Roof Colour Selection

The roof is the ceiling of the house. It really needs to be considered when you’re making color decisions. If you’re due for a new roof, congratulations! You now have a chance to select your roof color from the myriad choices that are available. Here are a few guidelines and considerations:

Suggestion 1; Involves selecting colors within the same family, such as warm tones (browns, beige’s, creams, golds and reds) used together with warm accents, trim etc.

Suggestion 2; Consists of contrasting light and dark colors out of different color families for an eye-catching effect.

Suggestion 3; Contrasting cool (blues, grays, black, white) and warm colors is harder to achieve, but if one of the contrasting colors is a neutral, it will be easier to accomplish. For instance, try using a warm color like cream or ivory with a cool neutral such as a gray or black ridge cap and drip edge.

Once you have chosen the method to create the look or effect you desire, you may want to take the following steps to help make your final color selection:

Gather; samples that represent the outside permanent colors of your home (brick, siding, etc.) You can use paper or fabric or whatever other sample you can find that is very close to the home exterior.

Consider your surroundings; Consider the environment and your neighborhood. Coordinating with your neighbors home should not be a prime consideration, but duplicating your neighbors home would not be ideal either.

Select Similar Colors; Select colors in the same family as the existing permanent elements (i.e. brick or stone) to produce a simple scheme which will make a small home appear larger. For example, a light brown shade of shingle on a tan colored brick home.

Select High Contrast; Select high-contrast colors to produce a bold, striking effect. These highlight architectural detail and design. Low-contrast colors hide details which may be desirable in some cases.

Using Color to Balance; Use color to balance the proportion and design of a home. Light colors make homes appear larger, dark colors make homes look smaller. Dark colors outline architectural details against light backgrounds while light colors create the opposite effect.

Traditional Shingle Roofs

• Gray or blue house. Stay with a traditional roof color like dark gray or black. That way your roof will blend with your house and make the whole structure seem bigger.
• Cream, tan, or light brown house. Consider the many brown roof options, some of them with a mixture of browns that really make the house look updated and terrific. A brown roof will blend with the cream or tan and make the house look bigger. Black and gray roofs just look ordinary.
• White house. Stick with a dark gray or black roof. It’s traditional, but it works.
• Red, green, or yellow house. You can go either way, a brown or a gray/black roof. I prefer a brown roof for red and green house colors and a black roof for a yellow house.

Nontraditional Roofs

What about metal roofs? They’re all over Colorado, Upstate New York, and other areas of the world where snow on the roof is a major factor in the winter. Metal roofs come in a rainbow of colors, from red to green to brown to purple. If you have a metal roof, you are making a design statement (whether you meant to or not, of course) and you can treat it as an accent color, kind of like picking a front-door color.

What about terracotta roofs? These are traditionally seen on Mediterranean style homes and are a definite design feature. Keep the house color neutral to highlight the beautiful roof and the other architectural elements that are undoubtedly present.

Other Nontraditional roof materials. Just like a thatched roof on an English cottage, a nontraditional roof is a design feature of the home. Hopefully, you want it that way. Choose a house color that makes the roof look like you planned it as a feature. Regardless of what kind of roof you have, make sure you consider it when you’re making house color decisions.

Roofing Issues

The life of any roofing system is finite. Most low-slope roofing materials begin to exhibit water infiltration within 20 years after installation. Distress conditions and leaks on low-slope roofs are more likely to emerge at certain predictable areas, such as at punctures or seams in single-ply membranes.

Leaks also often occur where pipes or vents penetrate the roof membrane, as well as at roof perimeters where roofing systems transition to other materials. By identifying areas that are prone to developing problems, maintenance and engineering managers can take steps that will prevent roof problems cost effectively.

The key to a trouble-free roof is obviously doing your best to repair problems as soon as soon as they arise - but even more importantly taking steps to identify potential weaknesses before they result in disaster. Be sure to consult a qualified roofing company or inspector to put your mind at ease, and never be afraid to ask for a second opinion. Regular maintenance, inspection and weather-resistant additions should keep you and yours happy, warm and dry for many years to come.

