Asphalt roofing systems including multiple sealing strips between two overlaid asphalt roof shingles are described. Additional sealing strips can enhance wind and water resistance of a roof. Simulations are carried out with three tab asphalt roofing shingles to determine desirable locations for multiple sealing strips between overlaid shingles.

A method of molding a building product may include providing an injection mold with a plurality of gates located adjacent a perimeter of the injection mold. The method may further include commingling a first material and a second material into a flow. The second material may be a color that contrasts with a color of the first material. The method may include injecting the commingled flow into the plurality of gates to form an injection molded building product, and removing the molded building product from the injection mold. In addition, the second material may extend through an interior of the molded building product and appear as contrasting streaks on an exterior of the building product to form a variegated grain appearance.

A roofing shingle includes a head lap and at least one solar cell. The head lap includes at least one handle located between a first end and a second end of the shingle and proximate to a first edge thereof. The at least one handle includes at least one cutout and a gripping portion. The at least one cutout is sized and shaped to receive an external object to facilitate transporting the shingle by a user.

A shingle blank includes a substrate coated with asphalt, a headlap portion, a prime portion, a starter shingle separation line, and first and second ridge shingle separation lines. The headlap portion has a first sealant that extends along the width of the substrate, and the prime portion has a second sealant that extends along the width of the substrate. The starter shingle separation line extends along the width of the substrate and facilitates separation of the shingle blank into first and second starter shingles. The first starter shingle includes the first sealant and the second starter shingle includes the second sealant. The first and second ridge shingle separation lines extend along the height of the substrate from an upper edge of the substrate to a lower edge of the substrate and facilitates separation of the shingle blank into three ridge shingles. Each of the three ridge shingles includes a portion of the first sealant and a portion of the second sealant.

An apparatus is disclosed for applying a strip of sealant to a web of roofing shingle stock as the web moves along a processing path. The apparatus includes an applicator wheel disposed on one side of the processing path and having a peripheral surface. The applicator wheel is rotatably mounted and oriented such that rotation of the applicator wheel moves the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel toward, adjacent to, and then away from the moving web of shingle stock. A nozzle preferably in the form of a slot die is disposed adjacent to the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel. A source of sealant is supplied and a delivery system is configured to deliver the sealant from the source of the sealant to the slot die under a predetermined pressure. The slot die and delivery system are configured to project a stream of sealant toward and onto the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel at a predetermined speed. This applies a coating of sealant to the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel. The moving web of roofing shingle stock engages the sealant on the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel as the peripheral surface moves adjacent to the web. This, in turn, draws sealant from the peripheral surface of the applicator and onto the web of roofing shingle stock thereby applying the strip of sealant to the web.

An apparatus is disclosed for applying a strip of sealant to a web of roofing shingle stock as the web moves along a processing path. The apparatus includes an applicator wheel disposed on one side of the processing path and having a peripheral surface. The applicator wheel is rotatably mounted and oriented such that rotation of the applicator wheel moves the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel toward, adjacent to, and then away from the moving web of shingle stock. A nozzle preferably in the form of a slot die is disposed adjacent to the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel. A source of sealant is supplied and a delivery system is configured to deliver the sealant from the source of the sealant to the slot die under a predetermined pressure. The slot die and delivery system are configured to project a stream of sealant toward and onto the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel at a predetermined speed. This applies a coating of sealant to the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel. The moving web of roofing shingle stock engages the sealant on the peripheral surface of the applicator wheel as the peripheral surface moves adjacent to the web. This, in turn, draws sealant from the peripheral surface of the applicator and onto the web of roofing shingle stock thereby applying the strip of sealant to the web.

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.

A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.

A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.