Choosing From The Wide Variety Of Roof Types

There are many different roof types for homes and buildings and deciding on the right one can be a chore at best. The wide range of these cause many factors to be brought into play when designing a new building or replacing an existing one. For the most part, cost seems to be the deciding factor in this along with the type of home or building that the roof is going on.

While an asphalt shingle roof may be the most cost effective at the outset for most homes, in the end, it could end up costing more. The repairs and replacement of damaged shingles could amount to quite a bit of money over the years. Not to mention that on a two story home, most homeowners are not interested in getting on a ladder and doing the repairs on their own.

This means extra costs for roofing contractors and scheduling if they are too busy to fix just a few shingles that have come loose during a windstorm. It may be wise for the home or building owner to look into a low maintenance metal roof. Once these are installed, there is virtually no need for the owner to ever make a repair and many are guaranteed for 25 years or more.

Flat roofs are yet another animal that can cause more grief than they are worth. The majority of these roof types are tar and gravel and should one begin to leak, trying to find it can be an exercise in futility. The owner usually ends up repairing a section that is much larger than necessary in order to stop the offending leak.

Owners of building with this type roof may want to consider either an EPDM rubber roof or an elastomeric coating of some type. These are both easy to install and require little to no maintenance once they are in place. Whichever one is chosen, the cost of installation versus the long-term maintenance cost should be a deciding factor in making the right selection.