Class 4 Impact-Resistant Shingles in San Antonio, TX

Picture a lab tech standing 20 feet above a roofing sample, dropping a 2-inch steel ball on it. Twice, same spot. Then they flip the sample over and look at the back for cracks. If the mat held, it passes UL 2218 at Class 4, the top of the scale, and that's what makes Class 4 shingles. The lower classes use smaller balls: 1.25 inches for Class 1, 1.5 for Class 2, 1.75 for Class 3. You'll sometimes see FM 4473 on a spec sheet too. It's a similar test, done with ice balls.

On a real roof, the rating buys you better odds. That's all, but it's a lot. Most springs, Central Texas gets one-inch and golf-ball hail, and those are the storms that bruise a standard shingle and start a claim; a Class 4 shingle usually takes them without a mark. It isn't hail-proof. A jagged three-inch stone riding a 60 mph gust is nothing like a lab ball, and we'd be wary of any roofer who says otherwise.

A detail people miss: the rating is on the product, not the brand. One manufacturer can sell a Class 4 line and an unrated line that look almost identical from the curb. Look for the UL 2218 Class 4 statement on the bundle wrapper and the spec sheet. Your insurer will want to see that label, too.

I-35 is a hail track, and San Antonio and Austin both sit on it. Hail up to 4.5 inches fell on Helotes on April 12, 2016, in what was then the costliest hail event in Texas history. The April 28, 2021 storm that set the state hailstone record in Hondo dropped large hail on San Antonio as well. Then on September 24, 2023, stones up to about 4 inches hit Round Rock and moved into North Austin. Those make the news. Class 4 really earns its money on the smaller storms in between, the ones that quietly turn a sound roof into a claim.

Ask around about an impact resistant roof in Texas and you'll hear two answers: Class 4 asphalt shingles, or metal. Both carry impact ratings. Shingles cost less up front and match the rest of the subdivision, and you can repair them a slope at a time. Metal lasts longer. It also dents, and some policies exclude cosmetic damage to metal. For the full comparison, read our guide to the best roof for Central Texas hail, and the panel side lives on our metal roofing page.

Planning to stay in your Bexar County house more than a few years? We'd go Class 4. Labor doesn't change from a standard shingle roof, only the material does.

Everybody asks about the discount first. Many Texas insurers give a premium credit for an impact-resistant roof, and nobody can tell you a statewide number, because there isn't one. On its roofing discounts page, the Texas Department of Insurance says the discount for each class of roofing is set by the insurance company, company by company. For Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policies, TDI notes that a Class 4 roof covering gets the highest credit, the product has to carry the UL 2218 classification label, and the contractor fills out TDI form PC068, the Impact-Resistant Roofing Installation Form. Other insurers may have their own forms.

Before you pick a shingle, call your agent and ask:

• What does my carrier give for a Class 4 roof, in dollars per year?
• What paperwork do you need? (Usually it's the product name, the impact class and proof of installation.)
• Does a Class 4 roof change anything else on my policy, like a cosmetic damage exclusion?
• Will the credit apply on its own, or do I have to send documents and request it? Often it's the second.

After the job we put the exact product line, color, rating and install date in writing, because that's what agents ask for. We won't quote you a discount amount. Only your insurer can.

We stick with American roofing brands, and Owens Corning and GAF are our two favorites. Their Class 4 lines use SBS-modified asphalt. Think of it as a rubberized blend: the shingle flexes when a stone hits instead of fracturing. Owens Corning's Duration FLEX shingles carry UL 2218 Class 4, and GAF's Class 4 architectural line is Timberline AS II. Both come in dimensional profiles. From the street they pass for a standard architectural roof, which helps with HOA approval and with resale.

The install is the same system we use on every shingle roof. We tear off to the deck and replace soft decking. Then synthetic underlayment, ice-and-water membrane in the valleys and around penetrations, new drip edge, flashing and pipe boots, all nailed to the manufacturer's pattern. Skip any of that and the rating doesn't mean much. Our asphalt shingle roofing page covers the system in more detail and lines Class 4 up against 3-tab and standard architectural shingles.

Don't confuse the product warranty with the impact rating. Manufacturer warranties cover defects, terms vary by line, and hail damage generally isn't their job; that's what your homeowner's policy is for. Bring your questions to the estimate. We'll go over the manufacturer's current paperwork for whichever line you choose.

Good news if you're in an HOA neighborhood, anywhere from Stone Oak to Alamo Ranch. Texas Property Code Section 202.011, added in 2011, limits a property owners' association from prohibiting shingles designed primarily to resist wind and hail. The shingles have to resemble the ones used or allowed in the subdivision, be more durable than and equal or superior in quality to them, and match the look of the surrounding properties.

So a Class 4 architectural shingle in a color close to your neighbors' is protected. A bold color nobody else on the block has? Not so much. And the law doesn't let you skip approval. Send it to the architectural committee first. We'll give you the spec sheet with the impact rating plus a color sample for the submittal, and we don't start until the approval is in your hand.

Plenty of San Antonio roofs come off after a hailstorm, and that's the cheapest time to move up to Class 4. Most policies pay to replace like kind and quality. Had standard architectural shingles? The claim pays for standard architectural shingles. You cover the difference in material cost for the upgrade. Labor stays the same.

Our in-house staff includes former insurance adjusters, and this is the kind of thing they're good at. They meet your adjuster on the roof and document the hail damage. Afterward they show you, line by line, what the claim pays and what Class 4 adds on top, so you're deciding with real numbers. The hail damage insurance claim page explains how the process runs. One warning: Texas law bars any contractor from waiving or paying your deductible, so be careful with anyone who offers to.

Texas-RRR is based in San Antonio and covers the Austin metro as well, with 8 full crew teams and more than 2,800 projects completed. For a free estimate with Class 4 and standard shingles priced side by side, call (210) 802-6906.