As you are considering painting your house, there’s a significant portion of your house you might be overlooking. That would be the roof. The roof comprises a large amount of your home’s exterior surface area, but many people don’t even think about whether or not they should paint it. Most homes have asphalt shingle roofs that start out black and eventually fade to gray. Should you paint the roof, though? Here are a few things to consider.
Heat Transfer
Heat transfer is one of the most significant reasons to consider painting your roof. Your home is subjected to direct sunlight only on the roof. Even in the sunniest parts of the home, the walls are still being hit by light at an angle. Direct sunlight is one of the most effective ways to heat a surface. A black shingle roof can be 20 or more degrees warmer than the rest of the house. That’s one of the reasons your attic is probably much warmer than the rest of the house. That heat then transfers to the rest of the house and makes it more expensive for you to cool your house. So, if you could block heat from sunlight, you could make it easier to cool your house. How do you block heat from sunlight? You reflect it.
Dark colors absorb light and heat from the sun. To avoid that, you could have your roof painted white, light gray, light blue, or any assortment of light colors. That could reduce the temperature of your roof by as much as 20 degrees. That could cut your air conditioning costs considerably.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics are the main reason that many people choose to paint their roofs a certain color. Most asphalt shingle roofs are black when they’re installed and then they fade to gray. It’s a pretty common look. Cedar roofs are reddish when they’re installed, and they weather to gray. Metal roofs tend to be grayish as well. That is to say, most roofs are gray. A colored roof will pop against your neighbors’ homes and help you to stand out.
It can also help you match your roof to the rest of your house. For example, if your house is painted a muted colors such as gray, you can make your house pop with a bright red roof. Some homeowners are choosing to match their roof to their shutters and their front door. They might have a white house with blue shutters, blue front door, and a blue roof. It’s a very dynamic and interesting look.