Why not a light color roof?

[ralph7]

Walking my goofy dog through the neighborhood this morning, I got to looking and thinking about roofs, the vast majority of them being a dark brown color. Why especially here, where it gets really hot in the summer, are there not more in a lighter color?
I have seen light color roofs and they look good to me, and I'm sure they reflect the heat much better than a dark color.
Do lighter roofs have a reputation for getting dirty looking after a time? If so, maybe a light brown would be a better choice?

 

[NYlakesider]

Well I live in the mountains of upper NYS and the majority of roofs are of a darker color. FWIW green is the predominate color. (Mine is green)

As stated I live in the mountains and we get heavy snow so many roofs here are metal. They cost more than asphalt but are much longer lasting!

They are good for self clearing of the tons of snow we get. Normally within a couple days most all snow just slides off and reduces the weight on the roof.

Another big advantage of metal roofs like mine is fire protection. In fact many insurance companies will give a discount for roof like that.

 

[smokindog]

I've found it is usually the illegal private governments known as HOAs that the "City leadership" mandates upon us to circumvent having to enforce their own codes while pocketing our tax dollars as the cause of this epidemic of "same, same, same"!!!!

Walking my goofy dog through the neighborhood this morning, I got to looking and thinking about roofs, the vast majority of them being a dark brown color. Why especially here, where it gets really hot in the summer, are there not more in a lighter color?
I have seen light color roofs and they look good to me, and I'm sure they reflect the heat much better than a dark color.
Do lighter roofs have a reputation for getting dirty looking after a time? If so, maybe a light brown would be a better choice?

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Lighter color roofs are actually much better at reflecting the radiant heat of sunlight than darker colors. Here in southern Colorado (320-plus days of sunshine per year) the temperatures inside enclosed attic spaces can easily reach 150F-plus on summer days. That heat not only radiates into the structure, increasing the need for air conditioning, but it is also damaging to the asphalt content of shingles, reducing longevity of the roofing. Many of us use lots of vents to help keep attic temperatures down, and powered ventilators are very popular.

During my years in home construction and running a roofing company it was my experience that most people make shingle color selections more for the aesthetic results than for functionality. Also, the majority of folks select roofing materials primarily for lower cost than for long-term effectiveness. But we also have damaging hailstorms on a regular basis (few neighborhoods ever go more than about 5 years or so between major hailstorms), and heavy enough hail will damage any roofing material, so insurance costs also have an effect on the marketplace. Personally, I have impact-resistant shingles (for which my insurance company allows a 27% discount in homeowners insurance premium) and we've gone through half-a-dozen hailstorms without damage. They are a light color also, reducing the use of air conditioning.

 

[arjay]

A light colored roof will look crummy sooner than a dark colored one in my experience.The darker browns really became popular in the 90s and later.There was also a shift to a much heavier shingle at the same time,so all those brown roofs are lasting more than 20 years.

 

[ralph7]

I've found it is usually the illegal private governments known as HOAs that the "City leadership" mandates upon us to circumvent having to enforce their own codes while pocketing our tax dollars as the cause of this epidemic of "same, same, same"!!!!

That is a concern of mine. I will check with the HOA to see if a light colored roof is "legal".
I hate that I have to pay for the honor of being under their thumb!

 

[sipowicz]

Lighter color roofs are actually much better at reflecting the radiant heat of sunlight than darker colors. Here in southern Colorado (320-plus days of sunshine per year) the temperatures inside enclosed attic spaces can easily reach 150F-plus on summer days. That heat not only radiates into the structure, increasing the need for air conditioning, but it is also damaging to the asphalt content of shingles, reducing longevity of the roofing. Many of us use lots of vents to help keep attic temperatures down, and powered ventilators are very popular.

During my years in home construction and running a roofing company it was my experience that most people make shingle color selections more for the aesthetic results than for functionality. Also, the majority of folks select roofing materials primarily for lower cost than for long-term effectiveness. But we also have damaging hailstorms on a regular basis (few neighborhoods ever go more than about 5 years or so between major hailstorms), and heavy enough hail will damage any roofing material, so insurance costs also have an effect on the marketplace. Personally, I have impact-resistant shingles (for which my insurance company allows a 27% discount in homeowners insurance premium) and we've gone through half-a-dozen hailstorms without damage. They are a light color also, reducing the use of air conditioning.

Good info. But I still use black leather holsters even though tan would deflect heat away from my body.

 

[ralph7]

Well I live in the mountains of upper NYS and the majority of roofs are of a darker color. FWIW green is the predominate color. (Mine is green)

As stated I live in the mountains and we get heavy snow so many roofs here are metal. They cost more than asphalt but are much longer lasting!

They are good for self clearing of the tons of snow we get. Normally within a couple days most all snow just slides off and reduces the weight on the roof.




Another big advantage of metal roofs like mine is fire protection. In fact many insurance companies will give a discount for roof like that.

Well, snow is the least of my worries here.

If it weren't for the HOA, I would love to have a metal roof if for no other reason than the sound of the rain.

