GLOSSARY OF TERMS

A

Algae: Rooftop fungus that can leave dark stains on roofing.
Angled fasteners: Roofing nails and staples driven into decks at angles not parallel to the deck.
APA: American Plywood Association. Tests and sets standards for all varieties of plywoods used in the U.S.
Apron flashing: Metal flashing used at chimney fronts.
ARMA: Asphalt Roofing Manufacturer’s Association. Organization of roofing manufacturers.
Asphalt: A bituminous waterproofing agent used in various types of roofing materials.
Asphalt concrete primer: Asphalt based primer used to prepare concrete and metal for asphalt sealant.
Asphalt plastic cement: Asphalt based sealant material, meeting ASTM D4586 Type I or II. Used to seal and adhere roofing materials. Also called mastic, blackjack, roof tar, bull.
ASTM: The American Society for Testing and Materials. Organization that sets standards for a wide variety of materials, including roofing.
ATS 22™: Masonry and Stucco sealant.

B

Back-surfacing: Granular material added to shingle’s back to assist in keeping separate during delivery and storage.
Blistering: Bubbles or pimples in roofing materials. Usually moisture related. In shingles blisters are either moisture under the material or moisture trapped inside the material.
Blow-offs: When shingles are subjected to high winds, and are forced off a roof deck.
Buckling: When a wrinkle or ripple affects shingles or their underlayments.

C

Chimney Cap: Custom made metal cover that covers chimney opening.
Closed-cut valley: A shingle valley installation method where one roof plane’s shingles completely cover the other’s. The top layer is cut to match the valley lines.
Cobra® : GAFMC’s respected brand name for ventilation products.
Corrosion: When rust, rot or age negatively affect roofing metals.
Counter-flashing: The metal or siding material that is installed over roof-top base flashing systems.
Cold Processed: This is a solvent based method used in applying modified bitumen.
Country Mansion® & Country Estates™: GAFMC’s limited lifetime warranty shingle.
Crickets: A peaked water diverter installed behind chimneys and other large roof projections. Effectively diverts water around projections.
Cupping: When shingles are improperly installed over an existing roof or are over-exposed, they form a curl or cup.

D

Deck: The substrate over which roofing is applied. Usually plywood, wood boards, or planks.
Dormer: A framed window unit that projects through the sloping plane of a roof.
Double coverage: Application of asphalt roofing such that the lapped portion is at least two inches wider than the exposed portion, resulting in two layers of roofing material over the deck. Downspout: A pipe for draining water from roof gutters. A downspout is also called a leader.
Drip-edge: An installed lip that keeps shingles up off of the deck at edges, and extends shingles out over eaves and gutters, and prevents water from backing up under shingles.

E

Eaves: The roof edge from the fascia to the structure’s outside wall. In general terms, the first three feet across a roof is termed the eave.
End-laps: When installing rolled products in roofing, the area where a roll ends on a roof, and is overlapped by the next section of rolled material. (underlayments, rolled roofing)
Exposure: The area on any roofing material that is left exposed to the elements.

F

Fasteners: Nails or staples used in securing roofing to the deck.
Felt: Organic or paper-based rolled material saturated with asphalt to serve as roofing underlayment.
FHA: The Federal Housing Authority. Sets construction standards throughout the U.S.
Fiberglass mat: fibers condensed into strong, resilient mats for use in roofing materials.
Flange: Metal pan extending up or down a roof slope around flashing pieces. Usually at chimneys and plumbing vents
Flashing: Materials used to waterproof a roof around any projections through the roof deck.
Flashing cement: Sealant designed for use around flashing areas, typically thicker than plastic cement.

G

Gable roof: Traditional roof style; two peaked roof planes meeting at a ridge line of equal size.
GAFCant®: GAFMC cant strips for deflecting water away from flashing areas. Typically used on low slope roofs.
Golden Pledge®: GAFMC’s strongest limited warranty for shingles. America’s strongest steep slope warranty.
Grand Sequoia®: GAFMC shingle with wood shake appearance.
Grand Slate™: GAFMC shingle with slate appearance.
Granules: Crushed rock that is coated with a ceramic coating and fired, used as top surface on shingles.

H

Hand-sealing: The method to assure sealing of shingles on very steep slopes, in high wind areas, and when installing in cold weather.
High Density Wood Fiber: Insulation that is applied below a modified roofing system.
High nailing: When shingles are nailed or fastened above the manufacturer’s specified nail location.
Hip legs: The down-slope ridges on hip roofs.
Hip roof: A roof with four roof planes coming together at a peak and four separate hip legs.

I

Ice Dam: When a snow load melts on a roof and re-freezes at the eave areas. Ice dams force water to "back-up" a roof and cause leakage.

L

"L" flashing: Continuous metal flashing consisting of several feet of metal. Used at horizontal walls, bent to resemble an "L".
Laminated shingles: Shingles made from two separate pieces that are laminated together. GAFMC Timberline® Series, Country Mansion® and Grand Sequoia® Shingles. Also called dimensional shingles and architectural shingles.
Laps: The area where roll roofing or rolled underlayments overlap one another during application (see also side laps and end laps).
Low slopes: Roof pitches less than 4/12 are considered low sloped roofs. Special installation practices must be used on roofs sloped 2/12-4/12.

M

Mansard: A roof design with a nearly vertical roof plane that ties into a roof plane of less slope at its peak.
Mats: The general term for the base material of shingles and certain rolled products.
Modified bitumen: Rolled roofing membrane with polymer modified asphalt and either polyester or fiberglass reinforcement.
Mortar: Mixture of sand, mortar, limestone and water used in bonding a chimney’s bricks together.

