We've hit the big 5-0. With the introduction of our newest color, Smokey Gray, DaVinci Roofscapes now offers 50 standard color options for our composite slate and synthetic shake roofing products! (Click HEREto see all 50 of our color options in our new color brochure online)

From light shades of violet to bold terracotta and subtle gray tones, there are now 50 different polymer roofing colors available to add "top down" color on a home. These 50 colors --- combined with a variety of color blends available from DaVinci --- give homeowners unlimited possibilities for customizing their designer roofs.

"In today's world, consumers use color to personalize every aspect of their lifestyles," says Kate Smith, president and chief color maven of Sensational Color. "From the selection of an iPhone case to placemats for a table setting to flowers in a garden, color plays a role in every element of our daily lives.

"Because having color options is so critical to expressing our personalities, it makes complete sense for homeowners to want to express themselves with their own luxury roof color selection. DaVinci makes this possible by offering a multitude of standard colors with subtle shade tones plus the opportunity for homeowners to create their own custom luxury roof color if they desire. That ability to be completely in control of one's color choices empowers people."

At DaVinci, the 50 color options for simulated shake roofing and synthetic slate roofing include:

            - Light New Cedar, Medium Light New Cedar, Medium New Cedar, Medium Dark New Cedar, Dark New Cedar

            - Medium Terracotta, Dark Terracotta

            - Light Clay, Dark Clay

            - Light Autumn, Medium Light Autumn, Medium Autumn, Dark Autumn

            - Dark Amber

            - Light Brown, Medium Brown

            - Light Weathered Gray, Medium Light Weathered Gray, Medium Weathered Gray, Medium Dark Weathered Gray, Dark Weathered Gray

            - Medium Tan, Dark Tan

            - Light Green, Medium Green, Dark Green

            - Light Chesapeake, Medium Light Chesapeake, Medium Chesapeake, Dark Chesapeake

            - Light Tahoe, Medium Light Tahoe, Medium Tahoe, Medium Dark Tahoe, Dark Tahoe

            - Light Mountain, Medium Mountain, Dark Mountain

            - Green Stone, Dark Stone

            - Light Gray, Medium Gray, Dark Gray, Slate Gray, Smokey Gray

            - Slate Black

            - Light Purple, Dark Purple

            - Light Violet, Dark Violet

Want more color insights? See Don't Hide Your Gray! plus Shaking It Up with Color Blendsand Timeless Roof Colors.

Warmer weather, sunny days and the return of Daylight Savings Time all mean that Springtime has arrived!

Now that the snow has melted and your yard is starting to green up, take a good look at your home exterior. Start at the top, with your roof. If this past winter took a toll on your roof, and you've decided it's finally time to replace your worn-out roof, then DaVinci Roofscapes can help.

We have a variety of resources available to download for free on our DaVinci website. Start by downloading the ebooks developed by color expert Kate Smith of Sensational Color.

The FRESH Home Exterior Colors guide talks about the FRESH approach to replacing your roof, which begins with identifying the fixed features of your home, regional colors that influence your home's style, your environment and surroundings, the style of your home and your "have to use" colors. Kate provides color palettes, tips and ideas in this booklet that addresses all the visible products on your home exterior.

Next, download the FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior guide. This booklet discusses the different color combinations for a variety of home styles, such as Colonial, Ranch, Victorian and Spanish Mission. For each style home, Kate provides top-down insights on the colors that work best for the roof, trim, windows and entry door.

After reviewing the ebooks, make your next stop the Color Designer tool at the DaVinci website. Here you can mix-and-match different colors of our composite shake or imitation slate roofing tiles. The palette is limitless as you develop different custom blends for your luxury roof.

Looking for other tips on how to select a roof? Then visit Curb Appeal Starts with a DaVinci Tile Roof and Helping You Choose the Right Color for Your Roof.

Have you ever wondered what a color expert would tell you if you asked the question, "What order should I go in when selecting exterior colors for my home?"

