Complete layperson here. This week we replaced our roof with much anticipated Grand Manor. However, now that it is up it looks nothing like the photos of Grand Manor shingles I have seen both in google searches as well as taking a road trip to a local home that featured them. I’m very disappointed, and the owner is sympathetic and sees what I mean by my photos, but his crew (the ones with the experience with this product – the owner is a GAF guy) insists it is 100% by the book.
I’m now looking at PDFs of manuals and youtube videos to help understand what is going on. The roofing co owner is reputable and swears if they made a mistake they will fix it no charge. They are telling me that the reason my roof does not look like the photos is because of the pitch - and I just don’t see how that could be the whole explanation.
THe first photo is my roof, with the long, rectangular shaped shingles. The second photo is off a google search and what I wanted. What do you see when you compare these?? Even the Grand Manor manual looks OK to me – its just my own roof making me sad.
I will try to get up there (or closer) tomorrow and snap a pic. Thank you for articulating it properly; I was in the garage just now playing with the leftover shingles and saying, they are too close together so it makes brick shaped rectangles vs. squares. Still, could this be called an error? if anything it seems like it would be better in terms of durability but I’m clueless admittedly.
Agree totally with Island. In my opinion Presidential shingles are the only premium shingles that translate well regardless of pitch. Grand Manor and equivalent look just like standard laminate at low slopes, at triple the cost. It shows much better on 8-12 and up.
I agree with Island. Specialty shingles on low pitches, plus 2 story, you just can’t appreciate the dimensions. I installed Elks Capstone on a one story, 5/12 in the early 2000’s . What a waste of money. You couldn’t tell what it was.
Well I appreciate the input - I mostly just wanted to know what I was seeing. I don’t necessarily regret the decision given the quality and that we will be living here for a long time. It still looks objectively nice; just not what I was expecting. I still think it looks better than the standard GAF options I saw for a few thousand more.
When we do our lower level I think I will appreciate it it more
This tells me it is just as they are telling me, it’t the pitch. So I learned something. If you want a true colonial house don’t get one built in 1977!!! I can’t be the first homeowner who saw what they wanted to see and ignored something pertinent. I guess had I chosen a roofer with Certainteed expertise he would have known that (I still like the company I chose I just can see how this played out).
Thank you for posting. Now, i know not to recommend on a low pitch roof to our customers. surprised the pitch makes this big a difference in appearance. Glad the installation went well for you it still looks great.
Grand Manors are made to emulate a slate style roof which usually needs a steep slope. The exposure looks short due to the perspective of the shingles sloping back so steeply. Add the second floor roof looking from the ground and it looks like really short and fat shingles.
The good news is they are a good quality shingle and should last a long time.
The first pic is from the ground.
The second pic is from the Air, above the roof.
Shingles were installed correctly.
Climb up on the roof and you will see it is installed correctly and looks as it should.
Bythe way, if you install designer shingles on a lower slope roof, you will never be able to appreciate its beauty, like a higher pitched roof.
Any roof below 5/12 is not going to benefit as you would dream it should from beautiful, exotic shingles.
You make a lower slope home beautiful by getting the color schemes perfected.
No denying its a great, awesome roof.
Really, probably your last one.
Its just not as beautiful on your roof as you saw on steeper roofs and on correctly done photos of a roof which is with the sun behind your back and picture being taken at roof level height or above.
( just as you have displayed)
