Ignoring Roof Material In Historic Neighborhood

Metal roofs membrane systems white tile roofs like the one shown here and even living roofs can all be described as cool roofs.

Ignoring roof material in historic neighborhood. Of course you re paying for that quality. While roofing projects can suffer when the specs are inconsistent with the desired material just as problematic is when they don t match the historic building. For builders in timber rich north america wood shingles were the obvious choice for the earliest roofs and ultimately the most common roofing material for houses well into the 20th century. The most commonly found sloping roof materials are metal slate clay tile asphalt shingles wood shingles and wood shakes.

It is always best to use a roofing material that was original to your house or one that mimics the original. Roof materials in addition to the shape elements and details the materials used to cover sloping roofs are important to defining the character of a historic building. You run into that all the time says lukis someone has not done a good enough survey of the existing conditions. A poor roof will permit the accelerated deterioration of historic building materials masonry wood plaster paint and will cause general disintegration of the basic structure.

In most cases a metal roof would look out of place. If your historic house never had a metal roof you should not install a metal roof on it. Slate if you really want a roof that will outlast you and your budget is pretty high this is the material to consider. Furthermore there is an urgency involved in repairing a leaky roof since such repair costs will quickly become prohibitive.

Otherwise it wouldn t be there in the first place. Because historic districts cast a wary eye toward anything new you should at least consider sticking with the same type of material that s already on your roof. Originally hand split from local woods oak and pine in the northeast to cypress in the south wood shingles were typically shaved smooth for high style and garden variety houses. Because applications of substitute materials such as aluminum and vinyl siding can either destroy or conceal historic building material and features and in consequence result in the loss of a building s historic character they are not recommended by the national park service.

Slate tile over 2 000 square feet of roof can cost over 80 000. Furthermore there is an urgency involved in repairing a leaky roof since such repair costs will quickly become prohibitive. The material already got approved once. Try not to use different roofing materials.