According to Kate Smith, DaVinci Roofscapes' color expert, the correct order is roof, siding, windows, front door, trim then garage door. Unless the home is brick or stone, the largest fixed feature is probably the roof, so you will want to start there. 

Interested in learning more? Are you a professional in need of a continuing education credit? Jump over to AEC Daily's website to take our course, The FRESH Approach to Choosing Exterior Colors. It is free and available online 24/7.

Happy Friday, Architects! 

Look up the word "lucky" in the dictionary and you might see a picture of Dan Garnaat in there.

The Arkansas homeowner once won $10,000 in the Powerball lottery AND he won one of the grand prizes in the 2014 The Great TOH Giveaway --- a free DaVinci Roofscapes eco-friendly roof!

"My ranch-style home was built in 2000 and the roof had been showing signs of wear recently," says Garnaat. "I had noticed a fair amount of asphalt shingle aggregate in the gutters lately, which is never good because it means the shingles were starting to fail. I was hoping to put off getting a new roof because I just had to replace my heating and air system, which was costly. This synthetic shake roofing prize from This Old House magazine and DaVinci came at just the right time!"

Garnaat selected a Bellaforté Shake designer roof as his grand prize. To complement his single-level home he chose the composite shake roofing in the Tahoe-VariBlend combination of Light Tahoe, Medium Light Tahoe, Medium Tahoe and Medium Dark Tahoe.

"The crew from Foster Roofing stripped the old roof off and installed the new synthetic shake shingles in a little over six hours," says Garnaat. "I'm really happy with the look of this fake cedar shake product. I even have enough leftover synthetic cedar shake shingles to cover the dog house!

"I've had many good comments on this new shake roofing materials from others. When I tell them that the product is Class A Fired Rated, resists impact and has a lifetime limited materials warranty they're even more impressed!"

For another winner's story see DaVinci Roofscapes WINNER Share Her Experience.

If you're like most contractors or roofers, you're looking for ways to save time and money on the jobsite. Oftentimes that means researching and finding ways to reduce waste.

For a roofing project, one of the easiest decisions you can make that will have immediate payback is to select DaVinci Roofscapes polymer roof tiles.

The first way to save is to take advantage of the Jobsite Recycling Program from DaVinci. If your project is within a 500 mile radius of Lenexa, Kansas, DaVinci will include boxes (upon request) with your composite roofing order for returning unused DaVinci product for recycling back to us with prepaid FedEx Ground labels. If your project is further than 500 miles away, we will still be happy to send boxes for you to return DaVinci scraps and extra tiles to us so that you don't have to haul them off to the landfill. (See DaVinci Recycling Program Contributes to Green Environmental Efforts)

The second way we can help you save is when you pay special attention to where you can use cut portions of our imitation slate and shake alternative tiles on your roof projects. Don't discard those cut pieces ... considering saving the remaining portion from a cut tile used in a valley for the corresponding hip. Or, with a Single-Width tile, consider using the cutoff portion from the right side of a gable on the left side.

Our environmentally friendly roof tiles are made for reduced waste. Extra time and attention on the jobsite to your cuts and product usage can result in less waste to haul away. And, if you do have leftover product, the great news is that our Jobsite Recycling Program is there to make your life easier!

St. Patrick's Day traditionally boasts all things green. And, at DaVinci Roofscapes we want to celebrate this special day by talking about our green roofs!

We offer four standard colors of polymer roofing products, including Light Green, Medium Green, Dark Green, Green Stone. But, more importantly, we're in the business of providing homeowners with green roofing options.

Sustainable roofing products like our composite shake and imitation slate roofing tiles are environmentally friendly, can be recycled and have a lifetime limited warranty, which helps you save green in your wallet. (see New DaVinci Roof = Cash in Your Wallet)

Many homeowners also find that their homeowner's insurance premiums are reduced when they invest in synthetic slate roofing or composite shake. That's because the Class A Fire Rating of our luxury roof tiles makes it a smart investment.

