Roof Options For New Home Construction

When designing a new home, or looking to update an existing home, one of the biggest considerations you will need to make involves the roof of the home. For many people, the roof of the home is somewhat of an afterthought until a leak springs in the roof and maintenance must be performed. The roof has a bigger job, however, than just keeping the home dry. It also is a big contributor to the overall look of the house. When building a new home, remodeling, or adding a new addition, you have many options when it comes to roofing. Let's look at the most popular roof options on today's market.

Asphalt Shingles

Most of the roofs in the U.S. are covered in asphalt shingles ' which are standard "three tab" shingles that are among the least expensive options available. Asphalt shingles are available in dozens of colors that are either solid or blended with other colors for a 3-D effect. Most asphalt shingles carry a fairly good guarantee (average of around 20 years or so), which makes them a good buy for most homeowners. The principle advantage to using asphalt shingles for your roof is the great value that you get for your money, which is one reason they are so common; inversely, if you are looking for a unique look, asphalt shingles are very common so you're not going to be "going against the grain" in your home design. A bit pricier asphalt shingle is the architectural shingle, which is about twice as thick as the normal asphalt shingle and is installed in staggers that give them a layered look. Some of these shingles resemble wood or slate.

Wood Shingles

From an aesthetic point of view, a wood shingle roof is very appealing to many homeowners, and wood shingles tend to weather out to a soft silver or gray that gives the home an inviting appeal. Cedar is the most common species of wood that is used for wood shingles, which are relatively smooth in appearance and cut to be uniformly thick and in varying widths. With a wood roof, you will need a substrate that will allow air to circulate behind the shingles, so installation is usually more costly. Some contractors use the method of laying the wood shingles on lattice that is pressure treated.

Slate Roofs

Slate is another traditional roof option that is usually reserved for higher end homes and government buildings. Slate is attractive and lasts for decades, has a tendency to shed snow and ice very easily, and is (unfortunately) very, very expensive. Slate is heavy, and thus requires that a beefy roof structure be constructed in order to support its weight. Slate is being used less and less in modern construction, although it still has a large audience among discerning builders.

Classic Metal Roof

Metal roofs are not only for barns and outbuildings; in fact, many homes are built with metal in galvanized, corrugated sheets that are cheap and rugged, long lasting and very simple to install. One metal that is less commonly used but beautiful nonetheless is copper. Copper roofing is, unlike traditional galvanized metal roof products, very expensive but very attractive and can be found on many of the finest homes in the country.

Jill Phillips is a traditional ranch house plans enthusiast and operates one of the leading stock houseplans websites on the Internet located at http://www.HomeDesignCentral.com. On the site, you can quickly search through thousands of house floor plans from the nation's leading building designers and architects.

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