26: Shingles

The original plan was to give the house a metal roof. I really like the look of a standing seam metal roof on a house in, say, a deep red—from the very beginning I knew that copper was out of the question. But in the budgeting process, I decided the metal roof was going to be one of my money compromises. Obviously, the material is pricey, but I learned that what can really make the costs of a metal roof go through the roof—pun intended—is when the installation involves a lot of cutting. My house has a cross gable roof with four peaks, one on each side of the house, and would have involved a lot of cutting of the metal. Oak Tree Homes pointed me toward the most affordable alternative, asphalt shingles. I was surprised to learn that there are a lot of options in that world. So, I started looking at asphalt shingle roofs everywhere and noticed a few things that I incorporated into my specifications that give the roof texture so that it doesn't look like a boring flat surface.

I chose a color that has variations in the single panels. I believe it's called Colonial Gray, which simulates slate. My house looks particularly tall, because it's two stories with a fairly small foot print. It's also situated on a gently sloping hillside, so most of the roof is high above. You rarely have the opportunity to see it up close, which helps with the visual trick of simulating slate. Now, I'm not so delusional to think that it "looks like slate." When you really stare at it and think, it's not. But the overall effect is pretty good. I should also add that I chose a shingle style that has an irregular pattern when installed and a thicker profile (thickness of the shingles) to create shadow lines for more texture like real slate would have in the sun.