Installing a roof is one of the most significant investments for homeowners, especially those planning to reside in their homes for an extended period. Since you want your roof to last as long as possible, you’ll want to talk with a professional roofer about the roofing material that makes the most sense, given your home’s architecture and your area’s weather.
Roofing materials
Although there are many roofing materials, including more unusual varieties like soil roofs and solar shingles, the most chosen by homeowners are asphalt shingles, composite shingles, slate, clay, metal, and rubber.
Each has a different expected lifetime, allowing you to pick the appropriate solution for your home.
- Asphalt Shingles: Among all roofing types, asphalt shingles are increasingly popular due to their affordability. The cost of roofing materials for asphalt shingles is often lower compared to alternatives, making them a practical choice for many homeowners.
Asphalt is a highly predictable roofing material because it wears gracefully under normal climate conditions. As with all roofs, you must maintain your asphalt roof by cleaning your gutters and performing regular maintenance.
Shingles are susceptible to wind damage, though, so be sure to perform a visual inspection after any massive storms to make sure you initiate roofing repairs right away.
- Composite Shingles: Composite shingles are another way to get the overlapping shingle look. It can be manufactured from any number of synthetic materials, including natural materials that have been recycled and plastics.
- Slate: Few roofing materials are as well-known as slate roofing. Generations ago, slate roofs were far more popular than they are today. Nevertheless, some homeowners investigate slate roofing when ready to upgrade their roofs.
Slate also has the downside of becoming brittle and susceptible to fracturing and cracking. Many homeowners would rather avoid those issues altogether and choose one of the other types of roofs to cut down on their maintenance needs.
- Clay: A clay roof is made of tiles constructed from baked clay. Believe it or not, clay roof tiles can be durable. It’s not unheard of for an insulated roof of clay to withstand Mother Nature’s forces and look great for 100 years or longer.
Typically, clay roofs will feature a price tag of around four times the cost of an asphalt shingle roof. Again, this can make homeowners go into sticker shock. And like slate, clay roof tiles have some heft. This makes it impractical to retrofit structures to support the clay tile pieces.
- Rubber: Have you heard about rubber roofs? You might be picturing rubber placed on your roof, but that’s not the case. A rubber roof is merely made of rubbery, modified asphalt shingles. You may also hear the term “modified bitumen roof” used interchangeably with “rubber roof.” When installing or maintaining various roofing materials, roof flashing is another essential component to consider, as it helps prevent water leakage around edges, chimneys, and joints. Proper flashing can make a significant difference in a roof’s overall durability and weather resistance.
Final Word on Roofing Durability
The one kind of roof yet to be discussed is TPO roofing, another artificial type of roofing material that is rising in usage among homeowners. A TPO roof’s performance durability rating falls somewhere between a rubber shingle roof and an asphalt shingle roof. Therefore, if you only want to get around 15 years out of your roof, speak with your roofer about the pros and cons of TPO roofing for your property and goals.
Remember that no roof will give you the maximum durability if you don’t care for it properly. And that’s where having a roofer in mind helps. If you live in Jacksonville, FL, and still need a roofer, we invite you to partner with Jack C. Wilson on your upcoming roofing project.
