Can Architectural Shingles Be Installed over Architectural Shingles?

Can Architectural Shingles Be Installed over Architectural Shingles?

Re-roofing used to be pretty straight forward with 3-tab shingles. The standard practice was that you could install a new layer of singles directly over the old layer during a re-roof. Most people would limit this practice to a total of two layers of shingles. Any more than that and you’d have to tear off the old shingles before installing a new layer.

Today the question of installing architectural shingles over an older layer of architectural shingles is a bit more complicated and one that doesn’t seem to have 100% consensus.

The answer to the question starts with the drastic difference between an architectural (laminated) shingle and an old school 3-tab shingle. Three tab shingles are a constant thickness while architectural shingles have  multiple layers that create an uneven surface. If you look at the picture above you can see the difference.

The quick answer is yes you can re-roof architectural shingles over existing architectural shingles (however you must check with the shingle manufacturer as well). Having said that it will be nearly impossible to get a good looking quality installation. As you can see from the photo the architectural shingles will have bumps created by the old shingles which will keep the new shingles from looking flat and smooth.

The best solutions is to do a proper tear off, and then install architectural shingles.  Also, remember in some cases too much of a load on the roof can be an issue in of itself.  So, while architectural shingles can be re-roofed with architectural shingles over it, it is definitely not recommended in most cases.

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