No wise homeowner is going to deny nor shrug off the importance of their roof. This is one of the most crucial components of your house, and it has a lot of important duties. It has to absorb and deflect a lot of solar radiation and heat, to prevent your house from getting too hot, and to keep your attic in stable climatic state.
They also have to prevent insidious water damage, which can cultivate toxic black mold, and speed up the decay of your home and possessions. They must do these things while providing a strong seal to contain climate control, as well as abate pests.
The importance of a roof, and how hard it must work, is not something people really debate. But, achieving all of this while also conveying beauty, that’s a challenge that used to be rife with compromises. Today, we have access to a wide variety of modern materials that can evoke rustic, old world charm, exotic personality, or ultra modern timelessness.
With all of these choices, it can cause a lot of people to balk at more tried and true materials, primarily shingles. Sure, if you travel through suburban and rural North America, you will see no shortage of shingle roofs, but as modern architecture and materials increase to spread, people often question shingle as a choice.
This is largely an aesthetic question, people having that mental image of shingles being lifeless black or gray surfaces that just don’t look “classy”. However, shingles are one of the most refined materials for roofing and can offer tremendous, stylish varieties that would shock you.
Let’s run through some of the benefits of asphalt (shingle) roofing, and why it’s worth another look.
- Durability – Shingles are very durable. Their flexible and somewhat thin nature can be deceptive, with these lasting upwards of a century in some cases. Shingles absorb and radiate heat back out into space very efficiently, which means their rate of decay is actually pretty slow.
- Ease of Repair – Shingles are very easy to replace when done by a skilled professional. They do eventually fail, and when they do, provided it’s only the shingle(s) having suffered damage, simply replacing them is remarkably straightforward and affordable.
- Affordability – Speaking of which, shingles are very affordable when compared to pretty much any other material.
- Very Green – When you think of asphalt, you think of tar and petroleum. But, asphalt shingles are very green, as they can be recycled in many different ways, and the synthesized asphalt in modern shingles is very environmentally friendly in their production.
- Aesthetic Variance – Modern shingles aren’t given a fair chance. Modern materials and production methods allow the production of shingle that can look like shake and other old-world materials. On top of this, the variation in color and application can create stunning, textured roofs that look timeless and alive.
- Effectiveness – Shingle is very effective in preventing things like water damage. They overlay one another, providing a stepped seal, not unlike the scales protecting fish, or the feathers of a bird.
- Easier Recovery – Being easy to repair is beneficial. If you live in an area with severe weather (especially wind), shingles do often get damaged, but since repair is much more trivial, it’s less impactful.
Commercial Asphalt
For commercial flat roofs, aesthetics are rarely as much of a concern, but effectiveness is. You wouldn’t put a shingle on a roof like this, but that doesn’t mean commercial asphalt isn’t still a very ideal approach.
- Ease – It’s very easy to apply several quality forms of asphalt layer for commercial structures.
- Longevity – Commercial locations have a lot more overhead and operation costs, so the longevity of these materials can be a real blessing for such locations.
- Low Maintenance – Commercial asphalt roofs are remarkably low-maintenance. The main focus of maintenance with these is just making sure their drainage systems remain unobstructed, and that seams remain sealed along with the sheets if any exist.
- Easier Ventilation – Flat roofs like these are rarely uninterrupted surfaces, with access points, ventilation outlets, and in larger structures, often skylights. Asphalt roofing can be cut and aligned around these features with little difficulty, and the application of sealant can keep the connections between these and the structure, much tighter and resistant to weather.
- Energy Efficiency – Climate control is a much bigger hassle for commercial locations. The buildings are much bigger, and there are often stricter rules about how hot or cold it’s allowed to be, throughout the year. Asphalt roofing is very good at deflecting sunlight and is very insulator. The climate control inside would be kept in check.
- Insurance Benefits – Code enforcement and insurance policies regarding commercial locations are also much stricter, and roofing materials in these categories are often beneficial to meeting inspection criteria, and in garnering better relations with insurance providers.
To learn more about the world of asphalt roofing both residential and commercial, fill out our contact form today!
