All roofs protect your building from rain, snow, hail, wind, extreme heat and cold. Because at least one of these factors is buffered by your roof daily your roof will eventually degrade and deteriorate over time. Some roofs age more gracefully than others, while some fail prematurely. When it comes to time to address the current conditions of your roof and a replacement is necessary, there are some things to consider when choosing replacement material.

For pitched roofs there are many options for roof replacement. Some decide to continue with the same roofing material that was originally laid on the roof, while others decide to forgo the current system and adopt a different roofing system for aesthetic reasons, budget reasons, service life and the long-term goals for the building. As you evaluate materials, take into consideration climate, your specific type of roof, material durability and your budget before making the final decision. If upgrades are made to your roof it positively affects the value of your building, but on the other hand value engineering can negatively affect the value.

If a decision is made to continue with the same roofing system, such as shingles, improvements to quality and durability are available. Or if a decision is made to change roofing systems there are many options for a pitch roof: slate, shake, metal, tile, etc. But things to consider when changing roofing systems are the building’s ability to hold the weight load of the new system and whether the new system will effectively work with the current pitch and shape of the structure. Some roofing systems weigh a lot more, like tile or slate. Underlayments need to also be considered. In addition to the normal ones, like felt, there are also synthetic and modified underlayments available.

Upson Company is a certified contractor and can assist in making material decisions for commercial pitch roofs, in addition to performing commercial roof repairs in Boise, Idaho and the surrounding Treasure Valley area.