A Guide To Roofing

We might not see it unless we’re looking up, but a high-quality roof is one of the most important parts of your home. Whether you’re building a new home, purchasing an existing home or improving your current one, there’s many different reasons why you may find yourself needing the help of a great roofing specialist, so it’s definitely worth familiarising yourself with a few different aspects of choosing, improving and maintaining this crucial part of the structure of every house.

Here’s our guide to roofing – everything you need to know, might want to do or will need to decide before hiring a roofing specialist.

When Building A Home

If you’re building a new home, it’s important to look into exactly what you want in your new home’s perfect roof – think of it as the bright red cherry on top of a very expensive cake!

In 2020, one thing that more and more homeowners are looking into is eco-friendly roofing. There are a couple of different aspects of this particular kind of roofing that you may want to consider – after all, your home is going to be around for a long time, and we all want to do our bit to save the planet.

First of all, what shape is your new roof? Pitched roofs are the most common type of roof in new-build homes in the UK, and with good reason – pitched roofs are by far the easiest to work with when trying to insulate a roof, which will, in turn, save on the energy use in the home as the home will be naturally warmer. Of course, this will also save you plenty of money in the long-term, too!

Pitched roofs can also have solar panels installed on them relatively easily, too. Again, the benefits of using solar energy are clear as far as the environment is concerned, but you can also benefit personally, too. Running your home using solar energy, despite the initial cost of installing solar panels (which may not be as much as you expect!) is far cheaper than using more traditional, non-renewable forms of energy, and solar panels could actually raise the value of your home by up to 38% once you are ready to sell! Basically, installing solar panels is most definitely worth it in the long run.

So, when building a new home, going the eco-friendly route of using high-quality insulation and installing solar panels is good for the planet and good for your pockets.

It’s also worth looking into adding windows into the roof of your new-build home, too. This will add value to the home, should you or future owners ever want to convert the loft of the home into an extra bedroom – that’s if you weren’t already doing that, of course.

Home Improvements

If you’re moving into a new house or just haven’t had the roofing in your current home assessed for a while, then it’s well worth having someone visit your home to look at the quality of the roof. You may find it needs replacing, and it’s best to get it done before any damage to your current roof leads to wasted energy (and sky-rocketing bills) or rain damage and leaks.

There’s also the added bonus that re-roofing your home can change the look of your home overall, so you might as well get creative! There are plenty of different materials that can be used in roofing – the most popular include stone tiles, natural slate and asphalt shingles, just to name a few. Each material has its own different benefits, pros and cons, so do your research into each one before you make your decision. For instance, metal roofing can last for up to fifty years, meaning you won’t likely need to replace it again for a very long time, while asphalt shingles are the most cost-effective roofing material.

It’s important to take into account your budget, weather conditions where you live, the age of your home and the style of your home when choosing the roofing material that you’d like using in your new roof – make sure you’ve thought about all these different factors before you make your final decision.

You can definitely get creative with the overall look of your roof in other ways, too. Why not consider using different coloured tiles to incorporate an interesting pattern or design onto the roof? This not only makes your home stand out on the street, but makes it stand out to potential future owners if you were to decide to sell your home in the future.

In fact, if you’re planning on selling your current home in the near future, then it’s worth considering re-roofing the house first. It’s not generally as expensive as you might imagine, and surveys have shown that a recently replaced roof could increase the value of your home by up to 68% when it’s put on the market!

Choosing A Roofing Specialist

Whether you’re building a new home or replacing the old roof on an existing one, it’s important that you make sure you know exactly what you’re looking for in a roofing company.

First of all, have you considered everything above? Before approaching any potential roofers, you should know exactly what your budget is, what kind of tiles you’ll need, whether you’ll be installing a solar panel or skylight, whether you’ll need your roof re-insulating, etc. Make sure that you know exactly what you need from a roofing company before you approach them for a quote or to offer them the work.

You also need to make sure that you are going with a reputable roofing contractor. Given just how crucial the roof of your home is, you don’t want just anyone carrying out the work – be sure that you have thoroughly checked the qualifications, experience and previous client testimonials of any roofing company that you approach before paying them to do any work on your home.

It might feel like planning to roof or re-roof your home is a long and arduous process with lots to consider, but as long as you do your research properly and consider all options, it could be far less stressful and expensive than you imagine – and, for a whole list of reasons, can be incredibly beneficial to you and your home in the long run.