A good roof serves you for decades, and you might want to ensure you are going for the ideal residential roofing material type that best suits your home or building. While style, performance, and functionality are vital features, there is more to look for in a roof. Be aware of these 10 crucial factors when selecting your roofing material.
1. The Design of Your Home
The roofing material you choose partly depends on the architectural design of your commercial building or home. For example, tiles are best suited for antique-style homes while the versatility of asphalt shingles makes them compatible with nearly any architectural design.
You will need to look at your roof pitch; how quickly your roof drains water. Most American residential roofs feature a steep slope making asphalt shingles more popular. However, if the slopes of your roof are low, you will need to look for a specialized roofing product with more leak-resistant features.
2. Material’s Lifespan
Roofing materials significantly differ in their expected lifespan. It is mainly due to the material’s strength, but other things such as maintenance, climate, and storm damage also reduce their lifespan.
Most homeowners frequently ask, how often should you replace your roof? The answer to this depends on the quality of the roofing material and your future plans. If you plan to live in the house for the longest time, ensure you go for the material with an extended lifespan, such as slate, metal, or tiles. Even though they cost more to install, they will serve you for decades. However, if you plan to sell the house soon, you will not need to devote much to a roof.
3. The Region’s Climatic Conditions
Although all roofs play a vital role in shielding you against adverse weather conditions, the roofing materials respond to various climatic conditions differently. Some materials quickly weaken under excess water, while others crack or split with exposure to too much sun.
It is best to ensure that the roofing material you choose is robust enough to endure the local climatic variations. For hotter climates, opt for roofing materials, such as slate tiles, terracotta, or concrete. In colder regions, you will need a material with the ability to trap heat, such as asphalt shingles, slate, or metal.
4. Your Budget and the Cost
Budgeting is crucial in any home improvement project, including a roofing project. As a considerable variation in types of roofing materials is available today, so are their prices. The prices differ depending on the brand, longevity, quality of the material, and production cost.
For instance, while slates tend to be pricier, most people regard asphalt shingles as a relatively low-priced material. However, it’s worth noting that durability is not the only thing that causes a roofing material to be expensive; the brand contributes too. Seeking guidance from a reliable roofing expert will enable you to choose a cost-effective material that best suits your budget and needs.
5. Roofing Application
You may need a roofing material for various purposes like installing on a brand new building, adding to existing construction, or replacing a roof. All these applications dictate your roofing material selection process.
With new roofs, your choices are broad as you are not bound to any existing roof material, roof pitch, or underlying roof structure composition, as is the case with replacement roofs. Nonetheless, your material choices need to blend and function well with your existing structure.
6. Energy Efficiency
If you wish to live more sustainably, you need to consider energy-efficient roofing options in your material choices. With the right roof, you can save a lot on energy bills. For instance, certain materials such as metalwork and asphalt shingles excellently reflect the sun’s heat far from the attic instead of transferring the heat into the home. With such a cool roof, you don’t need to overwork your air conditioner to lower the hot temperatures to a comfortable level. As a result, the difference in energy costs becomes noticeable.
7. Resilience
If your area is susceptible to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, hailstorms, or wildfires, find a resilient roofing material capable of preventing dents and withstanding punctures. Even the smallest hole on your rooftop can let in water, damaging your property; thus, you must avoid that.
While it could be challenging to find an entirely fire-resistant roofing material, a few won’t ignite due to embers or sparks from the nearby fire. These include tiles, asphalt shingles, metals, and treated shakes.
8. Aesthetics
Your roof’s appearance holds an essential role in the overall curb appeal of your property. Apart from your roofing material being durable and resilient, it must be attractive as well and match the style of the building.
For instance, roof shingles feature various styles, types, colors, and textures to easily compliment the style of homes in your community or neighborhood while accenting the roof pitch of your structure. Ensure you choose a material that is aesthetically appealing to you.
9. Building Codes
Before you go for any roofing material, ensure you familiarize yourself with local and community building codes. The building codes are rules and guidelines you must adhere to during construction, including the roofing material type permitted.
Consider it the first priority to visit your local building inspector’s office to ascertain the building code version effective in your area. You can also go through the local government website or simply call the building inspector’s office. It would be best to understand the local homeowners’ construction rules if you stay in a gated community.
10. Weight of the Roofing Material
Depending on the roofing material you choose, your roof can be as heavy as 50,000 pounds or as light as 1750 pounds. Heavy roofing materials pose an impact on the building’s structural integrity. As the buildings age, they start to lose their strength and weaken. With lower firmness, the home is most likely to be overburdened by the heavy weight of the roofing material and shift down.
If your home is over 40 years old, it would be best to lower the overall pressure on the building by simply going for low-weight roofing material, such as asphalt. If it’s still a new house, you might want to consider materials that go hand-in-hand with the building’s structural stability without overburdening it.
From the discussion above, you can tell you indeed need to consider many factors before going for a roofing material of choice. With all the things involved, you might want to consider walking the journey with a roofing expert for better insights and recommendations to enable you to settle for the best. Always refer to this post if you are unsure of what to do to remain on track.