Selecting Roofing Supplies
The alternatives vary from asphalt shingles to wooden shakes and clay tiles, from steel panels to rubber lookalike slate. The most important pattern to notice, nonetheless, is that as with home-development supplies generally, there's an rising move in direction of engineered roofing materials. This change is being driven by a couple of totally different factors. One is just the high price of wood. The second is that in lots of cases, codes now mandate the use of fireproof building materials. And third, folks understandably wish to build with materials that not solely look good but in addition are very lengthy-lived.
Asphalt Shingles
The roofing material all of us see essentially the most of lately — the one that covers the roofs of an amazing majority of homes across America — is the usual three-tab asphalt shingle. One of many least-costly roofing choices, asphalt shingles are available in a dozen or so totally different colors each strong and blended. The shingle merchandise being made immediately are normally assured for 20, or in some instances 30 years, making them a wonderful value. Worth is the principal advantage of this roofing materials, which explains it's commonality. The disadvantage, nonetheless, if there could be said to be one, is the fact that it's so common.
The following improve from an ordinary three-tab is a thicker variation known as an architectural shingle. These shingles are built up to be about twice as thick as a traditional shingle with the layers staggered to provide them a heavier, extra substantial or "architectural" look. In some colours they resemble slate, and in other colors wood shakes. We used architectural shingles on the Lexington ranch house. With solely a modest upgrade in price and up to a 30-12 months assure, architectural shingles additionally symbolize an excellent worth with an added contact of style.
Shingles, Shakes...
For appears, it's onerous to beat a wooden shingle roof. Over time it weathers out to a grey or gentle silver that seems to root the home to the landscape. A number of species are used: Western Pink Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Jap White Cedar. Shingles are relatively smooth and reduce to a uniform thickness, though they fluctuate in width. Wooden shakes are thicker and rougher, being split somewhat than sawn from the logs. Wood roofs are meant to breathe and needs to be laid over a substrate that permits air to flow into behind them: skip sheathing — wooden strips or battens nailed on to the roof rafters — is the normal technique of installing a wooden shingle roof. About 10 years ago we began utilizing a plastic matrix product that's one thing like a scrubby pad, which allows air to flow into behind the shingles. This product may be laid on high of a constructing-paper-coated plywood roof deck, making it ultimate for a retrofit. One other technique of getting air circulation behind the shingles is to put them on strain-handled lattice.
For all their great appears, shingles and shakes are expensive to put in and do require some periodic upkeep, sometimes in the form of washing to remove any mildew or moss, after which re-oiling with a transparent wooden ending product. On our present Shingle-model venture right here in Manchester, Massachusetts, we're using a wooden shingle that is new to us: strain-handled Southern Yellow Pine, which grays out in a couple of years to resemble cedar and is claimed to require no upkeep at all.
A correctly installed and maintained wooden roof should final at least 30 to 50 years. Actually, we've got seen roofs on which the shingles were still good after 25 years or so, however the galvanized nails were finally rusting, so make sure you use a excessive-high quality stainless-steel nail!
...And Fakes
Initially, our Craftsman-model bungalow in Santa Barbara, California, would have been clad in a combination of wooden shingles and shakes, because the constructing wanted that shaggy tough-hewn look to look authentic. Nevertheless, due to hearth hazard, native codes now require all roofing supplies to be fireproof. Accordingly, we used a heavy architectural asphalt shingle on the roof, and a cementitious shingle manufactured to appear like a wooden shake for the facet partitions -- though they're suitable to be used on the roof as well. Use of those "fake" shakes is quickly increasing, each because they satisfy the strict fireplace codes in the West and because they are long lived and require no maintenance.
Slate and Pretend Slate
In the Northeast slate was a conventional roofing materials for high-finish homes and municipal buildings. It's stunning, lasts for generations, sheds ice and snow, and may be very expensive. Because of its value and weight, which requires a beefier roof structure to assist, slate just isn't usually used these days. Yet on our Billerica project, rebuilding Dick Silva's burnt-out household house, we wanted the slate look. Again we turned to an "engineered" product, this time a slate lookalike fabricated from recycled rubber and plastic. At solely about one-third the load and price of slate, these shingles might be installed using commonplace instruments and techniques. From the street, the discerning eye might be capable of inform the difference between engineered and the real McCoy, but most of us could be very house-proud with one among these roofs on our homes. Plus, these shingles are guaranteed to final for as long as 50 years.
Steel
Steel roofs, within the form of corrugated, galvanized sheets, have been a typical characteristic of barns, sheds and different agricultural and utility buildings for years. Such a roof is reasonable, rugged, long-lasting and straightforward to put in — excellent for a utility application. On the other finish of the spectrum is a copper roof, elegant enough to grace the country's best mansions and public buildings. Sleek bay and bow windows are often roofed with sheet copper soldered at the seams. We used such roofson both the Billerica and the Lexington houses. Larger expanses of roof are covered utilizing the "standing-seam" technique, wherein one sheet joins with its parallel mate through an interlocking, water-tight seam.
