If your old roof has seen better days, and you’re ready to replace it, now is a great time to consider all your options. For pitched, or steep, roofs, consider these three main roofing systems. Each type, asphalt, cedar, and steel offer unique advantages. By comparing the three, we hope to arm you with enough information to launch your selection process.
Asphalt Shingles
● Economical: The more basic the weight and style, the less they cost. For tight budgets, asphalt presents the best protection for dollars spent. If you choose to upgrade to impact resistant asphalt shingles, you can enjoy a product that holds up well without the expenditure for a premium roof system.
● Attractive: Even budget shingles look nice when they’re new. But they also come in configurations that emulate wood, tile, and slate roofs. The fancier styles enhance any roof.
● Hail Resistant Options: Many asphalt shingle manufacturers offer models embedded with SBS, which is a modified rubber, for protection from moderately large hail strikes.
● Decent Life Cycle: The UV radiation that bears down on your asphalt roof weakens it more easily than any other type of roof covering. However, unless damaged, you can expect to receive 20 years with modern asphalt shingles.
Cedar Shakes
● Beautiful Endurance: Cedar, as a traditional roof system, adds a timeless old-world elegance to any home.
● Impact Resistant: With its natural resiliency, cedar can take a pounding from ordinary hail with a certain nonchalance. Hail dents spring back within just a few days. Insurers categorize cedar as Class 4 Impact Resistant, which could earn you a good discount on your annual premium.
● Algae Resistant: Genuine cedar tends to repel algae and insects. Although some shaded areas may eventually permit algae growth, special treatments can protect the roof from such intrusions.
● Green: Contemporary cedar shingles come from sustained forests, so no treasured grove suffers for your home.
● Pricey: The cost of cedar roofing does reflect that it is a natural wood, sustainably harvested, carefully split into narrow shakes or shingles and requires far more labor to install than asphalt.
● Long-lasting: As the roof ages, shingles can begin to curl or split. While not really a troubling functional problem, they should be replaced to maintain the home’s curb appeal. Otherwise, heavyweight cedar roofs can protect your home for upwards of 50 years.
Steel Roofs
● Tough: Steel roofs truly stand up to whatever the weather throws at it. Impact resistant, wind resistant, water tight and algae proof, a steel roof may well be the last roof you ever buy.
● Stylish: Steel now comes in more than just the original standing seam, smooth, vertical panels. While that classic formation still seizes the attention of the passer-by, stone-coated steel comes in granulated tile, wood shake, and other graceful profiles. No roof appears ordinary when panels of steel are on duty.
● Light: Surprisingly lightweight, steel takes the heavy burden of thick asphalt or tile from your home’s rafters and trusses.
● Many Price Points: A basic standing seam metal roof may not cost more than a cedar installation, but prices do go up from there. When you consider that you may never need another roof, the more substantial price tag becomes much more sensible.
To learn more about your many roofing options and to schedule a free estimate, by visiting Craftmasters Remodeling! We have decades of experience and a team of qualified professionals to help you get your roof in the right shape!