Architectural shingles
The standard roof on most houses built since the 1990s. Thicker, with a shadow line, in blends of grey, brown and black. This is where most colour decisions get made, and the render at the top of the page is a grey to brown shingle change on a white cottage.
3-tab shingles
Flat, cheaper and plainer. Fewer colours and no shadow line. Usually chosen for a budget re-roof or a rental. The visualizer renders them so you can see whether the flat look bothers you from the street.
Designer shingles
Heavier shingles cut to look like slate or shake. Worth rendering because the effect depends a lot on the house. They look right on a large traditional house and fussy on a small one.
The greys
Charcoal, pewter, estate grey and slate. The most popular family and the safest. Charcoal on almost any siding works. Lighter greys suit dark siding.
The browns
Weathered wood, driftwood, barkwood, shakewood, desert tan. These are the colours people struggle with, because the blend changes with the light. Render two and look at them next to each other.
Any manufacturer
The manufacturers' own visualizers show their own shingles only. Here you can render a GAF colour next to an Owens Corning colour on the same photo and pick the one you like before you ask for a quote.