Metallic is a superb selection for a home in snow nation, as well as in agricultural country. Thankfully, by way of products obtainable, there is a lot to choose from between the galvanized low-end and the copper high-end. On our Milton undertaking, we used a shaped-in-place, standing-seam steel roof on the workshop addition to the barn. While not as pricey as copper, this roof was expensive — and beautiful. There are a number of powder-coated metal roof "systems" in the marketplace, some very value-effective variations on the galvanized sheet-metal theme. Others are manufacturing unit-constructed standing-seam roofs, custom made to your home or barn and installed by a roofing contractor. The benefit of those systems is that they require no special fabricating gear and can be installed by any certified contractor. (I'm even considering utilizing one on the shed I've to construct in Maine.)
Along with standing-seam roofs, a number of kinds of steel shingles are also available. One, an interlocking tin shingle we used on the roof at our Key West venture I've never seen anywhere aside from the Keys. One other variation commercially obtainable nationwide is an interlocking copper shingle.
Whatever the fashion you choose, basically, a properly installed steel roof should last you at the least 50 years.
Ceramic
Ceramic tile roofs are discovered all through the Mediterranean and Levant — and of course within the Mediterranean-Revival-influenced structure of Florida and California. Barrel tiles, the commonest type of ceramic tile, resemble half cylinders about sixteen inches long. Within the previous days they had been individually made by hand, their tapered shape achieved by forming the clay over the top of the thigh. We really used a few of these handmade tiles on our renovation of a hurricane-damaged Mediterranean-Revival home in Miami. And extra lately, we used excessive-quality copy barrel tiles on our West Palm Seaside project.
Tile roofs are fairly heavy, so the roof framing must be stout enough to help the load. Waterproofing is achieved via a waterproof membrane laid straight on the roof sheathing. Then the clay tiles are laid one after the other in a pad of mortar. Tiles turned the wrong way up type a trough, which is then lined by tiles laid proper facet up. The entire process is sort of labor intensive, which makes an genuine tile roof quite expensive -- about $1,000 per 10x10-foot sq., or about thrice the price of a normal three-tab shingle job.
In addition to barrel tiles there are a number of variations of clay roof tiles. Some are formed like thick shingles, some like slates. A high-high quality tile shall be laborious-fired and will not absorb moisture that would fracture the tile when frozen. Thus such tiles are appropriate for northern climates. All excessive-high quality tile roofs are expensive, both by way of the fabric and the set up, and so clay tile roofs are pretty rare.
But in the long term the costliest might be the most value effective, since you may count on to get 60 to 80 years or even more out of a nicely put in tile roof. I know of a tough-fired clay shingle roof on a seaside mansion not far from our current venture in Manchester.
Asphalt Shingles
The roofing material all of us see essentially the most of lately — the one that covers the roofs of an amazing majority of homes across America — is the usual three-tab asphalt shingle. One of many least-costly roofing choices, asphalt shingles are available in a dozen or so totally different colors each strong and blended. The shingle merchandise being made immediately are normally assured for 20, or in some instances 30 years, making them a wonderful value. Worth is the principal advantage of this roofing materials, which explains it's commonality. The disadvantage, nonetheless, if there could be said to be one, is the fact that it's so common.
The following improve from an ordinary three-tab is a thicker variation known as an architectural shingle. These shingles are built up to be about twice as thick as a traditional shingle with the layers staggered to provide them a heavier, extra substantial or "architectural" look. In some colours they resemble slate, and in other colors wood shakes. We used architectural shingles on the Lexington ranch house. With solely a modest upgrade in price and up to a 30-12 months assure, architectural shingles additionally symbolize an excellent worth with an added contact of style.
Shingles, Shakes...
For appears, it's onerous to beat a wooden shingle roof. Over time it weathers out to a grey or gentle silver that seems to root the home to the landscape. A number of species are used: Western Pink Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Jap White Cedar. Shingles are relatively smooth and reduce to a uniform thickness, though they fluctuate in width. Wooden shakes are thicker and rougher, being split somewhat than sawn from the logs. Wood roofs are meant to breathe and needs to be laid over a substrate that permits air to flow into behind them: skip sheathing — wooden strips or battens nailed on to the roof rafters — is the normal technique of installing a wooden shingle roof. About 10 years ago we began utilizing a plastic matrix product that's one thing like a scrubby pad, which allows air to flow into behind the shingles. This product may be laid on high of a constructing-paper-coated plywood roof deck, making it ultimate for a retrofit. One other technique of getting air circulation behind the shingles is to put them on strain-handled lattice.
For all their great appears, shingles and shakes are expensive to put in and do require some periodic upkeep, sometimes in the form of washing to remove any mildew or moss, after which re-oiling with a transparent wooden ending product. On our present Shingle-model venture right here in Manchester, Massachusetts, we're using a wooden shingle that is new to us: strain-handled Southern Yellow Pine, which grays out in a couple of years to resemble cedar and is claimed to require no upkeep at all.