Roof Types

Different types of roof have different slopes within the same building. Many traditional buildings incorporate different types of roof within a single composition. For example, a building with the primary mass under a hip may have a central projecting bay with a gable end and a front portico with a pediment. The type and shape of the roof on your home can help determine how well it will perform during a severe windstorm. Don't use the same pitch for each roof! Each type has its own characteristics and should have different slopes:

Gable Roof:

The gable roof is a very popular type of roof. The gable roof is easy to build, sheds water well, provides for ventilation, and is applicable to a variety of house shapes and designs. A gabled roof has two slopes that come together to form a ridge or a peak at the top, each end looks like the letter A. Homes with gabled roofs are more likely to suffer greater damage, such as collapse of the end wall from high winds because they are often not braced properly during construction.

Hip Roof:

The hip roof is slightly more difficult to build than a gable roof, but is still a popular choice. A hipped roof is one that slopes upward from all sides of the building. Because of its aerodynamic properties and construction techniques, most hipped roofs will perform better in windstorms than the second roof type: a gabled roof. It does not provide for ventilation as well as some other roof designs and increases the chance for leakage due to the hips and valleys.

A-frame Roof:

The A-frame provides not only a roof but the walls as well. Originally, it was used for cottages, but in recent years has been applied to homes, churches, and other structures.

Flat Roof:

A flat roof is the most economical roof to build, but does not add much to the design of most houses. It requires a "built-up roof covering rather than conventional shingles. A built-up roof consists of layers of roofing, felt, tar topped with gravel. Actually, most so-called flat roofs are pitched 1/8 to 1/2 in per foot to aid in drainage. The flat roof is popular in warmer areas of the country where wide overhangs are desirable for shade and where little or no snow falls.

Roof Coatings And Their Benefits

A monolithic and fully adhered liquid that is applied over the roofs is called roof coating. It is applied over the regular roof system. That is why it acts as a covering or a top layer over the traditional roof. This asks for many features that a roof coating must possess. As it is the outermost layer therefore it is also the most exposed layer.

That is why, it is manufactured in such a way that it is able to tolerate a lot of environmental factors like UV and infrared, temperature extremities like rain, hail and the physical damage caused due to these factors. It is very elastic in nature which enables it to endure the temperature extremities without cracking. Hence roof coatings if applied properly over the roofs can provide maximal protection to the roof from these deteriorating factors, ultimately extending the life of the roof.

The advantages that roof coatings deliver cannot be ignored. The foremost benefit is repairing roof leaks. In this way it reduces the cost of re roofing. In addition the reflective nature of roof coatings greatly reduces the cooling cost because these coatings reflect the heat and sun rays, generating a cooling effect. Also these coatings are sometimes used ornamentally. Where roofs are exposed and visible, the roof coatings results in providing a cosmetic effect.

Among many types of roof coatings which are available, the most common ones are polymer-modified acrylic elastomers and polyureas, asphalt cutbacks and emulsions, silicones, SPF and high-performance urethanes. White roof coatings, tinted roof coatings, elastomeric, aluminum and metal roof coatings are also few broad categories of roof coatings.

Elastomeric roof coatings are very versatile and can be applied on a large variety of roofs such as single-ply, metal, asphalt, polyurethane foam or concrete roofs (CSPE, EPDM, TPO, PVC). This compatibility feature is very useful and makes it prominent among other roof coatings. An elastomeric roof coating creates a uniform, seamless and durable surface that remains flexible even at low temperatures. It is very adhesive in nature and provides excellent UV protection for polyurethane foam. Its highly reflective nature not only reduces the cooling costs but also prevents premature degradation. Elastomeric coatings can be employed both in construction phase and the maintenance phase.

Waterproofing Fish Ponds, Fountains With Liquid Roof

Liquid roof or Liquid rubber, being Liquid EPDM, has a wide range of application areas due to its extensive features. Its reflective nature results in delivering cooling effect. It is UV and ozone layer stable, highly chemical resistant, can tolerate a very broad temperature range and is compatible with a variety of surfaces like rubber, fiberglass, concrete, metal, foam, wood and fabric. It is the best solution for roof leaks repair. But besides all these features, one characteristic of epdm that is very important and must be mentioned is its water proofing nature. Due to this, it is extensively used to waterproof fountains and fish ponds.

