When choosing the best material for your new roof, one of the most important factors to consider is durability, so here is how long you can expect different roofing materials to stay on your roof.
Asphalt Shingles
The material is affordable, it is available in a very wide range of colors and styles and it comes with a lifespan of around 15-40 years, provided that it is not installed in an area that gets frequently hit by extreme weather, such as huge storms, tornados or hurricanes. All that owners need to take care of to get the maximum lifespan of the material is to maintain the roof regularly, cleaning and inspecting it every 6 months and repairing the issues detected during the inspection.
Built-Up Roofs
These roofs consist of alternated layers of fiberglass or bitumen and gravel or felt to create a resistant and waterproof roof. The longevity that you can expect of your BUR roof is around 20-30 years, provided that the roof is regularly cleaned and maintained and the problems identified during the inspection are repaired in due course.
Metal Roofs
The metal alloys that roofing panels are made from are very strong and resistant to whatever weather comes along. Metal roofs come in various types, such as stamped profiles, exposed fastener structures and standing-seam metal roofs, all of them warranted for around 30-50 years. However, Houston roofing company experts believe that metal roofs can last for much longer than they are warranted for – being relatively new solutions, no metal has reached the end of its lifespan yet and experts are confident that the longevity offered by these roofs will be well over 70 years.
Clay and Cement Tiles
The tiles made from durable, natural materials can be expected to provide superior protection for your building for 100+ years. Tile roofs can withstand any weather, even the most severe storms and heavy snowing, without requiring any special maintenance measures, other than semi-annual cleaning and inspection, followed the repair of the faults detected.
Slate Roofs
Made from small pieces of natural stone, these roofs are the most durable of them all, many of them lasting for well over a century. The material is suitable for any climate and requires very little maintenance to be able to stay on your building for the expected period of time.
Wooden Roofs
Wood is another very attractive natural material used for making roofs, but the material is not recommended for climates that are very wet or sunny. The average lifespan of wood shingle roofs is around 25-30 years, but with very meticulous and regular maintenance that includes the application of special coatings, wood shingle roofs can easily last for over half a decade. What you need to pay attention to if you choose wood for your next roof is the quality of the installation – wooden roofs need to be installed by a Houston roofing company who has experience in working with wood, otherwise you risk having a roof that gets leaks and other problems that shorten its lifespan.