
We are in Memphis most weeks, so you are not paying for somebody to drive across two counties to reach you. Everything else we do here is on the Memphis page.
Questions from Memphis
What does Class 4 actually mean?
It is the top rating in the UL 2218 impact standard, which tests how a shingle holds up to a direct strike. A shingle that keeps its mat intact through the test earns Class 4. Class 3 is the tier below it, and plenty of Memphis roofs are sitting on neither.
Will my insurance premium go down if I install it?
Many carriers discount the premium for a Class 4 roof, but the terms are set by your carrier and not by us. Call your agent and ask what they offer and what proof they want. We will hand you the product paperwork so you have something specific to send them.
Is Class 4 worth it if my roof has never been hit?
Hail shows up around Memphis most springs, so never has usually meant not yet. If the roof up there is newer and sound though, this is a question for your next replacement rather than a reason to tear off a good roof. Jonathan will tell you which one you have.
Does a Class 4 roof still need looking at after a storm?
Yes. The rating protects the shingle mat and nothing else on the building. Gutters, vents, flashing and the rest of the soft metal still dent, and a bruised Class 4 shingle can hide damage under it. A look after a hail event is worth having either way.
Can you put Class 4 shingles on a small commercial building?
On the sloped sections, yes. Churches, restaurants, duplexes and small apartment buildings are regular work for us. Flat and low-slope areas run on a different system entirely, so a building with both gets looked at as two problems on one schedule. Jonathan will tell you which part is which before anything is ordered.
How do I find out what rating is on my roof now?
Sometimes it is in the paperwork from the last replacement, and sometimes nobody kept any. Jonathan can usually tell from the shingle itself once he is up there, and if he cannot, he will say so rather than guess. The look costs nothing either way, so it is a cheap question to settle.
Also handled around Memphis
Roofs rarely need exactly one thing. These are the others we are usually asked about on the same visit.
What customers say
Awesome experience!! Very personable owner. Job well done!! The price was right on. No debris left behind. He did what he said and did a great job!! Thank you Jonathan!! Let it rain!! My roof is fixed!!
Very happy with work. No hidden charges and crew cleaned up after the work. Would highly recommend him.
I can’t say enough good things about All Done Roofing. Jonathan has been professional, personal, and caring to my projects that needed to be addressed at my residence. He showed me certain things that needed to be…
Talk through Class 4 before the next hail season
Ask Jonathan what is on your roof now and what your carrier does with a Class 4 roof, and he will give you a real number for the upgrade.
Jonathan answers the phone himself. If he is on a roof when you call, he calls back the same day.