Here are some more green facts about DaVinci lightweight roofing materials:

- Selecting synthetic DaVinci Shake roof tiles over real cedar shake roofing saves trees.

- When you choose DaVinci Slate roof tiles over natural slate, you're making a smaller carbon footprint on the environment.

- DaVinci eco friendly roof tiles contribute less to landfills and use less of the earth's resources than asphalt roof shingles because they can be recycled.

When it comes to the environment, every little step helps. See Return Those DaVinci Scraps!and Happy Earth Day from DaVinci Roofscapes!

Color is one of the most influential phenomena in our lives and on March 21st all around the world color is being celebrated as part of International Colour Day.

Members of the International Colour Association, which is composed of national associations and members representing more than 30 countries, set March 21st as International Colour Day. The group agreed to the date because it "is the “equinox”. Around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long, symbolically relating to the complementary nature of light and darkness, light and shadow expressed in all human cultures." (via Wikipedia)

The logo has equal halves one of rainbow colors and the other black representing the light and darkness, day and night relating to the equinox. The two circles are also symbolic of the form an eye.

I like the symbolism but I think March 21st is a great date because it is the beginning of Spring. This is the time many of us start putting together our plans for what we will do to improve our home exteriors now that warm weather is on the horizon. So let's celebrate color and the warm weather ahead by thinking about all the color options you have for your home.

We celebrate color everyday

At DaVinci Roofscapes we love color! Our goal is to empower you to select colors that express your personal style and enhance your home's exterior by providing you with the color know-how and knowledge. You will find many valuable resources in our Color & Inspiration section that will help you find your perfect colors. See all of the free color resources available>>

See lots of great color schemes

When you are looking for inspiration it is great to see the colors and combinations others have used. The DaVinci Gallery features dozens of homes in each of the designer roof profiles. Take a look>>

Create you own roof color design

Get creative with the Color Designer and craft your own color blend from a palette of 50 fabulous colors.  Mix and match color combinations in slate and shake profiles. Give it a try now >>

Continue exploring color

I love spreading my passion for color by sharing tips and techniques for choosing color. Here are a few of my favorite blog posts:

• The Best 50 Shades of Gray
• Seven Reasons Brown Is The Best Roof Color For Your Home
• 20 Sure Fire Ways To Create Curb Appeal
• What The Color Of Your Front Door Says About You

Look! Up in the sky ... is it a bird? is it a plane? No, it's birds making their homes on real cedar roof shingles!

As these birds --- and many people --- will attest to, cedar roofing has, well, gone to the birds. Why? Perhaps because the shake shingles are the perfect nesting area for our winged friends. Or, maybe it's because natural wood shake shingles can warp, rot and decay over time ... making the perfect sanctuary for birds, but not a great roof for your home.

If you love the look of cedar shake roofing, but don't want the hassles (or bird nests!) sometimes associated with it, then now's the time to learn about cedar shake alternative roofing from DaVinci Roofscapes.

Made of virgin resins, DaVinci simulated shake roofing is fire-, insect-, impact- and high-wind resistant. The rustic appeal of our shake alternative tiles comes from the deep shake impressions that perfectly replicate real shake shingles. Our virtually maintenance free plastic roofing materials also resist curling, splitting and cracking ... and fading --- so the color you select today is the same color you'll see on your roof for decades to come!

With DaVinci synthetic shake roofing, you also get choices. Our environmentally friendly roofs come in 50 different standard colors plus a variety of blends. Or, visit our Color Designer tool to create your own blend.

Need more details on DaVinci shake options? Then see DaVinci Shakes Up Cedar Shake Roofing Options.

