Roofing Options for Your Custom Home

When it comes to building custom homes in the Alachua County, Gilchrist County, and Columbia County areas there are some mixed (and strong) opinions on the types of roofs my clients are interested in. In the Gainesville area, asphalt shingles would be considered the norm; however when you start heading west towards High Springs, Fort White and Trenton, metal roofing starts to become a lot more common. This could be a result of the style of homes, as Gainesville tends to have smaller subdivisions where you have more typical Florida style homes, and as you head West, you have more homes on larger tracts of property and you get more of the typical farmhouse style homes. Whichever the preference, we build houses with both metal and shingles roofs, but there are advtantages to both options.


Shingle Roof

Shingle roofs are what most would consider to be the 'standard' roof. It is easier to get material for, easier to install, and easier to repair; for this reason it is the roofing material that most builders in the area opt to work with. It is also, relatively speaking, the least expensive roofing option for this area. There are also many color options to give the house the right contrast you are looking for, at an affordable price. Shingle roofs will have to be replaced in the future, so while it is and affordable option up front, there will be additional costs over the life of the home to take into account. 


Standing Seam Metal Roof

Metal roofs, as explained earlier, are a good alternative option for some clients. Typically the clients that want a metal roof have it high on their priority list, and it's a major aesthetic feature for how they want their home to look. Whether the metal roof adds an accent that they like or if it gives their home the appearance of a classic well-constructed farm house, the metal roofs I install for clients are thought to be integral to the look they're going for. The advantage to the metal roofs is that the panels themselves should last a very long time. If using an exposed fastener roofing system, you should expect to potentially replace the screws over the life of the panels; for this reason, many roofing contractors recommend using a standing seam style panel instead of the exposed fastener system. Zach Brehm, a roofing contractor with Brehm Roofing that I work with often explains, "While the standing seam system does cost a bit more up front, it will cost less over the life of the roof and provide piece of mind knowing that all of the fasteners are concealed under the panels and not being exposed to the elements". Because the standing seam systems completely conceal all the screws, it results in a much lower likelihood of a leak, and also eliminates the need to replace any screws. Another major advantage to metal roofing is that a galvalume (natural metal color) metal roof is the most energy efficient roofing option for your house. With a painted white metal roof being the only exception, there is no other commonly used roofing material in the area that transfers less heat from your roofing material into the attic, as the galvalume does a great job of actually reflecting the heat, especially if the metal roofing system is on 1x4 purlins, and lifted up off the roof deck. 

What I normally tell clients is that when selecting roofing material, there's usually a specific aesthetic look they're hoping to achieve, and the roofing material they choose is likely to play a large role in that. For many styles of homes, a shingle roof would fit better, and for many styles of homes, a metal roof would fit better. It is completely up to the client as to what look they're going for!