GAF Timberline Shingles Vs Certainteed Landmark Shingles

I am often asked the question, “what is the best shingle for my Atlanta roof, GAF’s Timberline or Certainteed Landmark?”  While I may never definitively answer either GAF Timberline Shingles or Certainteed Landmark Shingles, I do tend to tell a personal story about warranty coverage.  In the end of the day every shingle line has a few defects, it’s important to know that the manufacture will stand behind their shingle. However, I think it would best serve our customers if we spend the time going over both shingles, comparing them in the following areas:

• Cost
• Colors
• Wind Coverage
• Impact Resistance

It’s important to note that Fowler Exteriors is an Atlanta-based roofing contractor. Not every shingle offered by each company is offered in our market. Likewise, some shingles offered in our market aren’t offered in other areas. You can check availability for each shingle on their website at Timberline Shingles and Landmark Shingles.

For GAF or Certainteed shingle installation in Canton, Marietta, or the surrounding area, contact us online today!

Timberline And Landmark Shingle Options

To further complicate our shingle comparisons, both Certainteed and GAF offer multiple options with their architectural shingles. Both manufacturers offer what is basically a good, better and best shingle option. The difference in shingle options is listed below.

GAF Timberline Shingles

Good= Timberline Natural Shadow

Better= Timberline HD

Best= Timberline Ultra HD

Certainteed Landmark Shingles

Good= XT 25

Better= Landmark/Designer

Best= Landmark Pro/Luxury

Cost Of Landmark Shingles vs Timberline Shingles

For better or worse, the first concern of most consumers when it comes to shingles is the difference in cost. To understand the difference in cost between each shingle, you should first understand that roofs are measured in squares, or 100sq feet. All cost comparisons will be discussed on a per square basis. Also I will note that there are other shingles in both the Landmark and Timberline shingles, but I did not include them here.  The shingles left out are Landmark TL, Timberline Ultra HD and Timberline American Harvest.

Color Options Of Landmark Shingles vs Timberline Shingles

Each shingle manufacturer boasts a whole range of colors for their different shingle options. In truth, there isn’t always a lot of difference in color between each manufacturers different shingle options. A great example of this is between Timberline Natural Shadow and Timberline HD. The comparison of color options between Landmark and Timberline shingles is not as black as white as you may imagine. GAF has a smaller variety of colors in each palette but offers a different unique palette with each Timberline shingle. Certainteed has a large variety of colors in each palette. But they only offers two different palettes across the entire Landmark line of shingles.

GAF Timberline Shingle Colors

GAF has taken the route of creating variety in the Timberline family by using different colors. It’s also important to note that each region has different color options available for shingles. I’ll include a link to each shingle line where you can put in your zip code and see the colors available.

Timberline Natural Shadow Shingles

If you find yourself in a Home Depot one afternoon looking at different shingle options, you will most likely be looking at Timberline Natural Shadow color options. GAF offers six color options when it comes to its Natural Shadow pallete. Pro Tip: If you want an architectural shingle that is flat black, the best option for your roof in the GAF family is the Natural Shadow Charcoal shingle.

Timberline HDZ Shingles

In the Atlanta market, GAF offers 11 different shingle colors in the HD line of Timberline shingles. The most common shingles that Fowler Exteriors installs on roofs is Weathered Wood and Charcoal. The main difference between HD shingles and Natural Shadow Shingles is the way the color is applied to the shingles. HD shingles have a gradient that gives the shingles more definition. To check what shingles are available in your market, you can enter your zip code here.

Timberline Ultra HDZ Shingle

Ultra HD Shingles are the least common of all GAF Timberline shingles. Mostly because for the price you can purchase Ultra HD shingles, you can buy other more unique designer shingles. Building upon the definition created by the techniques used with the HD shingles, GAF really steps up the gradient blends with Ultra HD for even more definition with an architectural shingle. You can find five different shingle color options for Ultra HD shingles in the Atlanta roofing market. Follow this link to see what color options GAF has available in your market.

Certainteed Landmark Shingle Colors

Certainteeed has taken a slightly different approach to shingle colors than GAF. GAF has a different color palette for each Timberline line of shingles. Certainteed offers only the Max Def Color palette and the normal landmark color palette. Even though Certainteed does use fewer color palettes for their shingles, they do offer a wider range of colors in each palette.

