How are roof shingles made?
How are roof shingles made?
Shingles are made in a continuous process:
- Large rolls of glass mat are fed into a dry looper, which serves as an accumulator.
The glass mat moves to the coater.
- At the coater, coating bitumen is applied to the top and bottom surfaces of the sheet.
Mineral stabilizers are added to the coating that improves the shingle's fire resistance and weathering characteristics.
- Next, granules are applied to the top surface of coating. Granules are ceramically coloured crushed rock;
the granules give the shingle its colour, but more importantly protect the coating from ultraviolet light.
4. Anti-block surfacing is then applied to the back of the sheet to prevent it from sticking to the machine and to other shingles when packaged.
A plastic tape is also applied to the back of the sheet to prevent the sealing strips from sticking to the next shingle in the package.
5. The granules are then pressed into the topcoating.
6. Once the sheet is cooled, sealing strips are applied. The sealing strips allow one shingle to bond to the overlying shingle on a roof and thus prevent wind uplift.
7. The roofing sheet is then measured and cut into shingles.
8. The shingles are wrapped into bundles and stored in the warehouse until they are ready to be shipped to the appropriate location.
Are you a professional and interested to see the production process with your own eyes? Contact us today for a plant visit.