Tamko Shingles

Cost to Install Tamko Shingles – Top Tamko Roofing Options

Upgrading your roof with Tamko shingles offers robust protection against the harshest elements—scorching summer heat, pounding snowfalls, hurricane-force winds, raging wildfires, destructive tornadoes, pelting hail, and even seismic tremors. Beyond safeguarding your home, a new Tamko roof can elevate its curb appeal, increase resale value, and ensure compliance with local building codes, making it a smart investment for homeowners across the U.S.

Heritage TAMKO

Tamko Building Products, a stalwart in American roofing since its inception in 1944, provides a diverse portfolio of asphalt shingles tailored to various needs and budgets. Its offerings range from the economical 3-tab Elite Glass-Seal to the widely acclaimed Heritage Series—which includes Heritage®, Heritage Premium, Heritage Woodgate, Heritage Vintage, and specialty variants like Heritage Proline Stormtite® and Titan XT®—to upscale options like Heritage Designer and the exceptionally durable MetalWorks® stone-coated steel line. With a focus on durability, aesthetic versatility, and performance, Tamko caters to homeowners nationwide, from urban townhouses to sprawling rural estates.

Tamko Heritage – Dimensional Shingles: A Closer Look

The Heritage Series stands as Tamko’s flagship collection, celebrated for its dimensional, multi-layered design that mimics the depth of natural slate or wood shakes. Available in a spectrum of rich, vibrant color blends—like Rustic Cedar, Thunderstorm Grey, and Black Walnut—it’s engineered for wind resistance up to 130 MPH when installed with six nails per shingle, thanks to its enhanced sealant technology. This series includes several standout variants:

  • Heritage®: The core offering, balancing affordability with durability, available in over 10 color options.
  • Heritage Premium: A step up with thicker construction and bolder textures for enhanced longevity and style.
  • Heritage Woodgate: Crafted to emulate the rustic charm of hand-split wood shakes, ideal for traditional or cabin-style homes.
  • Heritage Vintage: Features a weathered, timeworn look for a historic or aged aesthetic.
  • Heritage Proline Stormtite®: Boasts Class 4 impact resistance (UL 2218), designed for hail-prone regions with a reinforced structure.
  • Titan XT®: Incorporates SBS-modified asphalt for superior flexibility, cold-weather performance, and Class 4 hail resistance, paired with striking color blends.

These options make the Heritage Series a versatile choice, with costs typically ranging from $4-$8 per square foot for architectural shingles (3-tab starting at a realistic $4/sq ft minimum), $6-$11/sq ft for premium and specialty asphalt variants, and $10-$16/sq ft for MetalWorks®. Pricing fluctuates based on roof size, pitch, complexity, and regional labor and material rates—expect higher costs in urban hubs like New York or San Francisco compared to rural areas like Tennessee or Missouri.

The U.S.’s climatic extremes shape roofing demands: blistering summers (110°F+ in Arizona), heavy winter snowfalls (20-100+ lbs/sq ft in Minnesota), devastating hurricanes (130+ MPH winds in Florida), rampant wildfires (e.g., Oregon’s 2023 fires costing $2 billion), frequent hail (1-3 inch stones in Kansas), and seismic risks (California’s fault lines). These are governed by the International Residential Code (IRC) 2021, with state-specific adaptations for energy efficiency (e.g., California Title 24), wind resistance (90-150 MPH), and seismic zones (A-F).

Broader trends amplify roofing needs: real estate inventory rose 6% year-over-year (Zillow 2025), insurance premiums spiked 10-40% since 2020 (NAIC), and climate models predict 5-15% wetter or drier conditions by 2030 (NOAA). High-profile events like the 2021 Texas Freeze ($20 billion in damages) underscore the urgency. Costs have surged 20-30% since 2020 due to labor shortages (150,000+ worker gap, NAHB), material inflation (asphalt up 15%, RS Means), and increasing storm frequency.

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This guide dives deep into costs, Tamko shingle options, ventilation strategies, deck conditions, underlayment choices, regional pricing variations, storm impacts, insurance claims, real estate dynamics, roof shapes, warranties, financing options, regulatory compliance, contractor insights, maintenance tips, emerging tech trends, and detailed FAQs—your definitive resource for roofing with Tamko shingles in the U.S.

