Roofing granules comprising agglomerated inorganic material, and building materials, such as shingles, that include such roofing granules. By fabricating roofing granules from agglomerating inorganic material it is possible to tailor the particle size distribution so as to provide optimal shingle surface coverage, thus reducing shingle weight and usage of raw materials. Additionally, the use of agglomeration permits the utilization of by-products from conventional granule production processes.

This invention, in embodiments, relates to a roofing material comprising (a) a coated substrate having a top surface and a back surface, and (b) a plurality of roofing granules applied to the top surface of the coated substrate. The plurality of roofing granules comprises from 50% to 100% of unitary, uncoated, non-mineral based particles. This invention, in embodiments, further relates to a method of preparing such roofing material.

Some embodiments relate to a method for producing a building material. The method comprises identifying a first wavelength of light for a building material. The first wavelength of light defines a first color. The method comprises calculating a second wavelength of light for the building material by multiplying the first wavelength of light by a phi factor. The second wavelength of light defines a second color. The method comprises producing a building material having at least one of the first color, the second color, or any combination thereof.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a roofing system. In some embodiments, the roofing system includes a first roofing material, wherein the first roofing material comprises a top surface and a bottom surface. In some embodiments, the top surface of the first roofing material comprises a nail zone with a plurality of fines. In some embodiments, the roofing system includes a second roofing material, wherein the second roofing material comprises a top surface and a bottom surface. In some embodiments, the bottom surface of the second roofing material comprises a plurality of fines. In some embodiments, the roofing system comprises and a patterned adhesive, which directly contacts at least a portion of the plurality of fines in the nail zone and at least a portion of the plurality of fines on the bottom surface of the second roofing material.

A roofing system including shingles with different shingle patterns. The roofing system may include a plurality of first shingles having a first two-tab shingle pattern and a plurality of second shingles having a second two-tab shingle pattern. The first shingles including a first tab having a first width and a second tab having a second width, wherein the first width and the second width are substantially equal. The second shingles including a third tab having a third width and a fourth tab having a fourth width, wherein the third width is substantially equal to the first width and the fourth width is about double the second width. The plurality of first shingles and the plurality of second shingles can be formed from a rectangular shingle blank in an interwoven pattern with substantially no scrap or waste material.

This invention, in embodiments, relates to a roofing material comprising (a) a coated or covered substrate and (b) a single sealant applied to a surface of the coated or covered substrate, with the single sealant being free of asphalt. The single sealant exhibits a minimum activation temperature (° C.) (tan δ>1) from −10° C. to 0° C. The single sealant is configured to adhere the roofing material to at least one of (i) an underlying roofing material, (ii) an overlying roofing material, and (iii) a roofing deck substrate.

Solar-reflective roofing granules having deep-tone colors are formed by coating base mineral particles with a coating composition including an infrared-reflective pigment. Color is provided by a colored infrared pigment, a light-interference platelet pigment, or a metal oxide.

The present disclosure relates to roofing granule having a base granule with at least one layer on the base granule that includes hollow glass spheres embedded in a ceramic matrix and a roofing article having a substrate and a plurality of any embodiment of roofing granules described above. The disclosure additionally relates to a roofing granule precursor mixture containing base granules, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate, and hollow glass spheres. The disclosure also relates to a method of making roofing granules including providing base granules; applying a coating containing hollow glass spheres, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate to the base granules; and heating the coated granules to a temperature between about 550° F. and about 1000° F.

Roofing shingle layers, roofing shingles, and roofing systems having fire retardant properties are provided. In certain exemplary embodiments, the roofing shingle layers, roofing shingles, or roofing systems include an expandable fire retardant material. The expandable fire retardant material may comprise expandable graphite, ammonium polyphosphate, or a combination thereof.

A lightweight roofing shingle comprising a saturated mat having an exposed side and an unexposed side wherein a fabric reinforcing layer substantially replaces the bottom asphalt coating and the backing aggregate on the unexposed side of a conventional shingle. The lightweight shingle will have a top asphalt layer applied to the exposed side of the mat and a layer of granular material applied to the top asphalt layer opposite the mat per conventional construction, and the fabric reinforcing layer is adhered directly to the unexposed side of the saturated mat. In one embodiment, the fabric reinforcing layer covers an entire area of the unexposed side of the saturated mat. The reinforcing layer may preferably be a nonwoven fabric made from PET or polypropylene. The lightweight roofing shingle may also include a release tape layer applied to the reinforcing layer opposite the saturated mat.