N

Nail-guide-line: Painted line on laminated shingles, to aid in the proper placement of fasteners.
Nail-pop: When a nail is not fully driven, it sits up off the roof deck.
Nesting: Installing a second layer of shingles aligning courses with the original roof to avoid shingle cupping.
NRCA: The National Roofing Contractors Association. Respected national organization of roofing contractors.

O

Open valley: Valley installation using metal down the valley center.
Organic mat: Material made from recycled wood pulp and paper.
Organic Shingles: Shingles made from organic (paper) mats.
OSB: Oriented Strand Board. A decking made from wood chips and lamination glues.
Over-driven: The term used for fasteners driven through roofing material with too much force, breaking the material.
Over-exposed: Installing shingle courses higher than their intended exposure.

P

Pitch: ratio of the rise of the roof to the span of the roof.
Power vents: Electrically powered fans used to move air from attics and structures.
Plastic cement: Asphalt based sealant. Also called bull, mastic, tar, asphalt cement.
Plumbing vents: Term used to describe plumbing pipes that project through a roof plane. Also called vent stacks.
Prevailing wind: The most common direction of wind for a particular region.

Q

Quarter sized: Term for the size of hand sealant dabs, size of a U.S. 25¢ piece.

R

Racking: Method of installing shingles in a straight up the roof manner.
Rake edge: The vertical edge of gable style roof planes. Re-roofing: The practice of putting a roof over another roof. This can only be done on a leak free roof. Re-roofing is acceptable by all manufactures up to two layers, but not recommended.
Release film: The plastic sheet installed on the back of Weather Watch® and StormGuard® underlayments. Used for packaging and handling. Remove before installation.
Rigid vent: Hard plastic ridge vent material.
Roof Brackets: Specially designed brackets that help roofers stand on steep roofs but do not compromise the newly installed shingles.
Roof louvers: Rooftop rectangular shaped roof vents. Also called box vents, mushroom vents, airhawks, soldier vents.
Roof Jack: Base flashing for the furnace or hot water heater exhaust.
Roof plane: A roofing area defined by having four separate edges. One side of a gable, hip or mansard roof.

S

Sawteeth: The exposed section of double thickness on Timberline® Series shingles. Shaped to imitate wood shake look on the roof.
Self-sealant: Sealant installed on shingles. After installation, heat and sun will activate sealant to seal the shingles to each other.
Selvage: The non exposed area on rolled roofing. Area without granules. Designed for nail placement and sealant.
Shed roof: Roof design of a single roof plane. Area does not tie into any other roofs.
Side-laps: The area on rolled material where one roll overlaps the rolled material beneath it. Also called selvage edge on rolled roofing.
Side-walls: Where a vertical roof plane meets a vertical wall. The sides of dormers etc.
Soffit ventilation: Intake ventilation installed under the eaves, or at the roof edge.
Smart Choice® Limited Warranty: GAFMC’s standard shingle limited warranty.
Smart Choice® System Plus Limited Warranty: GAFMC’s next grade of enhanced warranty. Extended coverage for owners.
Starter strip: The first course of roofing installed. Usually trimmed from main roof material.
Steep slope roofing: Generally all slopes higher than 4/12 are considered steep slopes.
Step-flashing: Metal flashing pieces installed at side-walls and chimneys for weather-proofing.
Storm Collar: Flashing that seals the roof jack to the exhaust pipes for the furnace and hot water heater.
StormGuard®: GAFMC waterproof underlayment. Film surfaced rolled underlayment, 1.5 squares coverage per roll.

T

Tab: The bottom portion of traditional shingle separated by the shingle cut-outs.
Tear-off: Removal of existing roofing materials down to the roof deck.
Telegraphing: When shingles reflect the uneven surface beneath them. Shingles installed over buckled shingles may show some buckles.
Timberline® Series: GAFMC’s trademark name for laminated wood shake style shingles.
TIMBERTEX®: GAFMC enhanced Hip and Ridge Shingles.
Toe Boards: The practice of nailing 2” x 4” through newly installed shingles as a method to stand on steep roofs. This is very common in new construction but causes leaks a few years down the road.
Torch Down: This is a method of apply modified bitumen using a propane torch to heat the asphalt backing on the modified.
Transitions: When a roof plane ties into another roof plane that has a different pitch or slope.

U

UL Number 30 Felt: Known as 60 lb. felt, twice the thickness and weight of 30lb. felt.
Under-driven: Term used to describe a fastener not fully driven flush to the shingles surface.
Underlayments: Asphalt based rolled materials designed to be installed under main roofing material, to serve as added protection.
UV Cover: Rubber/neoprene gasket that slides over plumbing boot to protect the plumbling boot gasket. This product is essential to preserving the life of plumbing boots.

V

Valleys: Area where two adjoining sloped roof planes intersect on a roof creating a "V" shaped depression.
Vapor: Term used to describe moisture laden air.
Ventilation: The term used in roofing for the passage of air from an enclosed space.

W

Warm wall: The finished wall inside of a structure, used in roofing to determine how to install waterproof underlayments at eaves.
Warranty: The written promise to the owner of roofing materials for material related problems.
Waterproof underlayments: Modified bitumen based roofing underlayments. Designed to seal to wood decks and waterproof critical leak areas.
Weather Watch®: GAFMC’s granule surfaced waterproof underlayment.
Woven Valleys: The method of installing valleys by laying one shingle over the other up the valley center.