Roofing materials: What are the options?

Planning a new roof can lead to seemingly endless choices with the variety of options available today. Whether it's a sleek look, low cost or durability you're after, there is an array of products to suit your every need.

Durability and cost are two of the major qualities that people look for when organising a new roof; however, there are some choices you can make based on environmental factors too. Read on for a description of the most popular roofing materials on the market.

Roof shingles: Wood and asphalt

Roof shingles are a style of roofing that involves an overlapping of materials. Shingles have traditionally been wood; however the most popular form today is asphalt (a type of concrete) shingles. Both types are popular for looks, but asphalt has taken the lead due to a lower cost and fire resistance properties.

Modern day asphalt shingles are a blend of asphalt and fibreglass, making them fire resistant and generally more favourable over wood. Wood shingles are prone to rotting due to rain and are also vulnerable to termites. Asphalt shingles are more cost effective and have a lifespan of about 20 to 30 years. If you choose wood shingles, make sure you use a type of wood that has water resistant qualities such as cedar.

Tiled roofs: Types of roof tiles

Tiles are an extremely durable option when it comes to roofing. However, this also means that they're an expensive option too. As with any product purchase, it's purely a matter of weighing up what's most important to you. Durability is a great quality and you'll find many tile websites boasting roofs to last 100 years. This is useful if you plan to remain in the same house for 100 years, but if not, a less durable option is just as good.

Tiles are widely considered to be a very good-looking option for roofs. The two major types are clay and concrete, with clay encompassing one of the most popular types of tile - terracotta. If you decide to use tiles for your roof, you may need to install reinforcing braces on the roof as they are very heavy.

Slate, metal and environmentally friendly roofs

Other popular roofing materials are slate and metal. Like tiles, slate is extremely durable, good looking and quite pricey. Faux rubber slate is another popular option for cost purposes. Metal has only recently evolved to become a good looking, durable, easy to install and cost-effective roofing material. Available in copper, steel and aluminium, its only downfall is the noise in rainy weather.

If you're looking for an environmentally friendly option, try using recycled materials. Also, choosing lighter colours means less sunlight absorption, which leads to less air conditioning required.