You've probably heard the nationwide winter weather forecast by now. It's a strong El Nino year and while that can mean a milder winter in northern states, there's no guarantees. The Farmer's Almanac predicts winter weather that repeats the brutal conditions of last year with unseasonably cold temperatures over the Atlantic Seaboard, eastern portions of the Great Lakes, and the lower peninsula of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, most of the Tennessee and Mississippi Valley, as well as much of the Gulf Coast.

What's a homeowner to do? Get your roof ready with snow guards.

Take a snow globe and shake it. You'll see light snow settling on the roof. Shake it again and the snow moves away. Unfortunately that's not that easy when it comes to your home.

Accumulating snow can be very heavy. When it melts off composite roofing, it can slide off in an "avalanche". This can damage landscaping plus block garage doors and home entryways. (Check out To Guard ... or Not to Guard)

Our advice at DaVinci Roofscapes is that, if you have simulated shake roofing or a composite slate roof, invest in snow guards. These small, durable pieces can be added to your roof by a professional roofer (called retrofitting) at any time. As snows melt, they help "break up" the snow so it doesn't come down in a sheet and cause harm.

Bundle up for the season ahead ... and make sure to take the steps necessary now so that you'll have "s-no-w worries" when the winter snows arrive!

A year ago Jeremy Hollingsworth had a Bellaforté Shake roof installed on his Birmingham, Alabama home. We decided to reach out to Jeremy to see how he felt about his DaVinci Roofscapes polymer roof tiles after living with them for awhile.

Q: Now that your composite shake roof has been on for awhile, what do you think of it? 

A: No question, this is the roof for our home. The Weathered Gray blend is color matched to the home and the colors have held up very well. Its durability is unmatched. No one thinks of their roof as a “feature” of their home. With a DaVinci designer roof, we notice it every single day and so does everyone else.  

Q: What do friends and neighbors have to say about your roof?  

A: All of our neighbors comment on it because it definitely grabs your attention when you go by. People always ask me, “what’s it made of?" From the street, it looks like natural cedar roofing, but I tell them it’s an engineered product that will last longer and has a Class A Fire Rating.

Q: Hail and storms can be a problem in your area. Has your DaVinci shake tile roof had to "do battle" with any severe weather conditions? If so, how did it do? 

A: We get a lot of storms in the deep south during the summer months including limbs and debris from all of our trees. This impact-resistant roof has held up as we thought it would. The durability is unmatched.

Q:  What do you consider the best features of the Bellaforté Shake roof? 

A: We feel it brought great new character to our home aesthetically. Plus, nobody wants to get on a roof to make repairs and the durability of DaVinci cedar shake roof keeps me off the ladder and roof, which keeps my wife happy. Also, the life of the simulated shake roofing is a bonus for us down the road. Whether we decide this is our forever home or if we decide to sell in the future, it's a win/win investment.

For more details on Jeremy's composite shake roof, see Shaking Up an Alabama Home.

Wondering what color slate was most often found on American homes built from 1785 to the early 1900s? The best way to get to the answer to that question is to first focus in the period style of your home. Then find out what colors were used when it was originally built. You will also want to look at whether the roof was a single color or multi-color blend. Here is what I found to be the most common slate colors by style during this period.

In the earliest style homes in the American - Colonial, Federal and Neoclassical -  slate was not often used because it was not widely available. These homes were roofed originally with wood shingles rather than slate. Occasionally slate would be found on homes of this style if they were built close to where slate was being quarried. The color would vary on what was found locally.

For example in Vermont and New York there are many different colors of slate - greens, greys, black, purples and red. These same quarries also produced slate mottled with two or more colors - green and purple, grey and black for example. In Virginia, the slate is more of a blue black whereas slate produced in Pennsylvania are very dark black. Even within the same area slate quarries could yield different colors and even within a single quarry different colors were extracted. 

Today, homes of Colonial, Federal and Neoclassical styles have replaced their original shake roofs with slate. The most popular choices seem to be gray or black roofs. If you want to be a bit more adventurous while remaining true to the period you could investigate what other slate choices might have been found in the area at the time your home was built.

