How Climate Affects Your Roofing Choices
Theres a reason why certain materials and styles are popular in different areas.
After all, darker colors absorb heat and lighter colors reflect it, so the climate in your area matters when you are choosing what color shingles and type of roofing material that you plan to use.
Of course, lighter colors reflect the light keeping things cooler while darker colors absorb the light and keep warmth in.
And this is key in areas with colder winters like the Midwest.
You might love the look of a white roof, but a darker shade might be more energy efficient if you live in an area that gets seriously cold winters.
Its also useful to understand the natural sunlight in different areas and how that might affect the appearance of your roof.
The natural light in somewhere like Illinois or Wisconsin is very different than it is somewhere like Arizona or southern California, so keep your location in mind not only in regard to climate, but as to how the natural light will be cast and reflect on your roof and the overall colors of your home.
The local vegetation and what type of landscaping you have around your home also matter.
If you have a lot of deep green trees and bushes or other lush foliage, some colors will have a very different effect than if you are in the desert or in a tropical environment with palm trees and similar shrubbery.
This will affect your shingle color choice of course, as well as the type of roofing material that you choose.
Can You Paint Shingles
For the past 20 years, Pantones color experts have released their Color of the Year, which influences industries across the globe including fashion, home furnishings, and graphic design. Similarly, Owens Corning shares their Shingle Color of the Year for contractors and homeowners. For 2019, Owens Corning selected Black Sable, a shade described as a timeless,dramatically dark, and with an air of mystery.
Homeowners in need of re-roofing can take immediate advantage of these trending colors, but what about homeowners who just want to refresh or change the color of their existing roof? It is possible to paint your roof, but it is a complex project that should be researched and budgeted.
The Right Color Can Enhance Energy Efficiency
If you do decide to paint your asphalt shingles, the color you choose doesnt only come down to aesthetics. It can also contribute to your homes energy efficiency. If you live in an area with especially warm temperatures, you know how beneficial light colors are at reflecting heat and staying cool. This same standard can be applied to your roof.
When properly maintained and kept clean, a white roof can reflect up to 80 percent of the sunlight that hits it. This, in turn, will keep your entire home cooler. Enhancing the reflectivity of your roof by merely 40 to 50 percent can lower your energy bills by approximately 20 percent. This impact is most often seen in single-story structures, whereas, multi-story buildings will experience it most in the upper floors.
On the other hand, if you live in a colder climate where heating your home is very important, its best to opt for a darker color. A dark colored roof will absorb the warmth of the sun in spring and fall, when it isnt coated in snow.
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Your Personal Style & Desired Aesthetic For Your Roof
Do you pick an unusual color for your neighborhood or do you go more traditional?
Check out what your neighbors have done and decide if you like it.
You need to also consider what is typical for your area and climate, along with any rules from your homeowners association or any similar types of community boards.
Using style boards and other tools to decide on the shade and material of your roof can be incredibly useful.
Roofing color charts are also readily available online so you can input the colors of your home and other factors and youll get a variety of options to consider.
While your personal aesthetic and desired look for your roof is the most important part of the roof placement puzzle, you should also be mindful of your neighborhood, even if you dont have an HOA or similar organization to deal with.
After all, they have to look at your house too, and if you live in a historic neighborhood or area with a specific style, you might be best served by sticking within those guidelines or that overall look and feel.
Whether it is because of the tradition in the area or because those roofing materials and shingle colors are best for the local weather and climate , there is probably a good reason and its worth at least thinking about before you make your final decision about your choice of a new roof.
Dont forget that your garage, shed, or other outbuildings will need a roof too!
Black Roof Shingles Pros
Black roof shingles help hold heat in the home in winter The dark color absorbs heat from the sun and build-up in the attic.
The warm air provides a barrier against the nighttime cold. It allows the option for homeowners to install a system to circulate the warm air into their homes from the attic. In the summer, the hot air remains trapped in the attic, also providing a barrier to prevent losing cool air in the house.
Black roof shingles hide imperfections well They provide a seamless look to blend any cracks, misaligned tiles or uneven surfaces.
Help Melt Snow With the higher heat levels of black roof tiles, they can help melt show and ice from the roof in the winter. Although it may not make a significant difference in extended periods of frigid temperatures and snowfall, black roof shingles do help.
Stands Out Black roof tiles typically highlight the homes architectural appeal and can make exterior colors look more vivid.
Stylish Modern home profiles include black roof shingles, popular with younger buyers.
Long Lifespan Black asphalt roof shingles are more economical and can last from 15 to 30 years.