Designers love to throw me 'curve balls', so to speak. One of the questions I get most often is, "will your imitation slate and shake tiles work on this type of roof?" Then they send me details and there is usually some sort of curve to the roof. What is my answer? While our product isn't a rubber slate roof tile, the material is flexible enough to be compatible with almost any design. There are always exceptions so I recommend forwarding me your details so that I  can double check with our technical gurus - mstone@davinciroofscapes.com.

Happy Friday, Architects!

5 degrees in Nashville. -2 degrees in Atlanta. This past winter's deep freeze stretched far deeper into the South than usual. The good news is that, when these temperatures "heated up" to the 20's and 30's, roofers were back out installing DaVinci Roofscapes polymer roofing materials. (See Bone-Chilling Polymer Roofing Installations)

What those southern roofers might not know --- because they don't always experience extreme temperature conditions --- is that DaVinci composite roofing materials are designed to be installed in areas where freeze-thaw conditions are common. These hard-working imitation slate and synthetic shake products don't absorb water so there aren’t the same freeze thaw issues that some roofing materials have.That means that even if a DaVinci roof has moisture on it, there will be no damage during freeze-thaw cycles like cracking or splitting of tiles.

Made of 100% virgin polymer resin, simulated shake roofing and composite slate tiles from DaVinci don't react the same to colder weather conditions as natural roof products. For example, a wood shake roof goes through freeze/thaw cycles constantly in some weather environments. This means that it is common to see cracking and splitting on some cedar roofs. In some areas of the country, the daylight to nightfall temperature swings alone can cause damage to cedar shake roofing. (See DaVinci Shake is the Best Fake Cedar Shake on the Market)

In addition, DaVinci plastic roofing materials are very thermally stable. A 12" synthetic slate roof tile expands just 1/12" with a 100 degree temperature swing. Thanks to this engineering feat, you don't get the buckling or movement with a DaVinci tile that can put strain on fasteners as with some other products.

Yikes! The snows have FINALLY melted (we hope) and you're getting your first look at your roof after a really brutal winter. What do you see up there?

Look carefully and you may see sagging gutters where the weight of ice and snow buildup took their toll. Or, there may be loose or missing shingles. Worse yet, an inspection in your attic could turn up leaks.

As the weather warms up, now is the time to get a professional roofer to inspect your roof for any damage caused by severe weather this past winter --- and before Spring storms arrive.

At DaVinci Roofscapes, we recommend hiring a professional because they have the proper safety equipment needed to get to all areas of your roof, plus they know what they're looking for. Different pitches in the roof, the chimney area and valleys all need to be inspected carefully for wear. And, leaks, loose shingles and damaged roofing should all be evaluated by an expert.

If your roofing evaluation turns up bad news, then consult your home insurance agency and start taking the steps to research new sustainable roofing. Think of this as your opportunity to "get it right" by investing in composite roofing that has a limited lifetime material warranty.

Made to resemble natural cedar shake roofing and authentic slate roofing materials, products from DaVinci hold up year-after-year to everything Mother Nature throws at us and our roof. These durable composite roofing products resist fire, impact, high winds and even insects.

Need more information to make your replacement roof decision? Then see Worried? Sleep Easier with a DaVinci Roof Overheadand Severe Weather Season is Starting… Is Your Roof Ready?

Are you ready to shake up the outside of your home with color? If you home exterior is suffering from the blahs, tell us about it --- and you may win $2,500 cash to add color to your home!

On April 1 (no foolin!) we'll be kicking off our 2015 "Shake it Up" Exterior Color Contest. To enter, all you need to do is visit www.todayshomeowner.com/color and submit a photo of your house exterior along with a description of why and how you want to add color to your home.

Sponsored by DaVinci Roofscapes, Fypon and Therma-Tru, our third annual contest gives you the opportunity to get an artist rendering done of your home (if you're one of the three finalists!) that shows how color can enhance your home exterior.

Where should your colorful imagination take you? How about a new color painted on your front door? Or, think about trimming up your home with new shutters and millwork. And, of course, start at the top of the home by adding composite shake or simulated slate roofing to your home!