How Much Does It Cost to Install Tamko Shingles?

Tamko asphalt shingles command a strong U.S. market share, competing head-to-head with industry giants like GAF and Owens Corning (RS Means 2025). Their lineup spans budget-conscious solutions like the Elite Glass-Seal 3-tab, the hugely popular Heritage Series, and upscale offerings like Heritage Designer and MetalWorks®, ensuring options for every homeowner, climate, and architectural style.

The Heritage Series strikes a compelling balance between cost and resilience, featuring a double-layer design that enhances wind and impact resistance. Its variants—Stormtite® and Titan XT® with Class 4 hail protection, Woodgate and Vintage with unique aesthetics, and Premium with boosted durability—cater to specific needs, often justifying their higher price tags with superior performance in harsh conditions.

Tamko embodies quality, variety, and value, offering everything from economical classics to premium designs, all underpinned by strong warranties and a legacy stretching back to 1944. However, asphalt shingles typically last 20-30 years (top-tier products up to 35-40 years), meaning “lifetime” warranties are often optimistic—MetalWorks® steel roofing, by contrast, delivers true 50+ year durability.

Per Square Foot (National Averages)

  • Tamko 3-Tab (Elite Glass-Seal): $4-$6.50/sq ft installed (60 MPH wind resistance). Materials and supplies (shingles, underlayment, ridge caps, vents, trim, flashing): $1.25-$2/sq ft. In affordable regions like Tennessee, Arkansas, or Missouri, costs can dip to $4-$5/sq ft with simpler roofs and labor rates of $30-$45/hr, while urban areas like Chicago or Seattle push toward the higher end.
  • Tamko Architectural (Heritage Series): $4-$8/sq ft installed (130 MPH, Class 3-4 hail resistance). $8-$10/sq ft in high-cost markets like California or New York. Materials and supplies: $1.75-$2.75/sq ft. Lower-cost areas see $4-$6/sq ft installed, reflecting regional labor ($35-$60/hr) and material availability. Variants like Stormtite® and Titan XT® trend toward the upper range due to enhanced features.
  • Tamko Premium/Specialty (Heritage Designer, MetalWorks®): $6-$11/sq ft installed for asphalt (130 MPH, Class 4 hail); MetalWorks® $10-$16/sq ft (50+ years). Materials and supplies: $2.50-$5/sq ft (asphalt), $6-$9/sq ft (MetalWorks®). Premium asphalt adds $1.50-$3/sq ft over architectural due to richer materials, while MetalWorks® reflects steel’s longevity and fire resistance.

Average Roof Replacement Cost:

Low End

$7,500

Mid-Range

$10,500

High End

$14,500

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Tamko vs. Owens Corning Roofing Shingles: Cost, Pros & Cons, ROI

Owens Corning and Tamko are two asphalt shingle manufacturers sharing the adage, “we’re second-best, so we try harder.” CertainTeed is the consensus leader for overall asphalt shingle quality.

GAF is the largest producer of shingles, and its products get high marks. Right behind those giants are Owens Corning, certainly one of the most recognizable names in roofing products, and Tamko (or TAMKO), a brand that has its fans, too.

The Bottom Line from the Beginning

The bottom line, which all the details in this guide lead to, is that the Owens Corning vs. Tamko comparison is about as even as it gets in the roofing products industry, with Owens Corning getting only a slight edge in the main architectural shingles category.

Owens Corning’s flagship Duration shingles outshine Tamko Heritage shingles in wind performance — thanks to the Owens Corning standard 130 MPH wind resistance design and warranty (even with the standard 4-nail installation method) compared to the standard 110 MPH wind performance warranty for Tamko Heritage shingles (with the standard 4-nail application method). However, this 20 MPH gap in the shingle wind-resistance performance can be overcome with a 6-nail enhanced installation method for Tamko Heritage shingles.

Owens Corning Roofing Shingles Display

Both brands get ratings in the “good” to “very good” range from roofing contractors who install them every day and from home inspectors who have seen their share of durable shingles and shingles that have failed before they should.

