ROOFING & HOME IMPROVEMENT BLOG
Viewing entries in
Roofing
Roofing Contractor Magazine (RC), the premier trade publication for the North American roofing contractors, recently named Greenawalt Roofing to their 12th-annual Top 100 Roofing Contractors List. Residential and commercial roofing contractors across the nation shared with RC their key wins (and even some of their losses and failures) over the past year, as well as some of their future objectives in the hopes of being included among this exclusive group of US contractors. Read More.
With businesses are up and running and construction projects restarting, the demand for materials, like shingles and siding, is much higher than anticipated. Contractor suppliers are increasing their orders, and major manufacturers, including CertainTeed, Tamko, and GAF industry are working to play catch-up and make their own adjustments in order to try and meet demands.
New siding is exciting! It is a way to completely change the look of your home and amp up your curb appeal. We want to help you make the best choice for your home.
There are a few things you should consider before you chose your perfect siding color.
The Climate
Selecting the right siding color can be a natural way to help keep your house cooler and more comfortable. For example, if you have a darker roof paired with a darker siding color house, your house could actually be absorbing 70 - 90% of the radiant energy from the Sun. This could explain why houses are often light-colored. But in many cases, the exterior walls of the house are lighter while the roof is still dark, therefore reducing the amount of energy savings possible. If you are looking to remodel or replace your roof and/or exterior, take a good look at your house and see if any improvements could be made. The long-term benefits could very well outweigh the upfront costs.
According to the Arizona Solar Center, a good way to maintain interior temperatures is by preventing hot or cold air from entering the home in the first place. Southern homes tend to have lighter colors due to the heat and sun. As for Pennsylvania, our northern homes stick to more neutral colors. A bright yellow home might be a bit too much for your eyes during the snowy season. Try to pick a color that will work with every season and that won’t be too overpowering at any point.
Popular colors of Pennsylvania homes include gray, blue, green, brown, and beige.
Style of Your Home
Some home styles commonly stick to one exterior color, while other styles allow for multiple colors.
A few common home styles and color themes:
Cape Cod - You can have fun with accents like window shutters
Craftsman - Allows for a lot of natural colors with trim, brick, and stone
Contemporary - Usually sticks to one or two colors
Mediterranean - Not very common in PA, sticks to lighter colors
Prairie - Sticks to one color, but has lots of windows and organic patterns
Ranch - Often has one color, with a complimentary trim color
Cottage - Tends to have brighter exterior colors
Your Neighborhood
Pay attention to the homes in your neighborhood. Are there any colors you like? You may want your home to stand out in the neighborhood, but don’t make it an eyesore! Try to keep your color in the ballpark of the other homes. Some neighborhoods have rules about home color, so make sure to check before you change the color of your home.
Testing Your Paint Color
Whatever color you choose, make sure it looks good in every light. You may hate how light the color of your house is when the sun hits it. Take a look at your color swatches throughout the day, for several days.
Complimentary Colors
Complimentary colors can add some extra attention to your home. Trim, doors, windows and railings are often painted complimentary colors.
Color of Your Roof
The color of your roof plays a huge role in your exterior color choice. A more neutral colored roof can match an array of colors, while a darker roof is often softened with a lighter siding color. How much you want your roof to stand out is up to you.
Your Landscaping Style
Your landscape plays a role in your siding color choice as well. The bright yellow house mentioned earlier might not look the best with huge evergreen trees. A large brown house might fit that landscape better. If you have a very colorful landscape think about a color that will compliment it.
Size of Your Home
Swatches are small and your home is big! A color might look lighter or darker when applied to a home. Keep this in mind when you pick your color. Darker colors might be too intense on a larger scale. Lighter colors might not be intense enough. If you have the ability to create a bigger paint test area, you should certainly do it.
Need More Info? Have Questions?
At Greenawalt Roofing, we recommend and install CertainTeed siding products. The company offers vertical siding, horizontal siding, shake and shingle siding for the look of shake without the maintenance and even insulated siding with the look of natural wood that can help reduce your heating and cooling bills.
We know that choosing a siding style and color can be challenging so we are happy to assist you in selecting the right look for your home. CertainTeed also offers online design tools that allow you to see what different colors and styles look like on different homes.
If you have any questions, or you are ready for new siding, give us a call at 717-898-6000.
Your roof has a pretty important job to do. It’s your first line of defense against the elements and critical to the overall integrity of your home. But, the weather is your roof’s most powerful nemesis. From snowstorms to high winds to hail, storms can be incredibly damaging to your roof.
What weather events cause the most storm damage to roofs?
Hailstorms usually leave behind evidence of their wrath. We’ve all seen broken windows, dented car hoods, cracked siding, mashed plants and even some missing roofing shingles. However, there could be some more subtle signs when it comes to your roof.
Regardless of the roofing material you use, hail can create small fractures in the shingle and weaken the roof as a whole. Over time, this can lead to larger cracks and tears. In addition, depending on how big the hail were and the intensity of the storm, sections of your roof could have been weakened during the madness. Think about it. Your roof just got pummeled over and over again by ice balls.
How can you catch this before it turns into a problem? Make sure that whatever roofing material you’ve chosen for your home is strong and durable and always call for a professional inspection following a hailstorm. Inspections are free and you can get a little peace of mind.
When your roof goes through a windstorm or high winds in general it can loose the tiny granules on shingles that help keep water out. In addition, you roof could straight up be missing some shingles. Missing shingles most definitely leave your roof vulnerable to the elements.
What should you do? Inspect your roof and make any necessary repairs right away. Again, if you’re really concerned about your roof, call your local roofing expert for an inspection.
This one seems pretty obvious but needs to be included. Rain is water, and water is wet. Your roof is regularly exposed to these kinds of conditions and after a while it can certainly take its toll--especially if any other weather event like wind or hail is mixed in there.
What’s our advice? Again, check out your roof after any major storm and be aware of your home. Have you noticed any mold or fungus inside your home or on your roof? Are your heating and cooling costs really high? This could be a sign of a bad roof.
The most common issue when dealing with snowy roofs are ice dams. Ice dams are large ridges of ice that form at the edge of a roof or gutters, and prevent melting snow from running off the roof. When water can’t runoff the roof, it can back-up on the roof and cause leaks.
What can you do? Remove snow from your roof after each storm. This eliminates one of the needed components for ice dams. In the unfortunate event that you discover that ice dams are already present, do not start hacking away at them. The best way to remove them is to have a professional come out to perform a steam removal. Steam removal is effective, non-damaging and much more quiet for your neighbors.
Now, we realize that trees are not a weather element, but during weather events they can be damaging to your roof. If there are branches hanging over or touching your roof, during a storm they could be rubbing the small granules or poking small holes in your shingles.
One way to remedy this is to prune these branches back. A professional arborist is your best bet to making sure that branches are pruned properly and safely. Heavy pruning is usually best done in the tree’s dormant season, so keep that in mind. Again, a professional arborist can be a great resource.
Weather and storms take a damaging toll on your roof. Stay on top of your potential storms and severe weather in your area by keeping an eye on local meteorology reports or using resources such as The National Weather Service. But most importantly, make sure that you're getting your roof inspected after major storms and get the necessary repairs done as soon as possible.
Unsure if your home sustained damage from a storm? Let Greenawalt Roofing Company help! Schedule your free inspection with one of our Storm Damage experts.