 

[smokindog]

Read the CC&Rs/deed restrictions for yourself first. Most HOA boards are comprise of the children who always wanted to be in Student Council but never elected. They usually don't know beans about the actual deed restrictions BUT they can put a lien on your home. SCARY isn't it. The documents should be on the management company website (or in your closing documents if you still have them).

That is a concern of mine. I will check with the HOA to see if a light colored roof is "legal".
I hate that I have to pay for the honor of being under their thumb!

 

[ralph7]

Read the CC&Rs/deed restrictions for yourself first. Most HOA boards are comprise of the children who always wanted to be in Student Council but never elected. They usually don't know beans about the actual deed restrictions BUT they can put a lien on your home. SCARY isn't it. The documents should be on the management company website (or in your closing documents if you still have them).

I plan on going over the documents and I'm gonna knock on the door of at least one neighbor in the subdivision that has a light roof and ask them if they've received any flak.
I know what you mean about the student council/hall patrol wannabees.
A little power can be a scary thing amongst the small minded.

 

[gordon21]

Which costs more for the year? Heating or cooling? If the answer is cooling and you are below 30 degrees N latitude, then a light roof is appropriate. To me a standing seam metal roof is the ultimate. Regular V ribbed metal roofs are OK, but just don't look as good nor are as leak resistant as a true standing seam roof.

Asphalt shingles are cheap and come in a variety of colors. The lighter the better. They can be installed by virtually anyone (including homeowners) who isn't afraid of heights

Terra cotta barrel tiles are dark. So why is it so prevalent near the equator?? That's because it is a vented design. If properly installed, air flows up through the channels and out the top. Far less heat even gets to the 80# tar paper underneath and even less to the attic.

 

[ironhead7544]

There used to be a company that sprayed the shingles with an aluminum paint. It was supposed to keep the homes cooler in the summer. Havent seen it in a long time.

 

[smokindog]

As has been posted, don't overlook the value of proper ventilation, for more than just heat build up. Many roofs are woefully inadequate for proper ventilation!!!!

 

[gordon21]

Smokindog is right. All roofs need ventilation with the properly sized soffit intakes. There MUST be enough square inches on intake holes. Heat convection will take that air, expand it and release it through the ridge vent, static vents or turbines. If you are missing or have inadequate exhaust vents, you are totally screwed.

Check the CURRENT local building code. Consider that the absolute minimum.

If the soffits have millions of tiny holes, it doesn't take a lot of dirt, pollen, dust, grease from a nearby BBQ grill, etc to reduce their size by 20-40%. If that happens, your whole intake system could be reduced by 40%

 

[gordon21]

There used to be a company that sprayed the shingles with an aluminum paint. It was supposed to keep the homes cooler in the summer. Havent seen it in a long time.

It's called Sno-Coat or similar brands. On a single wide trailer in a trailer park it will look OK. On a house or commercial building it will look horrible. I had a customer once who had a restaurant near a very busy highway in the Keys. Probably 3500SF of roof. It was rolled and sprayed. Because the roof structure itself was rotten and it wasn't feasible to even go up there and work on it to install shingles. They used a manlift to reach up over the edges.

It looked great for about a month. Then dirt and leaves starting accumulating in the thousands of little depressions, ridges, etc on the roof.

It looked really bad, but the roof didn't leak anymore!!!! Those type coatings are flexible and will shrink/expand with the seasons.

 

[gdnagle]

I plan on going over the documents and I'm gonna knock on the door of at least one neighbor in the subdivision that has a light roof and ask them if they've received any flak.
I know what you mean about the student council/hall patrol wannabees.
A little power can be a scary thing amongst the small minded.

And there has been more then one case that has gone to court in different states that have challenged their authority and lost.

Several persons have made the decision to change their color choices, including house color and roof color and were required to either change them back at their own expense or have them do it at your inflated expense. This can be gotten around if you can get a special meeting and enough neighbors to agree with you and have the bylaws change. The bylaws will stand up in a court of law. Scary isn't it.

Way back when I lived in a community with a association. some people came by with a petition because a fellow built a garage that wasn't attached to his house and they wanted signatures to make him tear it down. I can't type what I told them, especially since it was his house and he was paying the bills.

Anyway back to OP house roof is same as garage and chicken coop. Think I would make it in a place with a association. Tan should count as light color.



Even the shed is light


And here are the officers heading to their association meeting to decide if I can keep the color changes.

 

[JohnSW]

Do lighter roofs have a reputation for getting dirty looking after a time?

In our area, residential roofs get black streaks on them, which I think is mold. With a darker color, that would be less noticeable.

 

[Stevens]

In our area, residential roofs get black streaks on them, which I think is mold. With a darker color, that would be less noticeable.

Same around here especially around trees.
Steve W

 

[WhitleyStu]

We had a light grey roof on a new home build we did in 1984 and within a year the shingles had black streaks running down from the peak to the gutters. When we installed a new roof we went with a much darker shingle and never had the issue with black streaks. In 2005 we built a new home and went with a dark shingle and it still looks perfect after 9 years. Trees close to the house are a major contributor to the dark streaks on the lighter shingles.

 

[brick]

For heat gain/heat loss, it doesn't make much difference in roof color until you get below the latitude of Atlanta. Then you want a lighter roof to reduce heat gain.