Popular Choices - Roofing Materials

Your choice of roofing materials mainly depends on where you live, your own personal taste, local styles and building codes. You need to be aware that if you want a thatched roof in New York City, that just won’t happen, but if you live in the South; maybe you can have a thatched roof. Choosing roofing materials and shingles is the time to consider costs, fire retarding abilities, and how long your shingles will last.

Types of Popular Roofing

The most popular used shingles for roofing are asphalt composition roofing shingles which are attractive, cost effective, long lasting and have high fire retarding properties. Asphalt shingles generally have 20 to 30 year warranties and may last even longer than the 30 year warranty.

Asphalt composition shingles in modern construction are thicker and more textured than ever before. You can get asphalt composition shingles that look like wood or slate. These types of shingles are called architectural shingles, but are higher in cost than less trendy shingles.

Asphalt shingles are easy to install and go up much faster than any other type of roofing material. The downside, or maybe this is not a downside, they can be installed by any Saturday roofer with the minimum of experience and expertise.

Wood shake roofing materials are gorgeous. They look fantastic, make your home higher in value and when they weather they look very rich. Wood shake materials are organic, but they can last for up to fifty years if properly maintained. Wood shake roofing is produced mainly from cedar and redwood, but you can also find pine wood shake roofing material that is a bit lower in cost.

Metal roofing is somewhat rare, but it is gaining popularity as a roofing material. You do need to find a roofer who specialized in metal roof installation. Trying to use fancy copper roofing material will provide a gorgeous and timely roof, but it is also very expensive and difficult to work with. Galvanized sheeting roofing materials are a better choice and will last up to 75 years. This long lasting type of roofing material makes it highly popular for homeowners who plan on living in their homes for life.

Composition slate roofing materials are similar in look to traditional slate but are less expensive and environmentally friendly. Composition slate is made from post-industrial synthetics; basically recycled materials. Composition slate is about one-third the weight of regular slate and looks almost the same; unless you get on the roof and inspect the tiles!

Another highly popular roofing material is ceramic or “Spanish style” roofing materials. This type of roofing is losing popularity because of its weight and expense. This type of roofing is called a half barrel tile since it is basically a cylinder cut in half. The space between the tiles does provide for water and air circulation which helps in cooling, but the tile can break and are somewhat difficult to re-install. Ceramic, clay and terra cotta tiles are highly fire-retardant, but other less costly roofing materials are also fire-retardant and can be highly attractive as well.

Roofing and Roofing Materials – Tearing off a Shingle Roof

Slate roofs will last for hundreds of years and a steel roof may be good for up to fifty years, however most generalized roofing materials have a life span of about 20 years. If you find that your roof is over twenty years and you live in a harsh climate, or you see your shingles cupping or cracking you should consider replacing your roof.

Most professional roofers will encourage you to tear off the existing roofing materials to check the condition of the deck before re-roofing your home. That’s very good advice but in most localities you don’t have to remove the old roof before installing a new one. Building codes in most areas will permit asphalt roofers to install over the original shingled roof and two reroofs. Wooden shingles can include one re-roof. Do make sure and check your local building codes to find out if you need to remove your old roof or if you can install over your old roofing materials.

Tearing off a shingle roof

If you are going to install a new roof over the old roof, you need to inspect the situation of your roof deck from inside the attic. Look for signs of rot or water leakage. If you find that there are problems you need to replace those problem areas before installing your new roof. If the existing roof is in poor condition or it has too many layers you will have to remove it.   

Image provided by Best Road Island Roofers
   

1. To tear off an old shingled roof you need to have several contracting and roofing materials on hand. These include an extension ladder, screw driver, pry bar and roofing shovel. You will also need a safety harness and ropes as well as a rented dumpster. It would be very advantageous if you had large tarps, work gloves and a bar magnet.A dumpster is needed to haul away the old roofing materials. Protect your lower windows and flower beds from falling shingles by positioning sheets of plywood against the side of the house. Spread tarps on the ground to catch falling shingles.
2. Begin at the roof line, remove the ridge shingles and remove all the nails.  Once the shingles on the ridge are gone it is time to remove the other shingles.
3. Shove the roofing shovel under a shingle, catch on a nail and push the handle down. When you lever the handle down this raises the point of the shovel and lifts out the nail. Now the old shingle is free and falling.
4. As you remove the nails shingles will slide off the roof. Hopefully they will land onto the tarps where they can be picked up and placed into the dumpster. 
5. The original metal flashing in valleys or around chimneys does not have to be removed unless the flashing is in poor condition. Use a pry bar to very carefully remove the nails in the flashing and save the old flashing for use as a model to cut and reform new flashing.  
6. When all the shingles have been removed double check the roof to ensure all the nails are removed. Check the roof deck for any damaged areas that need repairing. It might be fun at this point to install skylights or additional venting.

Roofing Techniques - Roofing and Roofing Materials

Roofing Techniques

There are specific roofing techniques you need to use to ensure that your roofing project meets code and quality standards. These techniques definitely apply to re-roofing, new roofs, or roof repair. Depending on the job you are doing there are specific tools, techniques and materials needed to accomplish your task.
First you will have to follow local or municipal guidelines and laws. You cannot just roof any way you want ... roofing has to meet building codes.

Image Provided by Mozy Building Arts

Other guidelines include your own personal preferences plus the type of home or building you have. To determine the best implementation process and to protect the life and functionality of your new roof, work with either a contractor or a lumber company with roofing expertise.

Steps to Laying down a new Roof

Roofing techniques follow a fairly standard process. The first layer of your roof is the sheathing. These are plywood sheets you can see attached to the rafters in your attic. Plywood sheets provide the foundation where the rest of the roofing system is built.

The second layer is the underlayment. Different types of materials can be used for this step and the most common is builders’ felt. This second layer is required in most building codes and provides added protection from the weather. Third the valleys, eaves, protrusions and rakes get an application known as flashing. Flashing directs water away from vulnerable sections.

The last step in roofing is installing the outer covering. This includes many different varieties of materials and styles like asphalt shingles, wood, metal, slate or ceramic. Know what you want and choose a contractor who is an expert roofer and knows how to use different roofing materials. By going with an expert you are guaranteed that the proper techniques for installation and roofing are carried out.

When re-roofing an asphalt surface, check the sloping edge to find out how many layers are currently on the roof. There are building rules that specify the number of outer layers a house can have on the roof. After determining how many layers you have on your roof and if you are repairing the roof, research how to fix that particular problem. Do not let any roofing problem continue or you will experience more serious damage and the costs of repair will escalate. Once you have located the problem in your roof, check for wood rot, repair, and proceed with re-roofing.

Building a new roof will require determining the type of finish roofing material you want. If you are doing asphalt shingles, determine the number of bundles you will need, enlist the help of friends and neighbors and go to work hammering the shingles to the builders’ felt and plywood sheeting. If you are using other types of roofing materials like slates, metals, woods, or ceramics unless you are a professional roofer, you will need expert advice and help. When estimating the cost of you new or repaired roof, do make sure you include labor and tax.