While roofing functionality and durability are essential, the appearance of a roof should be noticed. The right color and roofing style can enhance a building’s overall aesthetic and increase its resale value.
A good way to begin is to ask Orange County Roofing Inc for shingle samples. Matching the color of the shingles to the existing brick or siding can help maintain architectural harmony.
A roof’s color is one of the most important aesthetic choices that a homeowner can make. A well-chosen color can define a home’s architectural style and create a cohesive look that adds value to the property.
However, choosing the right color can take time because so many options are available. To help homeowners make this decision, Angi suggests considering several factors, including the home’s color scheme, location, and local building trends.
For example, a home with light-colored brick or siding would do well with a light-colored roof that complements the color of the trim and gutters. Likewise, a house with a darker exterior color could work well with a dark gray or even black roof.
Another factor to consider is the climate in your area. For instance, if it gets very hot during the summer, choose a lighter-colored roof since it will reflect sunlight and prevent your home from overheating.
Similarly, if your home is in an area with snowy winters, choose a darker-colored roof so the snow doesn’t melt and stain the structure. Lastly, it’s also important to consider the other buildings in your neighborhood and how they look. While your home’s exterior can be changed, other elements, like landscaping and brickwork, are typically permanent. Hence, it’s important to consider how different roofing colors will appear in a given environment before making a final choice.
As a general rule of thumb, larger houses do well with darker roofs, while smaller homes tend to look better with lighter ones. In addition, a roof’s color can draw attention to a specific feature of the house, such as a dormer or turret, and highlight it to passersby. To help homeowners determine the best roof color for their homes, Angi recommends searching online for images of homes with similar architecture or driving around to look at neighboring properties’ color schemes and roofing materials. By doing this, homeowners can be confident that they will end up with a roofing color that meets their aesthetic preferences and works well with their home and the surrounding landscape.
A shingle style is a blank canvas, allowing the roof to blend in with the rest of the house or accentuate key features like front entries and towers. Ornate details like eaves, gutters, and trim can be used in moderation to keep the look clean and modern.
The Shingle Style is one of the most versatile architectural styles ever developed. It was born in America’s seaside towns and genteel, wooded suburbs but has a national and even global reach. Leading architects self-consciously designed it as a vernacular version of Richardsonian Romanesque and, later, the Queen Anne Revival architecture popular at the time. It was characterized by a unified cladding of cedar shingles and a sense of horizontal continuity in its rambling, gambrel, or cross-gable roofs and architectural massing. It was also often punctuated by turrets, porches, balconies, and other features that create a sense of an endless summer.
Because of their asymmetrical nature, these houses can feel organic to those living there. This is enhanced by the shingle’s visual tautness and its horizontal shape, which creates the feeling of a building as an envelope of space rather than a great block. This impression is further reinforced by a sense of continuous shingle surfaces and the use of various materials to add texture and color.
Today, many homeowners choose a solid dark grey or black asphalt shingle to allow their homes to blend in with the neighborhood and surrounding natural environment. In contrast, others select a shingle that matches the colors of their house’s fixed exterior elements, such as brickwork and patterned driveway/courtyard pavement. In either case, viewing a sample of your choice in various lighting conditions is important before deciding. Natural light varies by location and time of day, which will influence how your home looks under a roof.
Whether you’re remodeling your home or installing a new roof, the roofing material you choose will affect the aesthetic of your house. You were considering how each option looks, and the materials’ durability, cost, weight, and climate suitability can help you make the best choice for your house.
Asphalt shingles are the most common roofing material in America. They’re available in various colors, blends, and styles, including the standard three-tab, which has a slit down the center to resemble individual tabs once installed. A thicker variation called an architectural shingle has more of a dimensional look. Both shingles are rated for wind resistance; some can last up to 30 years.
Another popular option is a wood shingle roof. While many homeowners prefer the rustic appearance of cedar shakes, there are advantages to other types of wood shingle roofing. For instance, a wood shingle roof is less expensive than asphalt and requires less maintenance. However, it also doesn’t shed water, so it may not be ideal in humid climates where mildew, moss, and algae can thrive.
Metal roofs are a good option for some homes. They are lightweight but durable, fire-resistant, and impact-, rot- and insect-resistant. They also work well in colder climates because they reflect sunlight rather than absorb it.
A more modern roofing option is steel shingles manufactured to resemble traditional shingles. They’re more affordable than real wood shingles and come in various styles and colors to complement your house. They’re also more energy-efficient than other shingles, as they don’t absorb heat and instead reflect it.
Choosing the right roofing material is important for more than just your home’s aesthetic. Consider your climate, as the amount of rain and snow you experience will affect the longevity of any roofing materials you choose. Also, consider other environmental factors impacting your roof, such as trees higher than your house or a coastal climate where moisture can lead to mold and mildew. A roofer can help you determine which roofing material best suits your house’s environment and needs.
Several different finishes are available for wood shingles, and choosing the right one will greatly impact their appearance. For instance, a stain or paint protects the wood from moisture and other weather conditions while allowing the grain to show through. In addition, it will help to slow the natural deterioration of the wood, prolonging its lifespan and protecting it from damage caused by hail and other forces.
Some shingle manufacturers offer a special finish called ‘Original,’ designed to resist fading, chipping, and tearing. It is a more expensive option but well worth the extra cost. Additionally, many shingle manufacturers have their products tested by third-party laboratories to verify that they meet standards set by Underwriters Laboratories and the American Society for Testing and Materials.
Regardless of the type of shingle chosen, it is important to install them properly. Several factors are involved in this, including exposure (the visible portion of the shingle), offset (the lateral distance between joints in successive courses, sometimes called stagger or ‘edge-to-edge spacing’), and nail placement. These factors can impact a roof’s wind resistance, so it is vital to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing them.
Once field shingles are installed up to the ridge of the roof, they should be covered with a shingle cap to prevent water from seeping through cracks or holes. In addition, any valleys in the roof should be flashed with an ice and water membrane to prevent further moisture penetration. This will also extend the roof system’s life and improve its water-shedding ability. To ensure the integrity of a roofing system, all nails must be securely driven flush with, but not cutting into, the shingle.