Atlas Chalet Shingles

The Atlas Chalet is a type of roofing shingle that was manufactured by the Atlas Roofing Corporation from the late 90’s until  2012. 

When the Atlas Chalet was produced, it was considered a highly innovative product. Its unique design allowed it to be recognized as an upgraded architectural shingle (to the untrained eye), but it was really nothing more than your basic 3-tab shingle. Builders loved this product as it looked aesthetically pleasing, while being much less expensive than true architectural shingles. This trait allowed builders to “up the price” of the home while lining their pockets with profit. There was nothing sinister happening – this was simply an innovative product for its time. 

Within just a few years of the Atlas Chalet being installed on homes, homeowners and building owners noticed a high rate of granule loss on their shingles. Gutters and downspouts became clogged with granules and the shingles began to blister. 

Not long after this happened, the shingles began peeling up and flying off the roofs during moderate wind and rain storms. The Atlas Roofing Corporation denied that the shingle was defective, but ultimately stopped producing it not long after the first reports of premature deterioration came through.

There are some little known facts about how insurance companies must behave when it comes to indemnifying your home. For one, if you file a claim on your homeowners insurance and the adjuster finds damage, your insurance company must repair or replace the damaged areas using “Like, Kind and Quality” products. This presents a bit of an issue when it comes to the Atlas Chalet shingle.

In addition to this, 99% of the time the Atlas Chalet is not repairable due to premature deterioration. If the shingles are too brittle to properly repair, then the "non-repairability factor" comes into play, forcing the hand of your insurance carrier to provide a full replacement.

Here are the facts:

• Fact #1: The Atlas Chalet shingle is a “30 year” shingle. This represents the “Quality” of the product.

• Fact #2: The Atlas Chalet shingle is a 3-tab shingle. This represents the “Kind” of product.

• Fact #3: ITEL (a material testing/matching facility) states that there is no suitable product that may be used in the place of an Atlas Chalet.

• Fact #4: Most insurance companies use the information that ITEL provides to inform their decisions about how they proceed with indemnification.

Given the above information, your insurance company is not allowed to repair your roof with a product that is not of "Like, Kind and Quality". As a result, if your insurance company determines that your roof has been damaged by a storm – they must replace the entire roof. They may not repair your roof no matter how minimal the damage is.