When you invest in a new home for your family, it can be extremely exciting. However, with every home ownership comes responsibilities like getting your roof replaced when it reaches the end of its lifespan. When it becomes that time, you have many different material options for your roof, including shingles, tiles, and even shakes.
What Are Roofing Shingles?
Asphalt shingles are the most common type of roofing material on the market today. They’re comprised of fiberglass, tar, and small granules. Asphalt shingles can have lifespans ranging from 10 to 30 years. They’re available in a wide variety of colors and even in three-dimensional profiles to enhance the overall look of your roof.
Pros and Cons
Asphalt shingles are popular because they’re extremely affordable for the average homeowner. They’re fairly quick to install and come with a lot of design choices. These shingles are fairly low maintenance and can be easily repaired when damaged. They’re pretty lightweight and are available in a variety of UV-resistant options.
It’s important to realize that asphalt shingles are very lightweight and more vulnerable to wind uplift. This can cause them to become detached during heavy wind storms. Additionally, shingles can crack when they come into contact with flying debris or hail.
What Are Roofing Tiles?
Roofing tiles provide an overlapping tile design that helps to protect your roof and make it look unique. The tiles can be constructed out of whatever local material is in excess, such as clay, slate, and even concrete. Due to its interlocking tile design, this type of roof allows for ultimate weather protection while still opting for adequate ventilation to keep your attic from overheating. Most roofing tiles will last anywhere between 50 and 75 years or more.
Pros and Cons
A big benefit of roofing tiles is that they provide you with a fireproof roof with wide versatility in design and color options. Due to the weight of the tile shingles, they offer greater protection against high winds and adverse weather conditions like hail.
However, it’s important to know that roofing tiles are going to be more expensive than traditional asphalt shingles. They’re going to weigh more, which may require you to add support to your roofing structure. Roofing tiles are more labor intensive to install since they are brittle, so you’ll have to hire a specialized contractor to do so. Additionally, tiles cannot be used on all types of roof slopes.
What Are Roofing Shakes?
A fairly unique roofing style is the shingle shake. This is a wooden shingle that is made from splitting a log. The most common wood material used for this type of roof is cedar. This helps to provide a rustic look and feel for your home. Due to technology advances, shakes can now be constructed out of asphalt or even composite to offer the fire-retardant feature that traditional wood shakes can’t.
Pros and Cons
One of the most significant advantages of a wood shake roof is that it offers a stunning look incomparable to other modern-day options. It has a significantly long lifespan of 100 years or more with proper upkeep. Wood is available in many species, including cedar, redwood, spruce, cypress, and even treated pine. All wood is naturally resistant to wind and impact damage. Since wood is a poor conductor of heat, it’s the perfect insulator for your home.
However, wood is well-known to be susceptible to pest and rot damage. Due to the complexity of its installation process, wood shakes are much more expensive than other roofing options on the market. These shakes can be seen as a fire hazard and are more vulnerable to the effects of moisture damage, like warping, cracking, and swelling.
Making the Right Decision
Two of the biggest factors that you’ll need to take into consideration when deciding on the best type of roof for your home are your budget and preferences. If you have a limited budget, then asphalt shingles will be your go-to roofing material. However, if you have a bigger budget and like the rustic look of wood, then wood shakes may be the ideal option for you.
Expert Roofing Service
HT Roofing & Construction offers expert roofing services for the entire Lenexa, KS community. We can also help with all of your commercial and exterior painting, gutter, siding, window replacement, and storm damage needs. Give our office a call today, and our friendly staff will assist you with scheduling a roofing consultation.