Don't miss out on this opportunity. Enter the "Shake it Up" Exterior Color Contest from April 1 - 24 and let's see if we can help you shake up your home!

Need more inspiration? See2013 DaVinci "Shake it Up" Exterior Color Contest Winner Shares His Storyand Tips for Shaking Up Your Home’s Exterior with Color.

The Compton family served as the "neighborhood guinea pigs" in 2014 when the architectural review committee of their homeowners association decided to allow polymer roofing as an option on homes in their Missouri community.

"We volunteered our house to display examples of two shades of the Bellaforté Shake composite shake roofing from DaVinci Roofscapes," says Robert Compton. "This worked out great for us because we wanted to see exactly which simulated shake roofing color looked best on our house."

Neighbors flooded the Compton property to see the sustainable roofing product samples and options that Cardinal Contractors had set up on site. "We previously had cedar shake roof shingles that were a hassle to maintain," says Compton. "There were several features about the DaVinci shake shingles that appealed to us. We liked the improved performance over real cedar in terms of fire and impact ratings.

"We're very pleased with the Bellaforté product. One of our neighbors had their roof replaced with real cedar shake roofing just a year ago and it already appears to need cleaning. We expect our roof to maintain the current appearance for years to come."

The Comptons have led the way in the neighborhood as residents make the change to synthetic roof material. "Three of our immediate neighbors had the same DaVinci product installed on their own homes and we know of one more that will probably do so in the near future," says Compton. "Since we served as the 'guinea pig' in the community I've gotten to know many of our neighbors better. Many of them have been overwhelmingly supportive of the community's move to allow these fake cedar shake shingles for our designer roofs."

For more neighborhood roofing stories, see Roof Envy - A Tale of Two Roofsand Why You Should Care that DaVinci Polymer Roofs are Used on Condo Communities.

Back in 2008 something pretty scary happened in a residential neighborhood in Manhattan, Kansas. An F4 tornado touched down and left behind a lot of damage. Trees were uprooted, debris was everywhere, there was damage to property. You get the picture. So when Jeff Lord and Karen Hudson emerged from the basement of their home to find a tree on their house, they were expecting to find significant damage. They called the insurance company and had somebody out to have the tree removed. Now, if you have been through something like this then you know this is where things can go sideways as you start to have visions of months of damage repair, and a revolving door of bids and different contractors to fix different areas of your home. What they found surprised everyone. Despite having a tree crash onto their roof, and neighbors on surrounding sides all suffering significant damage, they had no damage to their DaVinci Roofscapes composite slate roof. 

We recognize a story like this may not be the norm when you are dealing with a weather event like that, but the take away here is with your residential clients aesthetics will get your foot in the door, but it won't always be the number one factor in making a decision on what roofing material they end up choosing as safety and performance need to also weigh in. Specifying a material that is Class A Fire Rated, Class 4 Impact Rated and wind certified to 110 mph, in addition to the fact it looks like real slate and cedar shake, will end up satisfying this goal, "I want a roof that looks beautiful and will protect my home at the highest level possible". 

Happy Friday, Architects!

We need a new roof and have a very busy house. We don't know what to do.

Diane Hoffman
Buena, New Jersey
Product: not sure

    

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Dear Ms. Hoffman,

For your home, I recommend going with a blend that has natural color variations rather than multiple colors. Your stone has many beautiful colors and textures. A multi-colored roof would compete with the stone for attention when viewing your entire exterior.

For your outdoor setting and the warm gray/brown colors in your stone I like the shake profile in Mountain blend. I am showing it in Multi-Width but any of the shake profiles would work on your home.

If you prefer slate, gray would be a nice option. I'm showing Smokey Gray but chose the gray that best blends with the gray tone in your stone or is slightly darker.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

Spring thaws can sometimes reveal nasty news about your roof.

After your roof takes a battering during the winter months, it's time to take a close look to determine if any damage has occurred. What do you look for? Here are some sure signs that your current roof may have reached its lifespan and it's time to invest in composite roofing.

