Now available in a wide range of colors, and even in organic materials, asphalt roofing shingles are usually warranted for decades and can be well-maintained with two-year inspections in which any loose or damaged shingles are replaced. The wide availability of asphalt roofing shingles means that the homeowner will have no difficulty in replacing them when necessary.

Asphalt Roofing Shingles: The Most Popular Roofing

When you think “roof”, you probably think of a roof made of asphalt roofing shingles. If you don’t have asphalt shingle roofing, chances are the guys next door does. It is just about the most popular roofing material in America.

Formula For Success

Asphalt roofing shingles are so popular because they are easy to get a hold of, cheap, lightweight and do not require a degree in rocket science to install. Any competent roofer will know how to install and maintain a roof made of asphalt roofing shingles. Contrast this to slate roofing, which requires different skills in laying down, handling and cutting altogether.

Just like any other kind of roofing materials, there are different grades of asphalt roofing shingles. The higher the grade, the more expensive they will be. But it might be cheaper to shell out now rather than later. How tough are asphalt roofing shingles? Class IV is considered tough enough to withstand hail. And you are not stuck with just gray anymore. Asphalt roofing shingles now come in a variety of colors.

Asphalt roofing shingles are made of fiberglass and an organic composite material of felt, paper and asphalt. The organic ones are heavier, less likely to blow off but are more expensive. If you are seeking to live in your home and not sell it in a few years, consider the organic alternative.

Warranties

Many asphalt roofing shingles come with warranties lasting decades. You can have your contractor or roofer order any special brand name shingles, such as Elk or Eagle. Although asphalt roofing shingles are tough, they do need your help and at least a biannual checkup in order to do their job.

You need an annual or at least a biannual roof inspection to be sure there isn’t any small problems that can turn into big headaches. Tiles can be damaged or get loose. Because of their wide availability, getting replacements is easy for your roofer.

You also need to be sure your attic or upper crawlspace has adequate ventilation. The temperature outside of your home will often be a lot different than inside of your home. The roof is then hot on one side and cold on the other. This can stress asphalt roofing shingles, causing them to give up the ghost. But with a proper buffer zone between the roof and your home, the stress of the differing temperatures is lessened. If your attic or crawlspace has pools of water, mold, smells damp – you need to get it fixed.

Another of the roofing tips is that if a watermark in the attic reveals a roof leak, the leak can be located by searching the roof two to three feet above the watermark, because water flows downward. The third of these roofing tips is that you can easily determine the number of shingles you need to repair your damaged roof with a simple mathematical formula

Roofing Tips For Your Leaky Roof

If you would like to save some money while fixing your leaking roof, then you may want to do the repairs yourself. This can be done if you are fairly handy, especially if it is just a small job that needs to be done and there is not more than a 6 inch slope to your roof.

Roofing Tips For Fixing Your Roof

One of the first roofing tips that you should know about is going into your attic with a flashlight to look for watermarks. These will show you where your roof needs to be repaired. Another of the important roofing tips is that the areas that need to be repaired will be two to three feet ABOVE the watermark. This is because water travels downwards. Important roofing tips will also tell you that if there is damage to the wood that covers your roof and where the shingles are nailed on top of, then you should have a professional roofing company do this work for you.

Roofing Tips About Materials

Of course, no good roofing tips will stop before sharing with you what materials you will need to have in to be able to fix your own roof. First of all, you will need to find some shingles that actually match the ones that are currently on the rest of your roof. In order to figure out just how many shingles you are going to need you will have to multiply the length of the area that needs the shingles by the width of this area. You should then divide this by 100. This will give you the number of roofing squares that you need in order to do the repair work. A roofing square is actually equal to 3 bundles of shingles. In other words, 1 bundle of shingles will only cover about 33.3 square feet of your roof.

Before going to the store, you should make sure that the tar paper, or roofing felt, is not damaged. This is actually really easy to fix if you get the correct materials, which is something that your local hardware store can help you with.

Conclusion

With these roofing tips, you will be able to fix a minor roofing problem and replace damaged shingles. However, if your roof has any major damage, you will need to call a professional roofer to do the work for you. Otherwise, these roofing tips will help you to save you money by repairing your own roof.

Tile roofing is extremely secure: available in a wide range of colors: the most fire- resistant of all roofing materials: strong enough to withstand earthquakes and the kind of severe weather which will destroy most shingle roofs; and durable enough to survive for hundreds of years. Contemporary tile roofing is also light enough to be appropriate for most homes.

The Art Of Tile Roofing

Tile roofing is not only one of the oldest styles of roofing; it is one of the most beautiful. More than five thousand years ago, the ancient builders Corinth, Greece invented tiles to cover the temples of Apollo and Poseidon. It soon spread to Asia and Europe, and today tile roofing is still used all around the world, as both a cover from the elements and as an artistic touch. However, there are many untrue facts that people seem to believe about using tiles for roofing, and I’d like to take the time to clear a few of those up.
Barn Red Tiles

Watching kung-fu movies may give you the wrong impression of tile roofing. Everyone remembers those scenes, with two people grasping swords dancing around on rooftops in a ballet of violence until someone falls on a tile roof, which is where the tiles begin to slip and fall to the ground. This is simply not true. Tile roofing is attached safely so that they can withstand strong winds and other weather conditions. They do not just slip off at the slightest push. Another myth that seems to come from movies is that the only type of tile roofing is the obnoxious bright-red tile, when in fact tiles can be custom made to be almost any color you want.

A Roof For The Ages

If you are looking to buy the best roof for your money, you should look no further than a clay or concrete tiled roof. Costing less than slate, these roofs can stand effectively for 50 to 100 years, and perhaps even longer. There are still large structures in Asia that have had the same tile roofing for centuries, and not only does it still sit there, but it doesn’t leak. It’s an interesting theory when you really think about it, that tile roofing may in fact outlast the building it sits on, especially when you consider that shingles begin to deteriorate from the first day you attach them.

Safety First

Here’s a bit of information that may or may not come as a shock to you: Tile roofing is the safest type of roof you could have. Tiles are considered “Class A” fire resistant, which does not only mean that you have less chance of dying due to your house burning down around you, but your insurance rates may be lowered. Not only that, but tile roofing has also been known to stand up better to earthquakes and ice storms. The most violent of hail storms may only damage a small amount of tile, but would destroy a shingled roof. Finally, there’s the myth that most homes are not strong enough to support tile. While this may have been true five thousand years ago, today’s tile is lightweight but still strong, and almost any house can withstand the weight.