75% of American residences are roofed with asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles come in many cuts, depths, and dozens of colors. Choosing a shingle color by yourself can be overwhelming but luckily Roofcorp had advice on helping you find the perfect color. Stuart G from the Denver Roofing firm gives us some advice on selecting that perfect color.
Dark vs. Light vs. Neutral
Shingles come in three distinct tones, dark, light, and neutral. Dark shingles provide more character and matches for Victorian and manor-style homes but can absorb solar heat. Light materials reflect heat but don’t always match your exterior. Neutral shingles work for most homes. Keep your environment and the reflectivity of shingles in mind when choosing the tone of your shingles.
Earth Tones for Blending
Earth tones like gray and brown help your home blend into its natural environment. If you want your home to have a low visual impact or need it to match its natural surroundings choosing earth tones is an easy choice. Earth tones also tend to match the greatest number of exterior colors.
Bright Colors for Popping
Neutral earth tones can be boring, but roofing manufacturers also make shingles in fun and more vibrant colors. You can choose blues, reds, greens, or any other bright color to make your roof pop. Some creative homeowners have mixed different vivid shingle and ridge colors for a two-tone effect that gives their home a ton of character.
Match or Complement?
Should your shingles match your home’s exterior, or should they complement it? This is more of a personal choice but both exact matches and complementary colors look great on most homes. You can install charcoal shingles to match your dark exterior of you can install dark colors on a light interior and vice-versa. Play around with color combinations since the best match isn’t always immediately apparent.
See the Shingles Before Install
Thanks to new technology you can get a glimpse of an entirely new roof without laying one shingle. Homeowners can go to major manufacturers like GAF or CertainTeed, load a picture of their roof, and scroll through a virtual representation of how their roof would look for a variety of shingles. This is the easiest way to get a visual snapshot of your entire roof and not just one sample board against the siding.
There are many shingle colors to choose but you can whittle down your list by asking the questions above and using a roof visualizer.