Roofing

Although it may not be the most exciting home renovation, roof replacement is often essential to have. Every single home remodeling task from drywall installation on down to paint finishing will be ruined if you do not first protect it properly with a roof. All roofs need repair or replacement from time to time. The extent of the problem and age of the roof are key factors that can help you decide whether to do repairs or completely replace the roof finish. There are many reasons to consider for replacement or repair. Time degrades all roofs and can cause localized damage such as a few missing shingles or widespread damage, or the roof may have just exceeded the life expectancy of the product. The roof may appear to sag in some areas because of insufficient strength or deterioration of framing or sheathing. Other conditions that contribute to the need for a roof repair or replacement are damage to the roofing material and structure due to build-up of ice during the winter, leaks occurring at the flashing, or excess moisture in the attic area that lead to deterioration of the roof structure.

Roofing comes in various materials, qualities and price ranges. The pitch (or steepness of your roof) and how many squares (a unit of measure equalling 100 square feet) are needed will factor in to the price, as well as the composition (what is commonly referred to as asphalt shingles )and a host of other factors. Ongoing maintenance for the specific roof and material is important and contributes to how the roof performs, when it needs repairs, and when it needs replacement.

Although replacing a roof is a big, costly project, a moderately-sized, professionally-installed roofing job might take only 3 or 4 days. The roofing process consists of removing all existing shingles from the rooftop, depositing them in a roll-off, and removing them from the site. Next, minor repairs can be made on the roof surface if in good condition, and if not, bad wood is replaced with plywood or 1"x6" boards, whichever is applicable to your roof. A roofer will then install ice dam protection (a barrier of synthetic materials to prevent backed up ice in the gutters, which prevents ice-melt from draining away. The ice-melt will permeate under the shingles and cause damage to the inside of your house.) After this preparation, asphalt paper is laid down and shingles may finally begin to be applied, starting at the eaves and working upward. Flashing is then installed around all areas where leaks might come into the house, such as against the chimney or stack vents. Finally, the ridge vent is installed, which runs along the ridge of the roof to expel trapped vapor and heat so that the roofing does not buckle and deteriorate over time.

Compare Roofing Options

Your choice of roofing materials often depends on your locality as much as on your own personal taste. Local styles and codes can dictate which type of roofing shingle you choose. Therefore, research this and above all, look at the cost, fire retarding ability, and durability of your selected material.

Asphalt Composition

Asphalt composition roofing shingles are the perennial favorite due to many factors including attractive cost, durability, and fire retarding properties. They are also easier to install and faster to put up than other types of roofing materials. Asphalt shingles typically have 30 year warranties (check the manufacturer's specifications for this) and last even longer than 30 years in practice.

Roofing shingle manufacturers no longer produce only the usual flat 3 tab asphalt shingle. Now, asphalt composition shingles have become thicker and more textured, and even look like other materials such as wood or slate. This thicker, and naturally more expensive, roofing shingle is called an architectural shingle.

In sum: The typical asphalt composition shingle is cheap and easily obtainable, but less attractive than other options due to "flat" appearance.

Wood Shake

Wood shake roofing material is the ideal of many homeowners, and for good reason—it looks good. Even when wood shake shingles weather, they do so in a mottled, variegated way that is pleasing to the eye. Also, despite being an organic material, wood shake shingles 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.

In sum: Wood shake shingles are a pricey, but attractive shingle that gives your home a natural look.

Metal

Metal roofs used to be found only on architect-designed houses, but it is gaining traction as a building material. Now, you'll find metal roofing on more conventional houses. And surprisingly, properly installed metal roofing is no noisier than any other type of roof. Although it is slightly more dangerous in the sense that metal roofs are more slippery than other materials and therefore more difficult to walk on, metal roofing does not attract lightning any more than a conventional roof does (but if metal roofing does happen to get struck by lightning, it is less combustible than conventional roofing materials such as shake shingles.)

Metal roofing can help protect your home in extreme conditions, as it will extinguish any embers that could fall on it, insects such as termites can never eat metal roofing, and it is impervious to rot and mildew. And because it conducts heat quickly from the sun, snow slides off more quickly than with conventional roofing. Still, most metal roofing manufacturers will warrant their products for an average of 30 years, which is about the same as conventional roofing manufacturers.

In sharp contrast to asphalt shingles (the cheapest type of roofing product), you may pay up to $600 per square. Fancy copper roofing material, of the type seen in historic homes, is a little too expensive for most homeowners, however, a galvanized sheet metal is more moderate choice. After installing metal roofing, you get to enjoy it for the next 50 to 75 years, as longevity is the chief advantage of metal roofing.

In sum: Metal roofing is a more expensive, but attractive material with properties that can help protect against extreme conditions.

Slate

True slate roofing is nearly impossible for the do-it-yourselfer to install, as it is an extremely heavy material that requires professional skills to apply and is notoriously slippery. What makes a slate roof the most expensive material to use is its initial cost, in terms of both labor and skill. However, it is the longest lasting material and is used for a large percentage of the most important buildings built in the last five centuries.

Slate roofs come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and thicknesses. One can create many different looks to enhance just about any architectural style. Mined all over the world, slate is found in gray, green, purple, black, and red, sometimes with a mottling effect (mixing a couple of these colors together, the most common being gray-black, gray-green, and green-purple). The material will change color over time. Weathering slates will change colors almost immediately after installation and may continue to change for years, while unfading slates change colors more gradually and subtly. Slate is readily split into tough, thin tiles that can endure the rugged conditions of a rooftop for many years with style, providing a pleasant appearance while needing little maintenance.

Though not the only reason, environmental concern is certainly a good reason for installing slate. Slate is a natural product that comes out of the ground and can safely go back into the ground. Another good reason is that slate roof is the best chance you have for getting a leak-free roof. Most leaks in roofs occur in flat areas and areas with protrusions, and since slate roofs are installed by craftsmen who are thinking in service life of decades or even centuries, these details are usually installed with great care. As a result, the quality of leak protection is much higher, making slate roofs leak much less often than other kinds of roofing—especially on houses with complicated roof lines. Slate roofs are also one of the most fireproof and wind resistant roofs.

In sum: Slate roofing is very expensive to install, but is a highly attractive, high-end roofing option that will last longer than any other.