Are you considering replacing your roof? If so, you may be wondering how to choose the right color roof for your house. Your roof makes a big difference in the aesthetics of your home, but did you know that color can impact a lot more than visual appearance? Discover how roof color can impact your home and which colors are the best options for Florida homeowners!
How Your Roof’s Color Affects Your Home
There are several ways your roof color can affect your home. If you want to replace your roof, you should take these factors into consideration to make the best choice for your personal style and your home.
Algae Growth
Due to North Central Florida’s high levels of humidity, frequent rain, and tree canopies, roof algae is a common problem for Gainesville homeowners. Not only is it unsightly, but it can shorten your roof’s lifespan and even hinder your home’s overall energy efficiency. Because algae is often a dark blue-green color, some people opt for a darker-colored roof to better hide algae growth and any stains left behind.
If this is one of your concerns, you may want to consider darker roof colors; however, there are algae-resistant shingles as well! Talk to your roofer to see which option is best for you.
Energy-Efficiency
In school growing up, you likely heard that darker colors absorb heat and lighter colors reflect heat away. Just like anything else, the same applies to roofing colors. In fact, in northern, snowy colors, most houses use darker shingles because it helps melt snow faster.
However, we live in Florida, and the summer’s heat can be intense. If you have a darker roof, the shingles will absorb the sun’s rays and can cause your home to heat up, making your AC work harder to cool your home and lowering your roof’s energy efficiency. While factors like ventilation can help the strain placed on your AC, you may want to choose a light roof color in order to reflect the heat away rather than have it seep into your home.
Lifespan of Roof
If darker shingles absorb heat, you may find that the hot, Florida sun can become too much for them. As they constantly absorb heat, dark shingles are known to crack due to exposure to high temperatures. Not only does this mean you may need more frequent roof repairs to replace the cracked shingles, but if you don’t notice the shingles are cracked, your roof could suffer water damage as a result. While light-colored shingles can still crack, they are not as prone to it, and it may even be easier to see any cracks if they occur.
Aesthetics
The last thing you want to consider is your own personal style and home’s aesthetics. Your roof can make up as much as 40% of your home’s exterior, so you’ll want to go with a color that you’re happy with. Your roofer can help you find a color that both suits your home and doesn’t cause issues with algae or heat.
Color Pairings: How to Choose the Right Color Roof for Your House
There are several ways to determine the best roof color for your home. You’ll want to first consider your siding’s color and choose a complimentary one for your roof. Another way to determine a good color is to take into account your home’s surrounding environment. For example, if you live in a more wooded area, more earthy tones will bend in more, so you can still enjoy the nature around you. On the other hand, if you live on a body of water, blues, whites, and beige may be a better option to suit the beauty of the water.
Here are some other roof options based on your home’s color:
- White: Almost any color will go, but grays, blacks, browns, and even blues are the most popular choices.
- Red/Brick: Yellows, beiges, and whites can help tone down the boldness of this color.
- Brown/Wood: Greens, blues, and other earthy tones help match the natural appeal of a brown or wooden home.
- Gray: White can help balance out the darkness of the house, but blues and even greens help add a splash of color to your home!
- Vibrant Pastels: If you have a traditional Florida home in pastels, you’ll want to go with a more neutral color like beige, white, or gray.
- Earthy Tones: Just like a brown or wooden house, a brown roof helps to balance earthy and green tones in your siding.
- Blue: Browns, whites, and grays pair well with blue siding.
- Beige: Darker browns, whites, and grays are the perfect match for a beige home!
What Is the Most Ideal Roofing Color?
The ideal roofing color will vary from person to person. Perhaps, you care more about aesthetics and are willing to perform extra maintenance on a darker roof in Florida. Or maybe you dread having to maintain your roof and don’t want to think about it as long as possible.
Regardless, it all boils down to your own personal taste and what factors are most important to you. Questions like “Should the roof be darker or lighter than the house?” or “What’s the best color combination for siding and shingles?” depend on your personal taste. That being said, if you’re unsure of your answers, multi-colored browns, earthy tones, and light grays tend to be some of the most popular choices for roofs in Florida.
Best Roof Color for Hot Climates
If you’re concerned about heat absorption from your roof, the best roof color is going to be anything light. Think along the lines of beiges, whites, light gray, light brown, or even some blue and green shades. Darker colors like black, dark gray, and dark brown can cause the energy efficiency issues we discussed earlier and may be prone to cracking under the Florida sun.
McFall Residential Roofing Helps You Choose the Best Color for Your Roof!
Whether you’re remodeling or replacing your roof after storm damage, McFall Residential Roofing is here to help you choose the right color for your home. Our roofers can walk you through your options and even provide you with some samples so you can see how they match your siding. If you’re ready to transform your home with a new roof color, rely on the experts at McFall for your roof installation!
