The roof of your home or building is one of the most important components. Just imagine if you didn’t have that roof. Every time it rained or snowed, you would probably have a pretty miserable time. Roofing companies in Westchester County NY will tell you that proper maintenance and inspection of your roof is necessary for ensuring your roof last as long as it possibly can. However, while maintenance and inspection is important, it is also important to understand the different types of roofing styles and roofing materials that are available.
Below, you will learn about the different types of roofing materials that are available and the different types of roofing styles.
The Gable Roof
When it comes to a simple and straightforward roof, you are probably going to want to choose the gable roof. You have probably seen tons of gable roofs, but just didn’t really recognize what you were looking at. A gable roof looks like an inverted or upside down V. While these roofs are simple, they have one downfall and that downfall is that they should not be installed in areas where the wind is high. The reason for this is, because the can easily catch wind much like a sail on a sailboat.
The Flat Roof
Another very common and simple type of roof that you will see is a flat roof. However, the flat roof is more commonly found on commercial buildings. When these roofs are usually installed, you will find them installed along with a rubber roofing system.
The Hip Roof
Hip roofs are fairly common in the residential roofing field, but they are a bit more complicated than the flat of gable roof. The reason they are more complicated is, because of the truss and rafter structure. A hip roof system will be comprised of four sloping sides with zero vertical rooflines.
Gambrel Roof
If you have ever seen an old barn there is a good chance that it was installed with a gambrel roof. While these roofs are usually associated with barns they can be found on several residential homes as well. These roofs are pretty popular because of all the extra storage space that they provide in the attic. In fact, these roofs provide so much extra space that the extra areas are often converted into other rooms.
Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are without a doubt one of the most common types of roofing material used in the United States. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to install. While there are tons of different manufactures of asphalt shingles each type of shingle can vary in quality, price, and style.
Metal Roofing
Metal is another very common type of roofing material. While there are several metal roofing systems available they are usually constructed out of the same different materials. These materials are either comprised of zinc, steel, copper, aluminum, or tin.
Wood Shake
The shake shingle roof is a much older type of roofing and it was the inspiration for the asphalt shingle. If you watch an old western you will probably have noticed tons of different buildings with wood shake shingles. This is one of the most common roofing types available from roofing companies in Westchester County NY.