Gaining popularity a little later in the century, Greek Revival homes also typically originally had wooden shingles in most areas of the country. The exception to this was homes built In the Northeast where slate was quickly gaining popularity. These homes had a variety of color depending on what was being extracted from the nearest quarry, but the most common colors are black, gray, followed by red, blue, purple and green.

About 1840, the Gothic Revival style was gaining popularity and the railway was enabling the slate industry in America to have wider distribution. The quarries started producing more roofing slate to meet growing demand. Slate was considered the material of choice for Gothic Revival homes. Dark single color slate and later multi-color slate patterns that mixed in purple, green, red and blue adorned the Gothic style. 

Second Empire with its characteristic mansard roof was also often clad in slate. For most homes a single darker or variations of lights to darks in a single hue was used. Some buildings and homes also employed various colors in a pattern on the roof.

Victorian homes were built to impress. They used various slate colors and a combinations of roofing styles that included towers and turrets. Like the many colors used to accentuate the trim, multi-color roofs were used for emphasis. Purple, blue and green were popular choices to mix with gray or black to adorn this style home.

The beauty of DaVinci Slate is that you can choose from all of the colors once only available regionally. Each of the 50 colors was inspired by colors naturally quarried throughout history. With is natural appearance even the "boldest" color choices is going to look at home on any early American architectural styles.

If you want to know what colors would be right for a variety of other style homes you can find the answers in the free ebook FRESH Color Schemes For Your Home Exterior.

Go ahead and take some advice from homeowner John Mastronardo. When he purchased a 1920s English Tudor style home in the West Mount Airy section of Philadelphia in 2008, he and his wife Joyce decided to make replacing the original slate roof tiles a top priority.

As with the rest of the home renovation, Mastronardo and Joyce completed extensive research before making a decision on what to put on the top of their 2,600-square foot home. “We didn’t make the roofing decision lightly,” says Mastronardo. “We wanted to preserve the look and feel of the original roof along with the overall character of the home. But, as with most people, I had a budget. The cost of a synthetic slate roof from DaVinci Roofscapes was much more affordable than using real slate.

“The more I learned about the DaVinci synthetic slate roofing tiles, the more I liked them. The product perfectly complements the stone, brick and stucco features of our home. Even if the costs were equal, I’d still choose this DaVinci product because of all the inherent benefits of synthetic roofing tiles.”

The re-roofing experience for the home went so well that the Mastronardos decided on the spot to move ahead and have their garage, pool cabana and patio roofs redone with the Castle Gray synthetic roof materials.

“From the street, you simply cannot tell that these are not real slate tiles,” says Mastronardo. “My neighbors stop me all the time to ask about the roof. They’re surprised to discover it’s a synthetic product."

If you're ready to consider polymer roofing for your home, visit this story to get serious! Getting Serious About DaVinci Slate Roof Tiles

Often when we think of residential projects we think of every day (okay sometimes, around here, magnificent) homes within a neighborhood. Sometimes I speak with design professionals about projects in rural areas or on farms. For these types of projects a sustainable roofing product by DaVinci Roofscapes would be perfect as the product is Class A Fire Rated, Class 4 Impact Rated, Wind Rated to 110 mph and comes with a Lifetime Limited Warranty. It is also virtually maintenance free so the people living and working on the farm won't have to worry about storm damage or roof maintenance.

The pictures below are on a farm located in Stillwater, Minnesota. For this project they went with Bellaforté Slate in the European Blend. Click here to read more on DaVinci's polymer shakes installed on barns in Canada. 

Happy Friday, Architects! 

Weddle and Sons Roofing out of Manhattan, Kansas has been partnered with DaVinci Roofscapes for several years. In 2008 a roof they had previously installed went through a F4 tornado that blew through Manhattan and came out virtually unscathed. 

Today, they will tell you that for unbeatable performance you need to consider the DaVinci Slate and Shake products for your home. Multi-Width Shake, our flagship shake product, is a classic choice for homeowners all over. Why? The performance of the polymer shake tiles cannot be matched to natural cedar, but you can still achieve the look you are going for. The shakes by DaVinci Roofscapes are not only Class A Fire Rated, but can stand up to an old fashioned Midwestern storm and come out the other side with its Class 4 Impact Rating and high wind certification. 