What it comes down to is the quality of the installation. You’ve got two above-average shingle brands that can deliver superior durability for 20+ years, fail in just a few years or perform somewhere in the middle.

What makes the difference is how well the installers do their job.

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More on the installation below. Along the way, we’ll address where each brand has bragging rights. While OC and Tamko are close to equal in total score, each brand has strong and weak points.

OC vs. Tamko: Quality and Reliability

Quality is a product of the materials used and the production process. Here’s an overview of Owens Corning and Tamko shingle construction.

  • Owens Corning: OC makes three tiers of shingles in the basic Supreme (3-tab shingle) and Oakridge (entry-level architectural shingle), better Duration (OC’s best-selling architectural shingle with a standard 130 MPH wind uplift rating and warranty), and best or premium category shingles in (Devonshire, Woodmoor, Woodcrest, and Berkshire) categories.
  • Tamko: This brand makes a very similar lineup with basic (Elite Glass-Seal), better (Heritage, Heritage Woodgate) and best (Heritage Premium, Heritage Vintage).

All shingles from Owens Corning and Tamko feature fiberglass mat bases saturated with asphalt and dressed in coated granules to resist the sun’s UV radiation. Each shingle is constructed with fused layers.

When installed, less than half of each shingle is exposed. The result is that 3-tab roofs (OC Supreme and Tamko Elite Glass-Seal 3-tab) have 2-3 layers of coverage at any given point on your roof.

All other shingles from both brands are architectural style shingles with 4-5 layers of coverage. The result are shingles with wind ratings of 60mph for 3-tab products and 110/130mph for all others.

The two brands have the same ratings in most ASTM materials and fire rating tests. Both are on par with CertainTeed and GAF.

Bad shingles are often the result of production rather than the materials used. The production processes for these brands are similar. The processes are slightly tweaked, even from run to run (runs of shingle batches).

When errors occur, a bad batch of shingles, such as layers that don’t properly fuse, are produced. What makes a brand worth considering is the consistency of the quality from run to run. Owens Corning and Tamko deliver good consistency.

Slight Advantage for Owens Corning: We’re not afraid to take; our general view is that both brands are as equal as you will find in terms of the overall quality and reliability. However, we give a slight edge to Owens Corning in the most important flagship architectural shingles category where OC Duration shingles outshines Tamko Heritage in wind performance.

OC TruDefinition Duration shingles come with a standard 130 MPH warranty thanks to the OC SureNail, triple-reinforced nailing fabric and widened nailing zone(for faster and more precise installation).

OC SureNail Technology: Triple Layer Protection and widened nail strike zone for faster installation

Tamko Heritage shingles come with a standard 110 MPH wind uplift warranty for regular applications. A more costly enhanced installation method would be required for Tamko Heritage shingles to attain the 130 MPH wind uplift warranty.

Owens Corning vs. Tamko: Cost

Since these brands compete aggressively head-to-head, their prices are comparable across all products (and are very competitive with GAF, too).

Here is a breakdown of the shingle series and their costs from both brands:

Prices are per square, which is 100 square feet of coverage (and 3 or 4 bundles of shingles, so check product specs for the bundles-per-square).

3-tab shingles:

  • OC Supreme: $75-$85
  • Tamko Elite Glass-Seal: $72-$77

Flagship (most popular and best-selling) architectural/dimensional shingles:

  • OC Duration: $90-$120
  • Tamko Heritage: $84-$100

Other popular architectural/dimensional shingles including specialty sub-lines:

  • OC Duration Storm, Flex, and Cool (CA): $115-$130
  • Tamko Heritage Premium: $90-$120

Premium Designer architectural/dimensional shingles:

  • OC Devonshire, Woodmoor, Woodcrest, Berkshire: $175-$280
  • Tamko Heritage Woodgate, Heritage Vintage: $180-$215

Advantage – Tamko: As you can see, Tamko offers a slightly better value in terms of costs in each tier of products. It always makes sense to get written estimates on the specific roofing materials you’re considering so you can get a direct comparison of costs and product attributes including features and benefits.

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