Your house is a sweet, smooth, and creamy ice cream, and the roof—the roof is the cherry on top! Or perhaps it’s a tiara on a darling princess, frosting to a freshly-baked cake, a halo on a beautiful angel! The point is, when choosing a roofing design, the goal is to achieve optimum architectural splendor.
You’ve probably seen different roofing designs in your lifetime, perhaps while traveling or browsing magazines, and believed that it is, in fact, an integral part of a house. Not only is it the part that sits above a person’s head for protection, but it also helps any building yield maximum visual pleasure. If you’re currently building your house from its foundations or doing a renovation project, you might want to take a look at these 5 best roofing ideas that you can incorporate into your home.
But first…
Materials
Materials are the first thing you should consider while planning your roofing. You have to make sure that the materials you’re going to use can guarantee the strength and stability of your roof. Otherwise, it can be quite dismaying to need to replace or repair your roof shortly after its construction.
In deciding what kind of material to use, you have to make sure that both quality and style go hand in hand, not compromise one or the other. Affordability is, of course, another significant factor when choosing the materials. Choose among several trusted roof repair contractors that can help you decide what kind of roofing materials to get. Choose the one that offers roofing services at the right costs with a free initial inspection and consultation.
Flat
This is perhaps the most cost-efficient design when it comes to roofing. This design requires fewer materials and provides more space for the house. A flat roof can be a roof deck where you can dry your laundry and build an outdoor living area or a roof garden. It’s up to you to decide how you’re going to utilize the space. Most houses with solar panels are built with a flat roof to ensure getting direct sunlight throughout the day.
Most common flat roof materials include:
- Single-layer membrane roof
- Modified bitumen roof
- Built-up roof (BUR)
Sloped
This design allows more air to flow inside the house than the flat roof. Moreover, it provides less danger of pooling water because the angle of this design channels water quickly to gutters and downspouts, which means it needs less maintenance and has a longer lifespan, compared to the flat roof. It also makes the house look bigger and provides space right below it, which you can use as an attic.
The most common sloped roof materials are:
- Asphalt shingles
- Tiles
- Cedar shakes
- Metal
These are also commonly used for gable and hip roofing.
Triangle
Otherwise known as the gable roof, this is the most popular roofing design in the United States. With simplicity as its key attribute, it comes with numerous advantages. This design is a lot like the sloped roof, the only distinction is it has two slopes on both sides. This roofing design, like the sloped roof, also allows more air to flow inside the house. Its steep pitch channels water quickly to downspouts and gutters as well, providing more space for an attic that can be utilized as storage or an extra room. The weight of a gable roof is distributed equally to the walls of the house, making it sturdy and stable.
Hip
Sturdier and more stable than its cousin, the gable roof, the hip roof has a self-bracing nature, reducing the need for extra support. This roofing design may not be as low-maintenance as the other roof designs, but it’s very reliable. Therefore, if you’re in an area with frequent gusts of wind or heavy snowfall, this roofing design is most suitable for you.
Curved
This is another low-maintenance roofing design. It’s visually appealing because it gives the house a more modern and unique look. Besides its design and appeal, this is also cheaper to build with less construction time. However, this design is generally installed by professionals and not by DIY roofers due to its tricky form. The best thing about this design is that it’s wind-resistant.
Most common curved roof materials include:
- Stainless steel
- Galvanized steel
- Aluminum
- Copper
The Takeaway
Although there’s a long list of roofing designs with more and more innovations coming along, there are only a few mentioned here because these designs are the simplest and most affordable; thus, making them the best. The materials, of course, are what will enrich these designs and bring not only elegance but also structural integrity to your home.