Weddle and Sons, Inc
785-532-8347
http://weddleandsons.com

I don't have the confidence that I used to when it comes to choosing a color for our home. I am uncertain at to what would look best. The exterior of the home will remain the same color. In the images I am sending you the sky is overcast and the roof is wet with morning moisture.

John
Plattsburg, MO
Product: Bellaforté Slate

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Dear Mr. Kemper,

Choosing a color for your roof is a big decision and it can be confusing. I understand and am here to help by giving you advice on what to look for and think about as you make your decision.

Since you mention that the main and trim colors on your home will not change you will want to find a color that will work with what is existing. You will also want to choose a color that will work well in the future if you ever do decide to change these colors.

With that in mind, I recommend DaVinci Shake in either Mountain or Tahoe. From how the colors look in your photo I think Mountain would be my choice.

You had mentioned to your contact in the customer care department that you like gray and while Mountain is a deep brown it leans toward dark gray. I think you may find that this color will work better with your current colors than gray but still give you the look you like.

But photos can be deceiving so look at both colors in the daylight against your main and accent colors. Then trust your own eyes and judgment to choose the one that you find most appealing.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

What do you recycle at home? Plastic water bottles? Cardboard? Newspaper? Glass jars? Beverage cans? Good for you!

Today is America Recycles Day --- part of America Recycles Month --- coordinated by the Keep America Beautiful organization. This group has done a terrific job of educating people on the value of recycling in the home and workplace. As a result, they report that the national recycling rate has increased every year for the past 30 years. Right now the current recycling rate is an impressive 34.5%.

At DaVinci Roofscapes we're proud to say we do our part to recycle. If a composite slate or synthetic shake roofing tile we manufacture doesn't meet our high standards, we recycle it into starter tiles for the roof.  We also accept and recycle back unused DaVinci polymer roofing from job sites (see Return Those DaVinci Scraps!). That means less plastic roof materials are going into landfills. Instead they're heading right back up on the roof!

You can do your part in recycling more and helping the environment.  Click HERE to see the top 10 items every consumer can recycle at home and at work. And, to learn more about eco friendly roofs made from DaVinci, see Go Green with DaVinci Synthetic Roof Tiles.

In 2015 the team at Butcher & Butcher Construction Co., Inc. served as the roofing and waterproofing contractor for two custom homes built by Thomas Sebold & Associates in Birmingham, Michigan. Here are insights from Mark Dalrymple, President of Steep Roofing & Sheet Metal Operations at Butcher & Butcher.

Q: The two homes you re-roofed are side-by-side. Both homes gained large additions to existing structures. What was the role of Butcher & Butcher?

A: As an industry leading contractor for high-end residential roof installations, Butcher & Butcher was contracted for installation of DaVinci Roofscapes Multi-Width Slate for each designer roof. One home has the Castle Grey blend synthetic slate shingles and the other homeowner chose to create their own custom color blend of Castle Grey, Medium Tan and Dark Purple for their luxury roof. Both DaVinci roof projects were completed with copper flashings, half round copper gutters & downspouts, copper barrel dormers and copper standing seam roofs. 

Q: Your company has installed DaVinci composite roofing for more than 10 years. How do you compare the DaVinci roofing tile to other competitors?

A: DaVinci Roofscapes has proven themselves in the synthetic slate and shake industry as the best. I've had many experiences with other manufacturers' synthetic material failures. I've never had a failure with DaVinci or heard of a failure with DaVinci. As a result, I've singled out DaVinci as the only polymer roofing material I will work with.

Q: What specifically keeps you coming back to DaVinci synthetic roofing material?

A: Compared to other roof system types, DaVinci gives a great natural slate roof appearance with many additional benefits to the homeowner. Their consistent high quality lightweight roofing materials are a benefit to me as the installer. And, the large selection of color options provides my clients with the opportunity to choose a roof to their individual liking.

Q: How important is the lifetime limited warranty offered by DaVinci to you and your customers?

A: DaVinci's got our backs. The actual fine print of the warranty and its coverage is very important to me as an installer because if there were to be any failures I am the first contact for the owner. I only install the best materials with the best warranties, which is another reason I install DaVinci.

Need a roofer for your next project? See How to Find a Contractorfor tips from DaVinci!