Landmark Shingles

If variety of color is your main concern, then you will be happy with the choices offered by Certainteed’s landmark shingle. In the Atlanta market, you will see 17 different color options ranging from Silver Birch to the bright Hunter Green. I caution that many colors offered won’t be available at your typical distributor. You may have to pay a little extra for special order shingle colors. You can download a color chart here.

Landmark Pro and Landmark Premium

I put both the Pro and Premium landmark shingles together because they are different shingles but use the same MAX Def color palette. To achieve more variation in their shingle colors, Certainteed basically applies a different color to each tab of the architectural shingle as opposed to a gradient on every tab as GAF does. You can technically choose from up to 13 different MAX Def colors, but you may have a hard time finding your desired color depending on who you buy shingles from. For a link to MAX Def shingle colors, go here.

Wind Coverage of Timberline Shingles vs Landmark Shingles

When discussing wind warranties for shingle manufacturers, I always like to start with the caveat that if your home is hit with sustained winds as high as the rating on either of these shingles. Then you will have bigger problems than missing shingle tabs; so take these wind ratings with a grain of salt. Also, it’s important to know that for either shingle to reach its full wind rating, you must use both a certain number of nails per shingle, and each manufacturers approved starter shingle.

GAF Timberline Shingles Wind Warranty

If you take time to read GAF’s actual warranty paperwork, you might be shocked to see that although you have “Lifetime” shingles, you only have a wind warranty for 15 years. That’s the bad news. The good news is, so long as your roofer follows correct installation procedures, GAF will warrant against failure to seal, blow-offs, and wind damage up to 130 MPH. If you are like me, you will be thinking of Hurricane Ike, which hit Texas with slightly less strength but demolished almost everything in its path. If Category 3 hurricane winds hit your house, you can rest assured that the shingles should hold up, even if your entire roof structure is sitting in the front yard.

Certainteed Landmark Shingles Wind Warranty

Just like GAF, Certainteed’s Lifetime shingle has a wind warranty only for the first 15 years of the product’s life. After that, you are on your own. One major difference between Timbeline and Landmark shingles is that the wind warranty for Landmark’s is only 110 mph compared to Timberline’s 130 mph. So, instead of withstanding the ravishes of a category 3, you are only covered up to a category 2 storm. While I joke a just a bit, 20 mph is a substantial difference as far as wind speed goes. Again, you must ensure that your roofer is following the correct installation guidelines to receive a full wind warranty from Certainteed.

Impact Resistance Of Timberline Shingles vs Landmark Shingles

One of the biggest causes of roof replacement in the entire country is hail damage. While asphalt shingles have many advantages over other products such as metal, they do have one huge drawback, that is, their inability to stand up to large hail impacts. Underwriters laboratory developed a test (UL 2218 ) for measuring the ability of roofing products to withstand hail impacts. This is important because many insurance companies will give rate reductions if a product is rated category 4 under the UL 2218 test. However, neither the Timberline or Landmark shingles meet the category 4 rating. On a side note, both GAF and Certainteed make IR (impact resistant) shingles that do meet category 4 standards.

Personal Experience

The only real comparison I can give you with either of these shingles is personal experience. Over the years I have seen really dense 1.75” (golf ball size) hail damage arcthitectural shingles, and I have seen newer architectural shingles withstand hits from 2.5” (baseball size) hail. While neither shingle will provide you a true IR shingle, they will both stand up to hail much better than your typical 3-Tab shingle.

Winner of GAF Timberline vs Certainteed Landmark Roofing Shingles

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that while Fowler Exteriors is both a Certainteed and GAF certified contractor, we mostly install GAF products today. Over the years we have gone from primarily using Atlas shingles to Certainteed and now GAF. We really like both companies and think they stand out above other manufacturers in some really important areas such as customer service and product offerings in our local market.

If I had to pick a winner I would personally go with the GAF Timberline shingle line over the Landmark shingles, but that is largely based on preferences in shingle colors. Both shingles are very well made, and when properly install by a certified contractor, you are getting a quality product. When you work with Fowler Exteriors, your roofer will discuss multiple shingle options with you to help decide which shingle brand and style will work best for your wants and needs.

If you live in the Atlanta area and are interested in either Timberline or Landmark shingles,contact us here and we will gladly bring out some samples of each product and go over the pros and cons for your particular roofing project. We service Canton, Alpharetta, Jasper, and the surrounding area.