What Are the Best Shingles for a Florida Roof?

Architectural or 3-tab: which is better in Florida?

Architectural, for nearly every home. It carries a much higher wind warranty, and on the Gulf Coast it typically lasts about 15 to 22 years, compared with about 12 to 15 for 3-tab.

3-tab is the thin, flat, one-layer shingle on a lot of older builder-grade homes. Architectural shingles, also called dimensional, are thicker and layered, which gives the roof its texture. Both are still sold in Florida.

Put a 60 mph wind warranty next to 110 to 130 mph, and for a new roof here, that gap alone settles it.

That doesn't mean a sound 3-tab roof has to come off. If yours lost a few shingles in a storm but is otherwise in decent shape, a repair may be all it needs. Save the upgrade for when the roof is actually done.

Which shingle does Coastline install, and why?

Our default is the Atlas Pinnacle Pristine architectural shingle. It passed both wind tests, carries a 130 mph wind warranty on a standard 4-nail install, and has Scotchgard copper granules built in for algae.

It checks every box on this page without extra hoops. The 130 mph wind warranty needs no special starter or ridge products, only bundles marked "Built with HP Technology" and Atlas's standard 4-nail pattern.

• Wind tests: ASTM D3161 Class F and ASTM D7158 Class H.
• Wind warranty: 130 mph with 4 nails. The wind coverage runs 15 years.
• Impact: UL 2218 Class 3. Atlas's Class 4 shingle is a different product, Pinnacle Impact.
• Algae: Scotchgard Protector granules that contain copper, with a 3M ceramic coating that releases the copper slowly.
• Warranty: Atlas Lifetime Limited Warranty, with a 10-year non-prorated period.
• Approval and colors: Florida Product Approval FL16305, which lists Exposure B and C (a house designed for Exposure D, like many right on open water, needs a separate check), and 16 colors in Atlas's homeowner flyer.

To be clear, we are not a certified Atlas installer. We use Pinnacle Pristine for what it's tested and warranted to do, Atlas's warranty passes through to you in full, and we install other major brands on request.

Our part is the install. Every roof replacement carries our 5-year workmanship warranty, the crew works from a checklist, and Josh reviews every job's photo report. Colors and what a replacement includes are on our shingle roofing service page.

Do better shingles lower your homeowners insurance?

Not because of the brand. Florida's wind mitigation form asks whether your roof covering meets the building code, not which shingle you bought. A permitted install with an approved product is what gets the right answer.

On the current OIR-B1-1802 form (Rev. 04/26), roof covering is question 4. Your shingles get the answer that says they meet the Florida Building Code if any one of these is true:

• They had a Florida or Miami-Dade product approval that was current when they were installed.
• The roofing permit application is dated on or after March 1, 2002.
• The roof is original to a house built in 2004 or later.

So a budget architectural shingle and a premium one can land on the same answer. A new roof is a big enough change that you'll want a fresh form afterward, and our guide to wind mitigation savings explains what the rest of the form checks and what it can save.

After every replacement, we coordinate with a licensed wind mitigation inspector so you get a completed 1802 to send your insurer. The inspector signs it, since roofing contractors aren't among the license types the form names. What it saves depends on your insurer, so be wary of anyone quoting you a dollar figure up front.