For many homeowners across the country, the phrase "Home Sweet Home" has happily turned into "Home Synthetic Home."

Thanks to DaVinci Roofscapes, people are enjoying their home more ... and sleeping a bit easier at night. Along with adding protection to the home, the composite roofing materials bring curb appeal and extra value to the home along with peace-of-mind. Here are some of the comments we've had from homeowners who have invested in our easy-care polymer roofing:

“This synthetic roof is really amazing. It has great street appeal and has definitely improved the value of my home. And, it’s remarkable how quickly it sheds the snow that builds up after a winter storm. I’ve recommended this slate alternative roof to family members and friends because I believe it’s such a durable and top-quality product.”

Gary Ackerman
Nevada

“We looked into many options when deciding to replace the asphalt shingle roof on our home. Our research brought us to the DaVinci Roofscapes website. The Bellaforté roof that’s now on our house is absolutely beautiful --- it’s the icing on the cake for our 3,800-square foot ranch-style home.”

Kathy Bradshaw
Oklahoma

 “After doing extensive research, I selected DaVinci’s slate polymer tiles. They return the original historic look to the home, but because they’re made out of polymer they won’t be as much trouble as the previous roof. This product looks authentic to the original house, but resists rot, impact, fire and insects, so it’s virtually maintenance-free.”

Irene Darocha
Pennsylvania

"DaVinci's warranty is unbeatable and the roof looks sensational. I would recommend this roof to anyone because it resists moss and mildew so the roof is virtually maintenance free. Even the birds that used to gather on our old wood shake roof are finally gone. So this roof has solved many problems for us while enhancing the look and value of our home.”

Henry Bretthauer
Oregon

Look! Up in the sky ... is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a drone!

These days drones are all the rage --- and sometimes they cause rage. Despite some concerns, drones are predicted to be one of the top Christmas gift items this year. And, after DaVinci Roofscapes hired a drone photographer for the first time, we now understand why.

As you might guess, it's a bit difficult to get pictures of our polymer roofing on homes in some areas. Steep slope roofing can make it especially hard to get good shots of valleys featuring our simulated shake roofing and synthetic slate shingles.

Late this past summer we hired a company to take both drone pictures and video of Al Ruggerillo's house in Traverse City, Michigan. Al and his wife Pam had our Multi-Width Slate roofing tiles installed earlier this year on their expansive home. We were especially interested to get aerial images because the Traverse City area had severe weather, including hail and high winds, right before the photographer came out. (See When the Winds Blow ...)

As you can see in the video, this designer roof looks tremendous. And, we've now got some terrific pictures and video to share with you to prove our composite roofing can hold up to all kinds of weather!

November 19 is American Made Matters Day. Why does it matter that products are made in America? Because it keeps jobs in our country, grows the economy and makes it faster and easier to get products you need.

At DaVinci Roofscapes, we've always been exceptionally proud to promote the fact that our polymer roof tiles are 100% Made in America. Our facility in Lenexa, Kansas is a one-stop location where we manufacture all of our composite slate and simulated shake roofing products. This includes our multi-width and single-width full product lines, plus our 50 standard colors of polymer roofing. (SeeMade in the U.S.A)

You don't have to travel to Kansas to see how we make our  Class A Fire Rated lightweight tiles.  Just click HERE  or on the video below to see a short video of our team at work.

Making our sustainable roofing materials in the USA means we control all aspects of the manufacturing process. And it means we get them to the job site fast.

This November 19th stop a minute to think about what it means to buy products Made in America. Whether it's clothing, furniture, appliances or roofing, you have the power to help grow our economy when you dedicate your efforts --- and your dollars --- to purchasing American Made products!

This week I spoke with an architect who is looking for advice on using a composite shake roof system, such as the products made by DaVinci Roofscapes, on a church steeple. The question was, since the product is cored how, how do you hide the cuts you would have to make on the tiles to have them fit this narrow structure? 

I took this one to Tim Gentry, VP of our Technical Department, for some help. The obvious suggestion would be to use the polymer slate or shake's accessory hip/ridge pieces to hide the cut shingle's core. If you didn't want to use the hip piece, he suggested to create a beveled edge on the cut side, so the core is no longer visible in the cut. Another option was to have a piece of metal fabricated that not only flashes the hip but has a thin lip that runs perpendicular, and terminate the cut edge of the tile so that it is flush with the metal. 

