The many roofing types available always make it challenging for people to make the right decisions on which type of roof they should choose for their houses. Each one of them has its pros and cons. Therefore, when selecting the roofing type, you need to consider various factors like the home design, cost, personal preferences, structural strength, and the local building ordinances. Moreover, it is essential to consider the long-term impacts of the roof you choose, which means looking into the future.
This article, written with some help from Crest Roofing (check them out at tucsonroofing.com) puts down the various roofing types available with their expected advantages and disadvantages. They include the following:
Composition shingles
Pros: they are available at very low prices that almost everyone can afford, and they are designed to offer a wide range of colors and styles. The composition shingles made from fiber glasses and asphalt are long-lasting due to their high quality. Compared to other roofing types, their installation process is more straightforward, and they need very minimal maintenance with class A flame protection. Therefore, you can be assured of safety with the composition shingles.
Cons: these roofs’ performance on high wind is not desirables, as they can easily blow off in particular conditions. Moreover, the materials are prone to scaring off easily when it is hot, causing damages to its appearance and affecting the durability length.
Wood shakes
Pros: they come in various colors, cuts, width, strengths, and thicknesses of wood, thus enabling flexibility when talking about style. Woods aid in attic insulation, and thus you can be assured of proper air circulation in your home.
Cons: the wood shakes usually are underrated by the fire safety conditions, and therefore to meet these conditions, they need to be sprayed with fire retardant, which sometimes can be less effective to resist fire when compared to all the other roofing types. They require too much maintenance and regular repair because insects, molds, and rot can easily damage them. Moreover, older shakes cannot be recycled, and they have a complex process when installing them than the rest of the roofing types.
Clay tile
Pros: enables a unique look, majorly for the houses with southwestern, Spanish, and Italian looks. They are available in many colors and different styles. Moreover, tiles are durable, and they rarely rot or burn; neither can they be damaged by insects and rodents. Therefore, they require very minimal maintenance.
Cons: the tiles’ weight is heavy and thus requires the roof to have extra support; when color is added to the tiles’ surface, they tend to fade off quickly. Tiles are known for their fragile nature, making it challenging to repair them or even walk on them to repair fireplaces and gutters. This roofing type is among the expensive roofs with a complicated installation process.
Concrete tiles
Pros: it is the most durable roofing type available in different colors and styles; most concrete roofing is durable and needs minimal maintenance. The tiles cannot rot nor get damaged by insects; they can also provide excellent fire protection. Moreover, the concrete tiles can be made by copying other roofing styles or types.
Cons: it is expensive and new in the market, thus making it challenging for roofers to easily change the colors and break them when needed.
Metal roofs
Pros: they have become the most popular type of roofing in standing-seam steel. They are flexible in that they can mimic the various types of roofing materials like wood shakes and clay tiles. Metal roofs are long-lasting, require minimal maintenance, and are fire retardant. These roofs are energy efficient and have features that make recycling most of their materials easy. Lastly, they are light in weight, and thus they can be easily installed on top of other roofs.
Cons: installing metal roofs can be challenging, and its cost is increasingly becoming higher than the other roofing types. To determine whether the initial cost is worth it, you should first determine the long-term cost.
Flat roof
Pros: they are primarily used in commercial buildings and flat homes with the best drainage. And it is durable and less expensive than the other roofing types. Though their performance is not satisfying like the other roofing types, they can achieve a better look when covered with stone layers.
Cons: their installation process can be dangerous to the surroundings and installers. Some regions in the urban do not allow this type of roofing due to the smoke and air pollutants they release.