Selecting the best roofing material for your home can be a daunting task. In this guide, we'll break down the pros and cons of various options to help you make the best choice for your home. For many, this 20-year-deadline still feels too soon. However homeowners have a heap of new and creative options when it comes to refitting, and referencing the home's surrounding weather, environmental effects, and the slopes and angels of the roof itself will help a homeowner pick the best option for their personal style and aesthetic.
Environment
While most roofing materials easily withstand sun and rain, the inclement icy seasons of midwest season may provide a challenge for some specific selections. Removing piled-up snow with a roof rake will be easier to accomplish against cedar shakes and asphalt shingles than with a metal or clay tile roof. Ice-melting coils blend into darker asphalt shingles as well, which also provide a better grip for maintaining some rooftop structures like solar panels and sun-heated hot water tanks. Shingles and shakes also flex and withstand impacts better than metal and tile, which can dent and crack under falling debris. This may be an issue if the home is surrounded by high foliage or subject to strong winds. Pests are another factor, with boring insects partial to wooden roofing components, such as shakes, requiring proper sealing and insect control. Lastly, metal roofing will amplify the sound of rain more than any other option, even with proper insulation.
Gradient
Different materials are ideal for different slopes. Commercial flat roofs found atop most retail stores require protection and irrigation options different from the regular residential. However, once the roof meets has a 6 inch increase in hight over a length of 12 feet (a slope of ½:12), a metal panel roof system can be implemented to properly divert rainfall. Shingles can be used at a minimum slope of 3:12. Shakes and tiles require a slope of 4:12, though tiled options can go as low as 2:12, provided they have a double layer of underlayment to insure elemental protection.
Aesthetics
Rooftop aesthetics are often undermentioned in conversations over curb appeal, but when planning ahead it's important to factor in stylistic choices, especially if the home may go up for sale. While traditional and often the most affordable option, shingles are available in a wide variety of unique colors and variants, some mimicking their stone and wooden counterparts by efficiently hiding street-view imperfections through intentional color gradients. Tough traditionally rectangular, shingles are also come in rounded-edge and as hexagonal style. Metal roofing and slate tiles provide a distinct modern look, adding a sleek, darker aspect to a home's color pallet. For a more historical profile, wooden shakes and clay tiles give an out-of-time colonial look, both northeastern and southwestern styles respectively . These roofing options provide embrace a home's age instead of distracting from through modernity. Finally, the most important aspect of aesthetics is personal preference. With substantial funds devoted to quality product and installation, a roof worth the time, money, and effort should also be satisfactory it to the homeowner fitting the bill.
Roof replacement isn't an event most homeowners get excited about. Even with the best craftsmen and conditions it still takes time and money to be done right. However, the blow is often eased by the amount of options at a homeowner's hands when it comes to updates; and mixing up previous installments may solve problems and provide the property with a much-needed face-lift. And analyzing the construction of the home and the environment it occupies will no doubt lead to the best looking and longest lasting option, providing the best value through savings or selling.
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