The below photo shows a Multi-Width Shake roof on a steeple, where the contractor used the accessory hip tiles to hide the cut edges. 

If you have questions installing our products on a steeple, or anything else installation related, you can contact us at 800-328-4624.

Happy Friday, Architects! 

This project features another high-end Colorado townhome community roofed by Umbrella Roofing. Umbrella Roofing out of Gypsum, CO has been installing simulated shake roofing by DaVinci Roofscapes for many years and put on dozens of these roofs in the Aspen area, including this project for the luxury townhomes located in the Maroon Neighborhood Townhome Association. 

Multi-Width Shake is the natural choice for material as it has a spot on cedar shake look, but is Class A Fire Rated (which, in Colorado is necessary), Class 4 Impact Rated, wind certified to 110 mph and comes with a Lifetime Limited Warranty. Also a plus for these townhome owners? It is virtually maintenance free, which means it won't gross moss/algae and it will retain it's fire rating and color without having to be treated annually. 

Umbrella Roofing, Inc
970-704-9130
www.umbrella-roofing.com

Please see 3 attached Photos (Front, back, side of house). Considering DaVinci to replace current roof. Davinci "Single-Width Slate" looks to match current design of original roof. Current clay tile roof is original to house built in 1937 but believe color scheme different (believe originally house painted in white trim). Request help with a recommendation for choosing color of a new roof to best go with house. Considering Slate Back or Smokey Gray?

Thank you for the assistance.

Randell
Clayton, MO
Product: DaVinci Single-Width Slate (thinking Slate Back or Smokey Gray)

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Dear Mr. Gelzer,

Either of the color choices you are considering for you new roof will work quite well. 

Going with the Single-Width DaVinci Slate will be in keeping with the style that was original to your home's style and period. Moving away from the clay color will give your home a new and updated look.

With how the color of your brick looks in the photos, I am leaning towards Smokey Gray just slightly more than Slate Black because the tone of your bricks appears appears to be warm and softened a bit by a gray colorcast. The Smokey Gray has these same qualities.

Going with Slate Black would be a sharper contrast to the bricks giving your home a more formal look. It really just depends on what you are after.

You mention the historical white trim and if you do decide to go back to this look take time to find just the right white. One good place to get started is to look for the colorcast in the grout between your bricks. Is it cool gray, warm yellowish gray or something else? Matching the undertone of your white to the colorcast of your grout usually insures that the white will also work well with your brick.

For example if the grout looks warm or yellowish then you will want to find a warm white or creamy off white. Put several white paint chips near your grout and bricks to narrow down your selection. Once you have a white you think is right I recommend painting is on a good size section of your trim so that you can stand back from your home and make sure you like how it looks. A color that you liked in the store may seem too bright when used outdoors. It is best to always look at the color where you will be using it.

I hope that helps you to make a decision about your roof color. The DaVinci Slate will be a nice update for your lovely home.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

Members of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Centennial, Colorado now have a new DaVinci Roofscapes synthetic shake overhead. And, to make sure that potential snowfall doesn't cause troubles in the future, the smart-thinking roofing committee at the church decided to install both snow guards and snow fences during the polymer shake roof installation.

"Snow fences were attached at the eaves over pedestrian areas of the church," says Lars Walberg, president of Rocky Mountain Snow Guards, the company that supplied the snow retention products for the church. "We recommend snow fences be used above pedestrian or vehicular areas where even small releases of snow and ice could be problematic. Obviously church goers wouldn't want to have even a small amount of slushy snow drop onto them when coming to or leaving a church service or activity."

Walberg explains that snow guards were also used on the church --- to slow the movement of snow and generally hold the snow in place.

"When especially wet snow or especially light snow falls, it can (and will!) work its way past snow guards and drop off of the roof in small amounts," says Walberg. "The purpose of snow guards is to reduce or eliminate the potential for 'catastrophic releases' of snow and ice.

"A catastrophic release is when all of the snow on a polymer roof is released all at once. That type of release has the potential to damage property and cause injury."

