CertainTeed Landmark Shingles vs. Owens Corning Duration Shingles

CertainTeed and Owens Corning are two of the biggest manufacturers in the roofing industry. Because of this, CertainTeed’s Landmark shingle and Owens Corning’s Duration shingle are two of the most popular architectural shingles on the market. 

With them both being so popular, they’re inevitably compared to each other. Unfortunately, most comparisons lean heavily one way or the other without giving actual facts to back them up.

For over 30 years, the team at Bill Ragan Roofing has believed in being transparent and unbiased so homeowners can make the right decisions. That’s why I want to give you an honest overview of CertainTeed Landmark and Owens Corning Duration shingles. 

This article covers the following:

• The facts about CertainTeed Landmark shingles
• The facts about Owens Corning Duration shingles
• Landmark shingles vs. Duration shingles: which is better?

The facts about CertainTeed Landmark shingles

CertainTeed’s Landmark® architectural asphalt shingle is the most popular asphalt shingle our customers choose. 

(Photo courtesy of CertainTeed.com)

It offers a dual-layered design with the dimension a cedar shake roof provides. Landmark shingles are also the heaviest and offer the widest array of color options in their class. 

Below are performance perks that CertainTeed’s Landmark asphalt shingles offer:

• Certified as meeting the industry's toughest third-party (UL) manufacturing quality standards
• Dual-layered construction provides extra protection from the elements
• Class A fire-resistance rating

All Landmark shingles include CertainTeed's lifetime-limited warranty to back up this performance. But that’s just one type of warranty they come with. 

Landmark asphalt shingles also come with the following warranties:

• 10-year SureStart™ warranty (covers 100% replacement and labor costs due to manufacturing defects)
• 25-year StreakFighter® warranty against streaking and discoloration caused by airborne algae
• 15-year, 110 mph wind-resistance warranty (130 mph upgrade available with CertainTeed starter and CertainTeed hip and ridge)

CertainTeed’s Landmark asphalt shingle line is a high-quality, reliable choice and, most importantly, affordable. There’s a reason Landmark shingles are incredibly popular with our customers.

The facts about Owens Corning Duration shingles

Owens Corning Duration® is an architectural asphalt shingle like CertainTeed’s Landmark asphalt shingles. They are specially formulated on Owens Corning’s TruDefinition® color platform to give them dramatic color contrast and dimension in a wide range of popular colors. 

(Photo courtesy owenscorning.com)

• Patented SureNail® Technology
• Triple Layer Protection® in the nailing zone
• Class A fire-resistance rating

Just like CertainTeed’s Landmark shingles, Owens Corning Duration shingles come with a limited lifetime warranty. However, it also comes with the following warranties:

• 10-year TRU PROtection® warranty (covers material and labor costs to repair or replace manufacturing defects but excludes tear-off and disposal)
• 25-year StreakGuard® Algae Resistance warranty against streaking and discoloration caused by algae (prorated after 10 years and must use their Hip & Ridge shingles)
• 15-year, 130 mph wind-resistance warranty

By offering ultimate protection and impressive curb appeal, you can’t go wrong with Duration® Shingles. 

Landmark shingles vs. Duration shingles

Now you know the key facts about CertainTeed’s Landmark shingle and Owens Corning Duration shingle. Both types of asphalt shingles are great choices, but which is better?

Let’s quickly review how these shingles compare to each other based on the above facts.

Looking at this table, there’s not much difference between the two. However, the differences show in the fine details. They both offer a basic 10-year warranty for manufacturer defects, but Owens Corning excludes the cost of tear-off and disposal. 

This leaves a big piece of the replacement process uncovered, especially considering you’re removing their defective products. They also both offer 25-year algae streak warranties, but Owens Corning gets prorated after 10 years. 

They both offer 130 mph warranties, but you must use CertainTeed’s starter and hip/ridge shingle to get the upgraded wind warranty. However, you’ll usually get these as part of your CertainTeed roof system investment. 

So, which asphalt shingle is better?

The truth is, both CertainTeed Landmark and Owens Corning Duration are great options. However, CertainTeed’s protections don’t have the stipulations and prorated years that Owens Corning puts in the fine print. 

CertainTeed’s Landmark line also provides a few more color options than Owens Corning Duration in general. However, the availability of colors for both shingles depends on your region and the suppliers in your area.

While the protections for your investment is important, so is the protection both shingles offer. Remember, CertainTeed Landmark shingles meet the industry's toughest manufacturing quality standards and are dual-layered. 

This makes them extremely durable and stands up well to the elements as the years go by. As I said, CertainTeed Landmark shingles are ours and the customer’s we work with preferred architectural asphalt shingles. 

So, my subjective opinion is that CertainTeed Landmark shingles are better than Owens Corning Duration shingles. However, that’s just it; it’s my opinion. 

Every roofing contractor has a preferred brand they like to use for various reasons. The important thing is to take the recommendation, get the facts, and then make the right decision for you. 

Is the shingle brand or roofing contractor more important?

Now you know that I consider CertainTeed Landmark shingles to be better than Owens Corning Duration shingles. That isn’t to say that Duration shingles are bad because they are quality shingles.

But CertainTeed’s products have not let me down for the 30-plus years we’ve been in business, and their warranty department is great. After reading this article, you should feel confident about deciding if Landmark or Duration shingles are right for you. 

However, both these shingles can only perform as well as their installation. You can buy the best and most expensive shingle, but it’ll mean nothing without a good roofing contractor. 

So, which should you care about more when making a decision: the shingle brand or the roofing contractor? To help you even further, I wrote another article answering this question. 

Check out Shingle Brand vs. Roofing Contractor to learn which one should be more important when going through the decision-making process.