tabs into the adjacently positioned depressions thereby reducing the stress loads that adjacent shingles apply to one another application_number US 46344506 A description the present invention provides a roofing system formed by roofing members or shingles possessing thermal expansion relief characteristics the roofing system provides a degree of u201c play u201d between adjacently mounted shingles on a roof structure specifically as the shingles expand in size due to the temperature of the shingles becoming elevated spacer tabs which are typically utilized to properly align and space apart shingles for installation are allowed to be displaced inwardly into the side regions of the shingles this allows the side regions of the shingles to avoid the high compressive loads applied by thermally expanding adjacent shingles in certain embodiments the spacer tabs are configured to substantially only undergo elastic deformation when thermal expansion occurs while in other embodiments certain modes of failure result in the spacer tabs partially or fully breaking away from connection with the side regions of the respective shingle turning to fig2 6 an embodiment of a shingle 200 possessing thermal expansion relief characteristics is depicted with a spacer tab feature 202 abutting an adjacent shingle 300 the shingle 200 has a main body 204 possessing a top surface 206 a bottom surface 208 and side regions 210 from which the spacer tab feature 202 extends it should be understood that the shingle top surface 206 may take the same form as the top surface 103 of the.