With a wide array of snow guards and snow fences available for projects across the country, Rocky Mountain Snow Guards has supplied snow retention systems for other DaVinci roofing projects, including Colorado Townhome Community Topped with DaVinci Roofscapes Composite Shake Tiles. 

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we stop to express thanks for our family, friends, health and home ... and, for the roof overhead.

Without a secure roof, our home and loved ones would be susceptible to damage from rain, winds, hail and storms. With a secure roof, we all sleep easier at night and don't worry as much when the winds howl. And, with the impact resistance features of synthetic roofing material from DaVinci Roofscapes, we even rest easier when severe weather strikes. (SeeWhy DaVinci?)

Made of durable polymer roofing materials, DaVinci imitation slate and composite shake roofing can stand up to Mother Nature. If she sends hail down, it simply bounces off these strong roof tiles. If she blows embers from a nearby wildfire onto DaVinci's Class A Fire Rated synthetic roofing material, it won't ignite. And, if she drops tree limbs onto the roof, the impact won't damage the DaVinci's eco friendly roof that has a Class 4 Impact Rating under the UL 2218 standard (and, did you know that a DaVinci roof can handle 110 mph straight line winds!).

This Thanksgiving, along with being thankful for your home, remember to be thankful for your DaVinci roof and its lifetime limited warranty. It's what stands between the ones you love and Mother Nature.

Side-by-side homes in Birmingham, Michigan have more than the same contractor in common --- they both have DaVinci Roofscapes Multi-Width Slate roofs.

Built by Thomas Sebold & Associates and roofed by Butcher and Butcher Construction Company, the homes are both topped with durable composite slate roofing to complement the home designs and help protect them from severe weather conditions.

"We felt good about working with the team at Butcher and Butcher," says homeowner Jay Feldman. "They were patient while we picked out our custom color blend of Castle Grey, Medium Tan and Dark Purple for our designer roof and they did a professional job.

"There are many strong features of our DaVinci roof. The lifetime limited warranty and low maintenance aspects bring us peace-of-mind. Best of all, our roof looks unique and perfectly complements our home's design."

Next door at the home of Feldman's neighbors, Castle Gray Multi-Width imitation slate tiles were installed on his home.

"The authentic natural slate appearance of the DaVinci Roofscapes Multi-Width Slate tiles was the most important feature in our decision to select this product," says the homeowner. "The product's benefits of resistance to hail and fire, as well as the lightweight aspect of the composite tiles, have added to my overall satisfaction with the DaVinci roofing products."

Ready to think about synthetic slate roof tile for your home? Then visit Which DaVinci Slate is Right for My Home? for guidance and ideas!

TCC Roofing Contractors out of Eagle, Colorado knows their way around installing the synthetic roofing material by DaVinci Roofscapes. With dozens of projects under their belt they have become familiar with both our slate and shake lines, as well as using the proper snow retention with our products, and also, as featured previously on our blog, using our polymer slate tiles with solar panels. 

This project features Multi-Width Shake in the Autumn color blend on a large roof located in Edwards, CO. Pad style snow guards were incorporated onto the roof to prevent snow slides this winter when heavy snow fall becomes common.

TCC Roofing Contractors, Inc
970-328-2340
www.tccroofinginc.com

We are considering Multi-Width Slate in Castle Gray, Brownstone or European. In Multi-Width Shake, options seem to be Weathered Gray or custom colors. Bellaforté Shake: Weather Gray-VariBlend or Tahoe-VariBlend.

Need help. Please see attached pics. What product do you think works best on our home and what color? Big decision.
David Stertzer
Colleyville, Texas
Product: Multi-Width Slate, Multi-Width Shake, Bellaforté Shake

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Dear Mr. Stertzer,

My recommendation would be either the Brownstone-VariBlend or Slate Gray-VariBlend. You mentioned you were considering Castle Gray-VariBlend, which could also work but I like the slightly darker color Slate Gray against the body of your home a bit more.

Both Brownstone or Slate Gray will work equally well with your style and color of your home. I like the warmth of tones in the Brownstone with your brick. I have attached an image of another home with this roof so you can see what I mean since it is difficult to see it in the small swatch.

On the other hand the Slate Gray is a classic choice that matches your home stately appearance. You just have to choose which color appeals to you more since you won't go wrong with either choice.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert