When most people think of exterior home design, they think of siding, paint color, and windows. However, I believe that the roof should be your starting point. Not only does the roof have a huge impact on your home's style, but it is also one of the most important parts of your house in terms of keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This past week I visited IBS and Kbis #DesignhoundsKBIS #KBIS2023 and visited the booths of Westlake Royal Building Products. This global manufacturer and supplier of materials offer a wide variety of exterior and interior building products to make home improvement projects easier than ever before. In this blog post, I will focus on their roofing options.
Does the style of your roof really matter?
Choosing the right roofing material for your home is a big decision. Not only do you need to consider cost and durability, but you also need to think about how it will look—because after all, the look of your roof is an integral part of the overall style of your home. Westlake Royal Building Products offers many different types of roofing materials from a variety of materials, each in many styles—including metal stone-coated shingles for modern style homes, concrete clay roof tiles for Mediterranean homes, polymer wood shingles for craftsman bungalows and cape cod style homes, slate polymer shingles for colonial homes, and more.
Cool Roof System
While at the booth, I noticed a live display for their “Cool roof system” where they simulated sun heat on different roofs using heating lamps. It was fascinating to see the tempter difference between the standard asphalt roof tile and the Westlake roofing that uses the "Cool roof system". According to Westlake's research, this system can save homeowners up to 22% of their home energy bills. But how?
The Cool Roof System is designed with a range of cool roof tiles in various profiles that reflect the sun’s heat. As the sun heats the roof, the roof tiles and air beneath them warm up. Elevated or vented battens allow the warmed air to rise to the roof's peak and escape outside through the ridge vent, which can also be used to vent the attic. This process helps keep your home cooler during the summer months and helps reduce energy costs associated with cooling.
The best part: Cool Roof System can be used with any slate, clay, or concrete tiles with various profiles from slate to shake to ‘S’ tile.
By letting your roof system breathe, you will ensure that materials stay dry and last longer — saving you money in maintenance costs down the line as well!
This is one of those products we should all keep in mind when we are building a new house or doing construction, it just makes sense!!