Sign #1 - Curling shingles is an indication that you might need a new roof. Take a look at the slopes of the roof. Do you notice any shingles that are curling or losing granules? If you see curling or granule loss, your shingles may be past their prime.

Sign #2 - Valleys that are missing shingles is also a warning sign. When shingles are missing in the valleys, your roof might develop leaks.

Sign #3 - Asphalt shingle granules in your gutters is never a good sign. This indicates that your roof shingles are losing their beauty and their functionality. Along with being a mess to continually clean out of your gutters, the granules are an indication of a failing roof.

Sign #4 - Chimney flashing that is loose or made of tar or roof cement is a bad sign. You'll need a longer lasting, watertight fitting to prevent leaks.

Sign #5 - Sunrays that are clearly visible coming through your roof boards means that your roof is not doing enough to protect your home. Go in your attic on a clear, sunny day. Keep the lights off and look up carefully at your roof in all areas. If you see any signs of sunlight coming through, your roof is failing.

Sign #6 - Do the math and consider the age of your roof. All building products on your home's envelope need to be replaced at some time. If you have asphalt roofing and have experienced bad weather conditions in recent years, this can speed up your roof's aging process.

You shouldn't make a roofing replacement decision alone. While the signs listed above are easy indicators that a new roof may be in your future, a professional roofer can do a comprehensive inspection and offer you expert advice.

When the time does come to replace your roof, remember that DaVinci Roofscapes polymer roofing tiles are backed by a Lifetime Warranty, so you can rest easy with these imitation slate and composite shake tiles overhead. For more insights on when it's time to replace your roof, see Roofing 101 for Homeowners and 6 Signs of a Failing Roof: How to Tell if You Need a New Roof.

Royce Kuntz, Regional Sales Manager with DaVinci Roofscapes has been with the company for 6+ years now, and much of his time is spent on the road meeting with customers. We want to share some of Royce's unique insights with you about his conversations with roofers, project managers and homeowners.

Q: You're meeting with a lot of roofers across the east. What do they identify as one of the best aspects of using DaVinci polymer roof tiles?

A: Roofers really care about the pre-collated bundles DaVinci supplies. This saves them time and labor on the construction site because they don't have to hand sort different colors and widths. This pre-planned distribution produces the right aesthetic effect every time on the roof --- which also matters to homeowners.

Q: Are roofers giving you feedback on anything else?

A: Yes. Bellaforte roofing tiles, which we introduced several years ago, are a big hit with roofers. They all cite the speed of installation with these lightweight roofing tiles as being very appealing to them.

Q: What about consumers? What are homeowners asking about?

A: Along with getting the exact look on the roof they want, which is where the pre-collated bundles come in, homeowners are keenly interested in color fade concerns, warranty and the integrity of the composite roofing tiles.

Q: Let's tackle these individually. How do you respond to the color fade concerns?

A: At DaVinci, our proprietary engineered polymer incorporates state-of-the-art color and ultraviolet stabilizers in order to provide the best possible color performance. Although all outdoor products tend to fade a bit over time, the DaVinci Slate and Shake synthetic roofing material has proven itself in internal accelerated weathering, third party testing and outside exposure. And, since our color extends completely through each tile, this also brings greater confidence to the reduction of color fade issues.

Q: Next, the warranty.

A: DaVinci offers a Limited Lifetime Material Warranty. This provides exceptional value for a homeowner along with peace-of-mind. I also remind consumers to check with their homeowner insurance company since many agencies will offer a discount with our Class A Fire Rated product.

 

Q: Finally, the integrity of composite roofing tiles. What do you share with homeowners to eliminate concerns?

A: This is easy. The combination of the rib structure of the DaVinci tiles with the thickness of the synthetic roofing material --- especially when compared to competitive composite roofing products --- prevents the DaVinci tiles from curling and warping. The thicker simulated shake roofing and imitation slate tiles we manufacture also provide better shadow lines and makes for a more realistic looking slate or cedar shake roof.

