Roof Shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual units overlapping to give your roof texture and somewhat character. They not only decipher the look of your house but protect it from the exterior World for many decades.
Therefore, it is important to choose the right roof shingles. They may be made of wood, tiles, metal, plastic etc. Shingles give character and most importantly, colour to your house.
Choosing the right colour and texture of roof shingles is a very important part of designing your house. For your house to look beautiful from a distance and nearby, there are different varieties of roof shingles in the market. Discussed below are factors that play an important role and should be kept in mind before choosing the colour of roof shingles for your house.
- Make the right contrast: Roof shingles need to complement the other colours that make up the exterior of the house. They need to either be a contrast with the colours of the rest of the house or need to blend in.
You can go in for the safe and traditional grays, blues or any dark colours or use pop colours like red and tan to make your home look good from the outside. Just ensure that the colour combination works for the structure of your house by taking advice from a professional.
- Install a roof that protects you from extreme climates: Roof shingles are an important shield for your house.If you live in a region that has extreme climatic conditions, make sure you incorporate dark coloured roof shingles.
Dark colours like black and dark brown help absorb excessive heat in summers and keep the temperature of your attic a few degrees less. Similarly, during winter months dark shingles make snow melt off your roof, thus protecting the attic from freezing.
- Check shingle rules and types for the area you live in: If the majority of the houses in your neighbourhood don a certain colour and texture/material of roof shingles, that just implies that that colour works for houses in your area.
More often than not, when a certain colour is used time and again by most people, that means that colour works for the given climate. The whole city of Prague in the Czech Republic is called the "red roof city". This is pertaining to the climate of the city that allows the roofs of that city to be of the colour.
- Plan around the architectural features of the house: The structure and architecture of the house determine the colour of the shingles used. Cottages with slanting roofs allow you to play with colour as they are visible, houses with flat roofs may not.
For example, if the roof of your house is visible from the outside or even from a distance, you can go in for pop colours like red and tan. However, if the roof of your house is flat from the top and barely visible, you can go in for a dark or conventional colour that helps maintain the temperature of the house.
- Opt for a colour that enhances the size of your house: Most people like to make their house appear visibly larger from the outside. A roof shingle colour that blends in with the sidings of the house makes it visibly larger.
As it doesn’t break your eyes continuity of viewing the house. Therefore, from a distance, the house appears bigger. However, you can opt for a contrasting colour if you want to break this continuity and make the house look taller from a distance.
- Choose the right shingle material for your house: Roof shingles come in various textures and materials. You can pick a roof shingle that best suits your house and is of your choice. Depending on where you live, the climatic conditions, budget, availability are few factors that have to be kept in mind before taking this decision.
You can get clay shingles, wooden, slate or even asphalt. It is important to note that Asphalt shingles have proven to be rather tough in all types of climatic conditions over time and don’t break easily.
- Consult a roof designer/interiors/exterior designer : It is important to keep up with what works and most importantly what looks good. You don’t want to be stuck with roof shingles that don’t look good or don’t enhance the exterior of your house.
Nowadays, roof designers present an analysis post a detailed research of what works and what does not work in and around your area.
- Take professional advice from a Roof contractor : While you may love a certain roof shingle material and want to have the same installed, a roof contractor or professional builder may not think so.
Getting roof shingles is an investment and should therefore be done wisely. Make sure to take professional advice from a roof contractor or builder pertaining to your shingle choices. A material that you may desire may not essentially be a viable option for your area.
Our house is something we build once in a lifetime and the roof being the main shield of the house needs to be solid. While it is a huge investment, it is also something that protects us and should therefore be built well, using able advice.
Colored Shingle Roof Coating - Another Option
An alternative to replacing shingles that are beginning to wear out would be to apply our Colored Shingle Roof Coating. Oftentimes this can be a less expensive option as it forgoes the labor cost of tearing down the existing shingles which is a large component of a new roof cost. This coating is also often used when people just want to change the color of their roof, especially after painting their house a different color. For more information, click on the Color Chart below or call us!