A correctly installed and maintained wooden roof should final at least 30 to 50 years. Actually, we've got seen roofs on which the shingles were still good after 25 years or so, however the galvanized nails were finally rusting, so make sure you use a excessive-high quality stainless-steel nail!
...And Fakes
Initially, our Craftsman-model bungalow in Santa Barbara, California, would have been clad in a combination of wooden shingles and shakes, because the constructing wanted that shaggy tough-hewn look to look authentic. Nevertheless, due to hearth hazard, native codes now require all roofing supplies to be fireproof. Accordingly, we used a heavy architectural asphalt shingle on the roof, and a cementitious shingle manufactured to appear like a wooden shake for the facet partitions -- though they're suitable to be used on the roof as well. Use of those "fake" shakes is quickly increasing, each because they satisfy the strict fireplace codes in the West and because they are long lived and require no maintenance.
Slate and Pretend Slate
In the Northeast slate was a conventional roofing materials for high-finish homes and municipal buildings. It's stunning, lasts for generations, sheds ice and snow, and may be very expensive. Because of its value and weight, which requires a beefier roof structure to assist, slate just isn't usually used these days. Yet on our Billerica project, rebuilding Dick Silva's burnt-out household house, we wanted the slate look. Again we turned to an "engineered" product, this time a slate lookalike fabricated from recycled rubber and plastic. At solely about one-third the load and price of slate, these shingles might be installed using commonplace instruments and techniques. From the street, the discerning eye might be capable of inform the difference between engineered and the real McCoy, but most of us could be very house-proud with one among these roofs on our homes. Plus, these shingles are guaranteed to final for as long as 50 years.
Steel
Steel roofs, within the form of corrugated, galvanized sheets, have been a typical characteristic of barns, sheds and different agricultural and utility buildings for years. Such a roof is reasonable, rugged, long-lasting and straightforward to put in — excellent for a utility application. On the other finish of the spectrum is a copper roof, elegant enough to grace the country's best mansions and public buildings. Sleek bay and bow windows are often roofed with sheet copper soldered at the seams. We used such roofson both the Billerica and the Lexington houses. Larger expanses of roof are covered utilizing the "standing-seam" technique, wherein one sheet joins with its parallel mate through an interlocking, water-tight seam.
Metallic is a superb selection for a home in snow nation, as well as in agricultural country. Thankfully, by way of products obtainable, there is a lot to choose from between the galvanized low-end and the copper high-end. On our Milton undertaking, we used a shaped-in-place, standing-seam steel roof on the workshop addition to the barn. While not as pricey as copper, this roof was expensive — and beautiful. There are a number of powder-coated metal roof "systems" in the marketplace, some very value-effective variations on the galvanized sheet-metal theme. Others are manufacturing unit-constructed standing-seam roofs, custom made to your home or barn and installed by a roofing contractor. The benefit of those systems is that they require no special fabricating gear and can be installed by any certified contractor. (I'm even considering utilizing one on the shed I've to construct in Maine.)
Along with standing-seam roofs, a number of kinds of steel shingles are also available. One, an interlocking tin shingle we used on the roof at our Key West venture I've never seen anywhere aside from the Keys. One other variation commercially obtainable nationwide is an interlocking copper shingle.
Whatever the fashion you choose, basically, a properly installed steel roof should last you at the least 50 years.
Ceramic
Ceramic tile roofs are discovered all through the Mediterranean and Levant — and of course within the Mediterranean-Revival-influenced structure of Florida and California. Barrel tiles, the commonest type of ceramic tile, resemble half cylinders about sixteen inches long. Within the previous days they had been individually made by hand, their tapered shape achieved by forming the clay over the top of the thigh. We really used a few of these handmade tiles on our renovation of a hurricane-damaged Mediterranean-Revival home in Miami. And extra lately, we used excessive-quality copy barrel tiles on our West Palm Seaside project.
Tile roofs are fairly heavy, so the roof framing must be stout enough to help the load. Waterproofing is achieved via a waterproof membrane laid straight on the roof sheathing. Then the clay tiles are laid one after the other in a pad of mortar. Tiles turned the wrong way up type a trough, which is then lined by tiles laid proper facet up. The entire process is sort of labor intensive, which makes an genuine tile roof quite expensive -- about $1,000 per 10x10-foot sq., or about thrice the price of a normal three-tab shingle job.
In addition to barrel tiles there are a number of variations of clay roof tiles. Some are formed like thick shingles, some like slates. A high-high quality tile shall be laborious-fired and will not absorb moisture that would fracture the tile when frozen. Thus such tiles are appropriate for northern climates. All excessive-high quality tile roofs are expensive, both by way of the fabric and the set up, and so clay tile roofs are pretty rare.
But in the long term the costliest might be the most value effective, since you may count on to get 60 to 80 years or even more out of a nicely put in tile roof. I know of a tough-fired clay shingle roof on a seaside mansion not far from our current venture in Manchester.
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