When most people think of residential or commercial roofing, in most cases the visions that come to mind are a standard asphalt roof, or asphalt composition shingles; what they assume are two of the most common types of roofing in Tampa. In truth however, roofing in general has gone through a number of advancements in recent decades, so today there is a broad  range of types of commercial and residential roofing systems to include metal, cement tile, slate, and even carbon friendly roofing that’s made from recycled car tires, and each one carries with its own list pros and cons. Of all the parts that make up its whole, the roof on your home is easily the most important of them all. Without it everything else would simply disintegrate in relatively short order. Then when it comes to curb appeal there can be no denying that a well-maintained roof of a style that matches the decor of a home is an effective draw to pull in potential buyers. So the following is a list of the types of roofing systems that are available now to help you make a better informed decision when deciding on which direction to take on your remodel or new construction project.

Roofing shingles are one of the oldest types of roofing systems because they’ve been around for centuries. So they’re not going anywhere soon, and the reason for that is they have a long list of pros. First off they’re easy to manufacture in countries where wood is cheap and available, so in those places those types of shingles are affordable. They’re also relatively simple and straight forward to put on and require minimal skill and knowledge about roofing. Shingle roofs are also usually easy to repair too, because the shingles themselves can be removed and replaced individually. Then finally a shingle roof works good to shed water and protect the building in all climate ranges. Today’s roofing shingles are manufactured from a wide range of materials, including asphalt and various types of metals and wood. Tighter restrictions on logging in the United States and Canada though, have worked to drastically run up the cost of wood shingles in North America.

Roofing tiles have also been around for centuries and in fact there are still intact tile roofs on buildings in Europe that were installed over 300 years ago. So there can be little doubt that they last. Those are ceramic our clay tiles though, because today roofing tiles are also made from cement composite materials. The two main benefits any type of tile roof are that they are very attractive and they last. The downside the tile roof though, is that the tiles themselves are expensive to buy and labor-intensive to have installed, so this type of roofing system is not among the most affordable. Tile roofs are also subject to breakage if children climb up on them. Before you decide to go with tile on your project though, you need to check to see if the roof framing structure was engineered strong enough to hold the added weight.

Membrane roofing systems are the very latest technology that was developed to replace asphalt built-up roofing on flat roofs and on pitched roofs with less than a 3/12 slope where shingles aren’t applicable. The materials that go into an asphalt roof have always been relatively inexpensive which made them an attractive choice, but at the same time built-up roofing has always had service life issues. This is because the materials are layered over one another and subject to cracking caused by the constant expansion and contraction brought on by changing weather conditions. So a membrane roof has no seams, because the edges are fused together, so that eliminates a separation issues. Membrane roofing systems also incorporate more flexible materials such as high-tech plastics that resist cracking, so service lives for some of them of up to 50 years are not unheard of. So this is why these newer systems are now the preferred choice on pretty much all large commercial applications like sports arenas and high-rise office buildings. Something to keep in mind here though, is that there is a good handful of options in terms of types of membrane roofing systems that range from variations of rubberized asphalt materials to different types of plastics. Then for roofs that will be getting a higher than normal amount of foot traffic, plastic membrane roofing will fare the best.

Built up asphalt roofing is still around. This in spite of all the new developments in membrane roofing, and this is for a few good reasons. For instance new developments in higher associated products like fiberglass matting to replace older style felt paper have worked well to extend the service life of asphalt built-up roofing. Then secondly the materials that go into built-up asphalt roofing are still relatively affordable and simple to apply, with perhaps the exception of the asphalt itself that fluctuates with the cost of petroleum products. Then something else to think about here, is that built-up asphalt roofing also holds open the option of gravel topping that a lot of people find attractive. Now gravel topping really doesn’t matter on a flat roof, but on a home or commercial building with a visible pitched roof it can have a positive impact on curb appeal.

Solar shingles and tiles have a small solar panel that is built into them and they can be purchased in small quantities, so they’re perfect for someone who has been looking for a way to go solar, but who doesn’t like the idea of a costly system made up of panels. Solar shingles and tiles are each a perfect match to common asphalt composition shingles, as well as cement and curved Spanish tiles, so they fit perfectly when they’re installed and go on just as any other shingle or tile would when being installed on a roof. Each one has a thin wire that is inserted down through a hole in the roof deck to connect up with a main wire the carries the power, so there’s no exposed wires on the roof. Then finally, they’re cost effective, because the value of the energy they produce offsets the cost of purchase and installation over the course of their service life.

Metal roofing has come a long way from early years when corrugated tin and aluminum sheeting was used to cover barns, sheds and low cost houses. So now it’s gone high-tech, and is also now the darling of designers and architects around the globe for all the benefits it offers. For example steel is strong and affordable, and new high-tech color coatings that are warrantied to last up to 40 years have overcome the problem of rust that has always kept no galvanized steel off of roofs. Then aluminum and copper metal roofing that has always been in demand, is now finding even more uses as manufacturers develop new ways to form it into roofing products like aluminum and copper shingles and tiles that last pretty much indefinitely and don’t have the breakage problems that come with cement or clay tiles. Then finally, the one benefit that metal roofing has over all other types is that it’s now the greener choice because it’s easily recyclable locally.

Rolled asphalt roofing is commonly referred to in the industry as ‘90 pound’ because each square of it which is a 10’ x 10’ area weighs 90 pounds. It’s made from the same materials that composition shingles are manufactured from, including a granular mineral topping, and it goes on with asphalt. Or for someone who is looking for a temporary solution, it can be easily tacked down with roofing nails. For more permanent solutions however, rolled asphalt roofing does require a built-up underlayment with fiberglass matting laid down with hot or cold application asphalt being the best option. There is also a membrane style rolled asphalt roofing system that looks just like classic 90 pound after it’s laid down. It’s called ‘torch-down roofing’ because of the quarter inch layer of rubberized asphalt on its underside that is heated with a blow torch as its being rolled out.