Here is a list of a few types of roofing you can use for your home, with a small description along with a few pros and cons.
Composition Shingles – These come in a large selection. With a choice of brands and colours. Composition Shingles are more affordable and they are very versatile, being very adaptable to certain applications. Installation is quite easy and in some cases can be nailed over an existing roof and they require very little maintenance. However they do not have a long life span like certain other materials do and have been known to blow off in stormy weather.
Metal Roofs – These are becoming more popular, especially in the form of Standing-Seam steel roofing, for residential homes and houses. Metal roofs are durable, low maintenance and more importantly fire retardant. Another benefit is they are very energy efficient, reflecting heat. They are also made up mainly of recyclable material. Steel roofs weigh very little and can be placed over existing roofs, which stops the need of excess material going into landfill. Metal roofs are slightly more expensive then most other roofing materials, however they do have future benefits and maybe more cost efficient.
Wood Shake Roof – This is a nice natural looking roof with character, with its variety of pattern, colour and thickness, wood shake offers an individual roof. They help insulate the attic, adding some energy benefits. On the down side a wood shake roof needs proper maintenance and repairing, otherwise the life span will be very short. Rot and mould can be a problem too. Wood shake is also very tricky to install so you will need to rely on your contractor for this.
Slate – This is an expensive choice of roofing, however they do have a long life span, are low maintenance and a great fire protector. You will not need to worry about mould or rot with this type of roofing. Slate comes in a range of sizes and colours. The cons to this type of material is the weight of it and how fragile it is, making maintenance a little complicated.
Roofing Tile – Tile has a good life span and it will not rot or burn. However some of the tiles can be a little fragile so like Slate can be hard to perform the required maintenance on, however low it may be. Roofing Tile is more expensive than some of the other roofing materials and can be quite heavy, this being one of its main draw backs.