What are Class 3 and Class 4 impact ratings, and why are they important?

By Emma Peterson.  

Learn about class ratings and their role in protecting your home from the elements. 

When choosing the right shingles for your roof, you might be overwhelmed by all of the color, material and rating options to choose from. But what are class ratings anyway, and what exactly do they mean for your roof and your home?  

In roofing, class ratings are used to designate the ability of a roofing material to resist damage from certain elements, like fire, wind or impact (i.e., hail). Ratings are standardized by industry organizations like Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). 

For example, brands such as IKO Industries, a roofing industry leader, recently announced that all of its laminate shingle products now have either a Class 3 or a Class 4 impact rating. A shingle's Class 3 or Class 4 rating indicates its resistance to impact, with Class 4 being the highest, meaning the shingle can withstand a larger, 2-inch steel ball without damage, compared to a Class 3 shingle which resists a 1.75-inch steel ball.  

In this Roofing Road Trips® podcast episode, Heidi J. Ellsworth spoke with IKO’s Jack Gottesman and Dyana Sweigart to break down what these new impact ratings mean for homeowners.  

“The biggest benefit is peace of mind for having a resilient roof,” Dyana explained. “Having shingles that are impact-resistance rated simply means it’s a better-quality roof and something that will withstand increasingly severe weather that we've all been experiencing.”  

Jack shared an example of these impact-rated shingles in action, saying, “There's a video that we have on our website of a contractor who was in Dallas, which is a big hail area. He had to remove a roof that wasn’t very old because of impact damage. So, he replaced it with an IKO Nordic roof, which carries a Class 4 impact resistance rating. That rating gave him peace of mind, because what it really says is that this shingle is proven to perform even when tested with a process that replicates the impact of two-inch hail.”  

Beyond that initial peace of mind about your roof’s ability to withstand whatever nature may throw at it, there are other benefits to a Class 3 or 4 rating. For example, some home insurance policies give homeowners discounts for having an impact-rated shingle.  

The best news about the proven performance of IKO’s laminate shingles? Impact ratings are just the start! Jack shared, “When it comes to our Dynasty and Nordic shingles, we are continuously innovating. They all come in a variety of enhanced colors that look amazing on the roof. They have that wide nailing zone on the face, what we call ArmourZone, that's reinforced by the band in the back to help protect against everything from nail penetration to wind uplift up to 130 miles an hour.”   

Learn more about the incredible performance of IKO’s Class 3 and Class 4 products for your roof!