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There is no doubt that the most popular residential roofing material by far is the asphalt shingle, which is found in 4 out of every 5 homes throughout the country as well as in roofing materials in Atlanta. However, prior to the turn of the 20th century, roofs were primarily covered with rolled composition roofing material until 1903, when Henry Reynolds, a roofing contractor and manufacturer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had the notion of shaping the rolls of asphalt roofing into individual shingles. This was soon followed by incorporating crushed slate granules that helped to weigh down the shingles to the roof. By the late 1920s, individual shingles made up the bulk of asphalt shingles on the market and were available in a variety of styles. Giant Shingles Giant shingles are rectangular shapes as large as 12" by 16" that were produced in a variety of different shapes, often to improve the installation process. Numerous colors could be selected to create a blended effect for monochrome roofs. Giant shingles were often installed using either the American method—shingles overlap at the bottoms—or the Dutch lap method—shingles lap to one side. French-Method Shingles French-method shingles were cut in a hex or diamond pattern—typically 12" by 12" or 16" by 16"—in order to evoke the look of the chateau roofs of the Loire Valley. Colors were often in natural stone tones such as red, green, gray, and blue-black. French-method shingles provided only one layer, a single thickness of asphalt roofing material, which was not always suitable for new construction but did work adequately over old roofing. Interlocking Shingles Interlocking shingles originally had exposed edges of individual shingles that made them prone to lifting in high winds and breakage in storms. In order to surmount the problem, manufacturers devised patterns that would fully interlock the shingles. The strength and durability of these shingles, as well as their range of beautiful colors, made them very popular. In fact, they remain practical even today in regions of the country prone to high winds. Though these styles have fallen out of favor, their variety brings a certain eye-appeal to asphalt shingles in the 21st century that are used in roofing materials in Atlanta.
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