The fountains and fish ponds have concrete surfaces. When special additives for water resistance are not added to a concrete surface, a need for an impervious coating becomes very essential. Because if such a coating is not applied, then it may lead to leaching out of soluble constituents and this is something very dangerous. These factors demand that the ponds and fountains must be glazed with a coating that is nontoxic and safe for the fishes and offers maximum water resistance. Liquid EPDM rubber, no doubt is the best. It provides protection to the surface both against the fresh and salt water.

Besides providing the water proofing feature, it also provides a solution to the roof leaks problem. The pond surface is usually plastic, concrete or rubber lined. When leaks are encountered in concrete surfaces, rubber liners are usually installed. But this process is very tricky and complicated. Also plastic pond liners generally get cracked. They can be repaired with products like caulks and tapes but they eventually get wear out. So for fixing leaks on both plastic and concrete surfaces, liquid roof is the most recommended product. It is both long lasting and easy to install.

Surface preparation for application of Liquid roof to ponds and fountains etc should be done carefully. The surface should be cleaned properly before application. If an alga is present treat with an algaecide or 25% solution of bleach, let stand for one hour and rise well. In fish ponds polishing the surface with a wire brush or a high pressure water spray might be needed. A rain free one week is needed for the surface to dry out.

EPDM Coatings Facts.

EPDM Rubber has had a long history of superior performance in hoses, molded products, tires and roofing membranes. For example, the radiator hoses in our cars and the gaskets on our freezer doors are made of EPDM rubber and show the broad temperature range the product can handle. EPDM Roofing Membranes also have more than 30 years of successful history.

EPDM is relatively inexpensive, simple to install, and fairly clean to work with when compared to conventional materials. There are not the strong odors and fumes either. The product is very stable and the resulting characteristics of Liquid EPDM such as flexibility, weatherability and chemical resistance are determined by it.

EPDM roofs are suitable for most types of facilities, offer various mil thicknesses, and can be purchased in either black or white. It should be noted that the solar reflectivity of a black roof is only 8%, which is a major factor in the Sun Belt.

Drawbacks of EPDM roofs include vulnerability to physical abuse; lack of layer redundancy; temperature sensitivity of adhesion points and sealing tape used for seams; and poor resistance to chemicals, cooking fats, and greases. As noted earlier, these roof systems don't always meet local wind uplift code requirements.

Liquid Roof Application Tips

When you want to apply liquid rubber on your roof, keep in mind that it is a 3 to 6 hrs process, excluding the surface preparation time. Once the Liquid EPDM Rubber is applied, it takes around 16 to 20 hours to dry up. Therefore careful planning should be done taking into consideration the weather conditions as well, i.e. one should plan to work on days when the rain is not expected because although Liquid Roof will immediately waterproof, even when wet, avoid heavy rain until it is completely dry to the touch which means 16 - 20 hours after application. To be on the safe side, one can say that a full cure will be achieved in 4 - 10 days after application, in consistent 70 deg. F.

A lot of liquid coatings can be seen in market but when we talk of liquid roof, its spray and application characteristics are found to be very unique and different from the other coatings. Before applying the liquid rubber, comes the surface preparation which is also a mandatory step. Surface preparation and cleaning is done to make sure that there are no holes, gaps, seams and tears on the roof and if there, they should be repaired before application. Also any potential weak areas should be reinforced and asphalts or silicone type of caulking on the roof/surface should be removed as well. The roof should be thoroughly dried prior to applying Liquid Rubber EPDM after cleaning.

Although Liquid Rubber Sealant Coating has a heavy consistency, it will self level and penetrate small crevices and pores. However before applying, catalyzing the liquid rubber with a pre-measured catalyst according to instructions is very important. The liquid roof can be sprayed or even applied with a paint brush to areas which are small and difficult to access e.g. chimneys, roof flashing, pipes, fish ponds etc. A squeegee and a roller can also be employed specially for flat surfaces where the usual practice is to pour the material, spreading with a squeegee and then leveling it with a short nap roller. Also a single application is recommended rather than applying multiple coats. For obtaining efficient results, a 20 mil layer of the liquid roof should be applied.