Learning Different Roofing Types
Often, your choice of materials depends on your locality and your own personal taste in style
. Local styles and codes can also dictate which type of housetop shingle you choose.
Above all, choosing roofing shingles is the time you need to look at features cost, fire retarding ability, and durability. Make sure you check out all of your options and choose the right materials for your home.
Asphalt composition shingles are the perennial favorite. This status is due to many factors, including attractive cost, durability, and fire retarding properties.
Asphalt shingles typically have a 30 year warranty depending on the manufacturer's specifications, and have the ability to last even longer than 30 years. Housetop shingle manufacturers no longer produce only the usual flat 3 tab asphalt shingle.
Now, asphalt composition shingles have become thicker and more textured. They have even been designed to look like other materials such as wood or slate.
This thicker - and typically more expensive - housetop shingle is called an architectural shingle. The roofing company will most definitely appreciate you choosing asphalt composition because they are easier to install and faster to put up than other types of materials.
Wood shake material is the dream of many homeowners because it looks so attractive on their home. When wood shake shingles weather, they do so in a mottled, variegated way that is pleasing to the eye.
Also, wood shake, despite being an organic material, can last from 30 to 50 years if properly maintained. Wood shake is mainly cut from cedar, though you can also find pine wood shake.
Metal housetop is still a rarity in most developed countries, but it is gaining traction as a building material. Most roofers will not install metal, so you would need to locate a contractor who specializes in metal.
Fancy copper housetop material, of the type seen in historic homes, is may be far too expensive for most homeowners. Galvanized sheet is a durable, yet more cost effective choice.
After you go through the pain of installing metal roofing, you get to enjoy it for the next 50 to 75 years. Longevity is the chief advantage of a metal housetop.
If you live in fire-prone areas, such as southern California, a metal housetop will extinguish any embers. Insects such as termites can never eat metal roofing, and it is impervious to rot and mildew.
Because metal conducts heat from the sun, snow slides off more quickly than with conventional roofing. Surprisingly, a properly installed metal housetop is no noisier than any other type of roof.
Metal roofing is typically installed over a solid substrate and the attic and insulation provide a sound barrier. If you want to install a metal housetop over your existing roof, the metal roof will most likely be raised over the existing roof by means of furring strips.
These furring strips will create an air pocket which will further deaden sound. True slate roofing is nearly impossible for the do-it-yourselfer to install because it is heavy, heard to replace, and extremely slippery.
Most homeowners who want the look of slate bypass real slate and instead buy the rubber or composition slate material. With composition slate, you can make your house look beautiful and not feel guilty about it since it is made from post-industrial synthetics.
Composition slate roofing material is still a rarity, but it is gaining acceptance with many home builders, homeowners, and roofers. Also, faux slate takes care of one of the big problems with real slate, which is its excessive weight.
Faux slate is one-third the weight of real slate. Long the most predominant image in Southern California and Florida, the so-called Spanish style red tile roof has been waning in popularity.
Other housetop materials are now available which meet ceramic tiles' fire retardant ability, and with much less weight put on the roof. This type of shingle is called the half-barrel because it is essentially a cylinder cut in half, length-wise, and roughly sixteen inches long.
by: Tom Selwick
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