What Is The Malarkey Roofing System?
The Malarkey roofing system is the manufacturer's coordinated residential lineup: field shingles plus the matched components Malarkey brands as a Secure Choice roof system — ice and water barrier, underlayment, starter shingles, field shingles, and hip and ridge shingles, installed in that order. Malarkey's current architectural lines are Highlander AR (Class 3 impact rated) and Vista AR (Class 4), with Legacy Scotchgard (Class 4) above them and Windsor Scotchgard (Class 4) as the designer option; Highlander Cool and Vista Cool variants add 3M Cool Roofing Granules. What distinguishes the brand is its material story as Malarkey tells it: every shingle is made with NEX polymer-modified (rubberized) asphalt that incorporates upcycled rubber and plastics, topped with 3M smog-reducing granules that Malarkey says help clean the air of emission pollutants. Supporting components include the Secure Start underlayment family, the Arctic Seal self-adhering ice and water barrier, Smart Start and Windsor starter shingles, and RidgeFlex and EZ-Ridge hip and ridge shingles. Malarkey ties its enhanced Pro and Premium warranties to complete Secure Choice systems installed by contractors certified through its residential contractor program.
Important Distinction
Note: Malarkey is a shingle manufacturer, not a contractor, and 'system' here is the manufacturer's coordinated component lineup — installing Malarkey field shingles alone is not the same as installing a complete Secure Choice roof system, and a manufacturer certification describes training and warranty eligibility, not a warranty in itself.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
How The Malarkey Roofing System Relates to Other Topics
The Malarkey Emerald Pro Certified Contractor credential is issued through Malarkey's certified residential contractor program, which ties enhanced warranty eligibility to installing a complete Secure Choice roof system with the required number of Malarkey accessories.
Malarkey's shingles overview lists Vista AR, Legacy Scotchgard, and Windsor Scotchgard at a Class 4 impact rating and Highlander AR at Class 3, making impact resistance a lineup-wide trait rather than a single product's feature.
Malarkey packages its residential lineup as a coordinated Secure Choice roof system of five components installed in order, which is the manufacturer's expression of the principle that an asphalt shingle roof is a system rather than a single product.
Within the Malarkey lineup the underlayment layer is served by the Secure Start family, which Malarkey lists in Lite, Plus, and Permeable versions for use beneath its shingles.
Malarkey's self-adhering ice and water barrier is Arctic Seal, described by the manufacturer as made for the areas of a roof most susceptible to leaks, alongside the high-temperature Secure Start HT.
The starter course in a Malarkey system comes from the manufacturer's own starter shingles, listed as Smart Start for its architectural lines and Windsor Starter for the Windsor designer line.
Malarkey finishes hips and ridges with its own matched cap products, listing RidgeFlex and EZ-Ridge hip and ridge shingles as the closing component of its residential system.
Malarkey's Highlander Cool and Vista Cool variants use 3M Cool Roofing Granules, which the manufacturer says can enable shingles to reflect a portion of the sun's energy rather than absorb it.
Questions about The Malarkey Roofing System?
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