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Hourly Rate For Medium
Roof painters with a long history of clients and about one to five years of experience are more likely to be able to provide superior artistry and a shorter time frame. They charge between $35/hour and $45/hour.
Hourly rate for roof painting high-end homes
High-end painters are able to provide a premium roofing service. These painters are often highly skilled, have strong client relationships, and exhibit the highest level of artistry. They charge anywhere from $45/hour up to $75/hour.
Helpful Tips For Painting A Roof
- Apply the paint in thin coats otherwise, things could get messy.
- Shingles need to expand and contract with changes in the weather, so paint each shingle rather than the entire roof with one thick coat.
- Apply at least 2 to 3 coats and allow enough time for each coat to dry.
- Work methodically to ensure even coverage.
- Dont paint yourself into a corner .
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Can You Change The Color Of Roof Shingles
Roofs provide a lasting impression towards visitors and bystanders. Your roofs style, form, and color should go hand-in-hand with the architecture of your house to be aesthetically pleasing. However, roofs are not just purely an aesthetic structure but is also one of the most important components of your house.
After all, have you ever seen a house without a roof?
Your roof is the first part of the house that has to endure the different elements of nature, like rain, snow, and even hailstorms. Moreover, it can also insulate penetrative heat and cold temperatures if installed properly. One of the other ways of insulating your home without having to think of your roofing materials or even any equipment that you have on your roof is by painting your roof. Theres more than what meets the eye when it comes to the colors that youll be choosing.
Painting Vs Replacing Shingles
Painting a roof is considerably more affordable and easier than replacing it, which is why plenty of home and business owners lean towards the former. While roof paint cant act as a magic wand and guarantee a vastly extended lifespan of your asphalt roof shingles, painting roofs can prolong wear and issues that arise with age, effectively acting as a means of putting off more expensive and extensive work.
As long as your roof is in stable, decent condition with no serious issues, a fresh coat of roof paint to the shingles is a perfectly viable alternative! Some specific roof paints are also effective at combating mildew and algae. Just buy a quality one from either Amazon, Home Depot, or other local home improvement stores.
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Energy Efficiency And Paint
Its common knowledge that heat tends to accumulate faster on roofs that have a darker color scheme than on roofs that have a lighter color scheme. If you live in an area that is warmer, then it is advised that you get lighter-colored paint since it reflects off penetrative heat. Likewise, if your house is situated in an area with a colder climate, then it is advised that you apply darker color schemes to your roofing.
Roofs In Good Condition
Again, cracked painting shingles, including those split, curling, or losing granules, will not do much to fortify their defenses. Instead, it would be best to paint shingles in good shape and structurally sound.
You also have to consider the scope and the danger of the job. For example, if you have an extensive roof or a steep pitch, painting the shingles should be left in the hands of a professional. But, on the other hand, if you have to go out and procure equipment, the job could get pretty expensive.
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When Painting Shingles Makes Sense
Paint is a practical option for improving the look of a roof that might be an off color, but is otherwise structurally sound.
Maybe youve just bought a house with a relatively new roof in a color that doesnt appeal to you. With paint, you can change the roof color without wasting money and time replacing a perfectly good roof. Paint also works well when you need to even out your roof color, such as when the shingles on your newly built addition dont quite match the shade of the rest of the roof.
If youre not a fan of shingles, but you live in a historic building where regulations mean youre stuck with them, you might still be able to paint your shingles to get a look that suits your preferences better.
Paint cant waterproof your roof or seal roof leaks, though, so it isnt the way to go if youre looking to prevent or repair damage. Damaged or deteriorating shingles put your whole house at risk for moisture problems and should be replaced.
List Of The Pros Of Black Roof Shingles
1. The color helps to retain more heat in the home.Black roof shingles do an excellent job of absorbing the heat from the sun each day. Even the thermal energy with cloudy skies gets picked up with this installation. That means you can circulate more natural heat from your attic or ceiling to the living areas of your home in the winter to reduce your bills. During the summer months, the trapped heat stays at the top of the structure so that you arent overworking your air conditioning.
2. Most black roof shingles are made from asphalt.If you live in the Northeast or the Northwest, then asphalt shingles are an excellent choice to consider. The black roof shingles are made with organic materials, reinforced with fiberglass, and sold in multiple sizes and thicknesses. You can then layer each shingle so that you receive an almost three-dimensional look for your house.
Asphalt shingles tend to be the least expensive of any type, and they are widely available. You can expect to pay about $90 per square. Then youll get a roof life of somewhere between 15 to 30 years. You can also opt for the three-tab shingle to save up to 50% on the cost.