Want to know what contractors think of DaVinci manufactured slate roofs? See Out of the Mouths of Contractors

Ready, set, ENTER!

The 2015 "Shake it Up" Exterior Color Contest is now open and accepting entries!

It's easy to enter. Just take a picture of the outside of your home. Then, tell us (in 250 words or less) how you'd like to "shake up" your home exterior with color and colorful products.

National color expert Kate Smith with Sensational Color and Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford radio show co-host Allen Lyle will help judge the contest to determine three finalists. Smith will then work with a professional artist to create renderings and product wish lists of how the three finalists can transform their home’s exteriors by adding color and colorful products manufactured by the contest sponsor and partners.

"Springtime is ideal for shaking up the home exterior with color," says Smith, chief color maven of Sensational Color. "From the top of the roof down to the front door and trim on the home, there are lots of ways to add color to jazz up the house exterior. This contest helps provide insight and inspiration to homeowners to find the colors that work best for their homes."

The contest sponsor, DaVinci Roofscapes, offers composite slate and synthetic shake roofing tiles in 50 standard colors with the option to custom create any color a homeowner desires. Contest partners Therma-Tru doors and Fypon polyurethane trim products also offer product options that allow homeowners to enhance their home’s exterior in colorful ways.

Don't put it off ... you only have until April 24 to enter for your chance at $2,500 cash to add color to your home!

Architect Christopher Derrick is like most people --- he sticks with what works. For his roof specifications, that often means recommending DaVinci Roofscapes polymer slate roof tiles.

“When the home style fits with a composite roofing product, I always recommend DaVinci,” says Derrick, principal and founder of Derrick Architecture out of Wheaton, Ill. (See DaVinci Polymer Tiles Meet Needs of Chicago Area Architect )

Over the years Derrick has worked with a variety of builders to construct his single-family custom home designs. Most recently he partnered with Charleston Building and Development to create two custom homes in Naperville, Ill. that feature Bellaforté Slate tile roofs.

“Working with Chris is exciting because he’s so creative and passionate about his home designs,” says Adam Van Someren, president of the residential division of Charleston Building and Development based out of Naperville. “He brings both historical perspective and solid product recommendations to his work.

“The Bellaforté product looks very realistic. I’ve seen other man-made plastic slate roofing products before that looked too fake. The DaVinci products look natural and complement the home styles very nicely.”

For their most recent project, Van Someren points out that using Bellaforté slate tiles probably saved the homeowner more than $50,000 as opposed to having natural slate on the roof.

“Considering the high cost of natural slate, the waste you get with cracked and broken pieces, plus the additional support required for the roof and rafters to support the weight of natural slate, the Bellaforté is a great option,” says Van Someren. “This product really has it all. Good looks, lightweight and durability. There’s definitely a value there with Bellaforté.”

It's April ... time to fly a kite, get into a pillow fight or hug a plumber. All are popular April dedicated celebrations, along with embracing straw hats, beavers and even bats!

April has no shortfall of crazy things to celebrate ... including the week of 19-25 which is International Whistlers Week AND National Karaoke Week. But at DaVinci Roofscapes, we prefer to focus on another occurrence happening over those same dates --- National Consumer Awareness Week.

We think it's important that consumers have all the details before making a major purchase for their home. That's why we take great steps to share specifics on how our composite roofing materials are constructed (see our plant tour VIDEO).

By understanding the steps we take to create quality designer roof materials, we hope you'll feel confident about your polymer roofing investment. Because we offer a Lifetime Limited Materials Warranty, we believe this will be the one and only luxury roof you purchase for your home.

So, go ahead and have fun with National Garlic Day, Laugh at Work Week and No Housework Day in April. But when it comes time for some serious thought about replacing the roof on your home, think DaVinci.