Was chatting with my neighbor yesterday after that nasty storm rolled through, and he mentioned something interesting—apparently, some GAF shingles are rated to handle winds up to like 130 mph. Had no idea shingles could even be rated that high, you know? Makes me wonder how they test these things... giant wind tunnels or something? Anyway, curious if anyone knows more about this or has experience with shingles holding up (or not) in strong winds.
Yep, your neighbor's right—shingles do have wind ratings, and GAF's higher-end shingles can indeed handle gusts around 130 mph. A few quick points from inspections I've done after storms:
- Those ratings usually come from controlled lab tests. And yeah, they actually use huge wind tunnels to blast shingles at different speeds—pretty cool setup.
- In real life, though, installation quality matters just as much as shingle rating. I've seen high-rated shingles peel right off because they weren't nailed correctly or the sealing strip didn't bond properly.
- Roof slope and shape also make a difference. Steeper roofs generally shed wind better than flatter ones, so shingles tend to perform better.
- If you're in a windy area, it's worth checking if your shingles are nailed with six nails per shingle instead of the standard four—that simple step can significantly boost wind resistance.
Bottom line, high-rated shingles are great, but proper installation and roof design play equally big roles in how your roof holds up.