4. Several home colors work with black roof shingles.If you decide that using dark shingles is the best option for your home, then you should also start thinking about the exterior color of the structure. Several different colors are complementary to this product, but the most popular option tends to be red brick.
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Can You Paint Asphalt Roof Shingles
The short answer is yes you can paint your asphalt shingles. However, it goes further than a simple yes because although painting asphalt shingles would benefit some roofs, considerable cost and risk are involved. As a result, you have to make doubly sure that painting your roof shingles will be worth your effort and money.
To help you determine whether painting your roof shingles would be a good call for you, Roofers Guild outlines the merits and drawbacks of painting your asphalt roof shingles.
The Benefits Of Painting Asphalt Roof Shingles
Asphalt roof shingles can be painted using exterior acrylic paint. They dont require much preparation before painting, and a coat of paint will improve your roofs look. Its more environmentally friendly to paint your roof instead of replacing it, and painting shingles allows you to customize your home.
Painting asphalt shingles is a less expensive way of changing the appearance of your roof. It can also help increase your roofs lifespan as the paint can protect your shingles from damage caused by the elements.
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The Disadvantages Of Painting Roof Shingles
Regular Maintenance/Repainting
Painting your roof shingles means that you will have to do more regular roof maintenance than you would with unpainted shingles. Paint doesnt hold up to the elements as well as bare shingles, so you might notice the paint fade or chip every few years. While it does extend the life of the roof overall, the paint that makes up the top coating isnt impervious.
So, once every five to seven years, youll likely be back up on the roof, repainting! Unless you only have to do minor touchups, that means stripping all the paint. Then, youll have to check for any shingles that need repaired or replaced before priming and painting the roof. Thats a lot of extra work, just to have your roof be a different color!
Roof Painting is Hard Work
Lastly, painting your roof shingles can be a hassle all the way around. Working on a roof pitch is dangerous and requires lots of safety equipment. It makes more sense to hire a professional contractor to do the job for you, and that can get very expensive, very quickly.
Some people will try to paint their roof shingles themselves, but its tough to do this correctly. Choosing the right paint is of the utmost importance, and the actual painting requires great attention to detail. This leads some people to decide against painting their roof because it feels as though its just too much work.
List Of The Cons Of Black Roof Shingles
1. You dont have the option to reflect sunlight.Since black roof shingles absorb the energy from the sun, you lose the option to reflect the sunlight to create a cooler attic. Thats why you dont often see darker roofs in warmer climates. It can lower a homeowners heating bills in a northerly climate, but it raises the cooling bills of someone who lives closer to the equator. If you have concerns about how much youre paying to stay comfortable already, then youll need to compare the light vs. dark option to see which one would work best for your home.
2. Some black roof shingles might not have a longer lifespan.Although some manufacturers say that their comparative studies of light vs. dark shingles saw no difference between the two for the products overall lifespan, there is some information that disputes this notion. Heat does increase molecular activity, so that means the hotter temperatures that black roof shingles run at play a role in lifespan reduction. If UV rays play a bigger role in the length of your investment, you come out behind there still too.
If you want to maximize the lifespan of your new roof, then a correct level of attic ventilation is necessary to support your shingles. If you have enough soffit vents, then you can pick whatever color you prefer.
Smaller houses almost always benefit from lighter tone roofing shingles. The brighter colors help the structure appear larger as it draws attention to the positive features of the home.
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Roof Color Choice & What Color Is Your House
Choosing the color for your roof starts with the color of your home.
red brick and siding color combinations
roof colors for tan house
blue house white trim
tan brick house
If youre not planning on painting it any time soon you should consider the color of your house and what would complement the property most, otherwise you may want to do that at the same time or close to your roof replacement, or consider the color that youre planning on painting before you make your final decision on the color of the roofing materials youre using.
Another important element is the structure of your roof.
The greater the slope or higher the pitch , the more of your roof will be viewable from the ground or street level and therefore affect the appearance and curb appeal of your home.
Accordingly, its essential to choose a shingle color and roofing material that fit with and even enhance your propertys general architectural look and look and feel and even draw the eye towards unique features like gables, dormers, skylights, and even things like turrets if you have a particularly dramatic or unusual home.
Google images of homes in your desired color palette and perhaps even look through real estate listings in your area.
You can also drive around the neighborhood and nearby areas and see what appeals to you for inspiration.
After all, youre going to see your roof every day and it is a major investment.
