Looking for best color for my brick (pink/gray) and siding (Taupe). I'm thinking Espresso may be the best match for my house. Would love your opinion.

Bill Bechaz
Omaha, NE
Product: Bellaforté Shake

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Hello Mr. Bechaz,

The Bellaforté Shake is a great choice for your home. Crystal shared that you were thinking about going with the standard color blend Espresso and I also think that would be a great choice for your home. It will blend with both the main color of your home and the color of your brick.

Another blend that could work well is Verona. It will give you a lighter overall look so it is a matter of personal preference. I like the Espresso a bit better with your current scheme but if you are thinking of going to a lighter main color at some point Verona might be worth considering.

I hope that helps you to finalize your color.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

The original wood shake roof on our 20-year old home started to get soft from all the rain we have here. I had two companies tell us it needed replacing and from the ladder I could see that it was time for an upgrade.

We studied the DaVinci brochure and then drove to a location with this polymer roof. I liked what I saw, so we requested samples and reviewed them. We could tell the product was tough and durable with a good look to it.

Investing time to research our options really paid off. The company’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
Eugene, OR
Multi-Width Slate, Slate Gray

When fake slate products were first introduced on the market, a number of them were made from a variety of different products.  Some were made of old tires and some were made from cement boards.  While the idea of old tires and the whole concept of recycling was a nice idea, unfortunately, the performance of those shingles wasn't the best.

However, those rubber slate roof products left their mark on the roofing industry - so much so that we are often asked if our products are made from recycled rubber.

While we love the idea of recycling and helping the environment (and we do have a recycling program!), we also understand that tearing off a recycled rubber roof 5 years after it was installed would be not be helping the environment.  We wanted to create a product that lasted.

Therefore, we decided to make our lightweight roofing materials from virgin polymer resins with some other goodies (like fire retardants) thrown in.  We also wanted to avoid the issues that rubber roofs had - curling and cracking - so we added an engineered rib structure on the back of our shingles to ensure that they would lay flat for years to come.  We did so much preliminary testing and analysis of other products that we even offer a 50 year warranty with our product. 

You can read more about this topic on our blog:

• Is It a Rubber Roof or Are Those Plastic Roofing Materials?
• Manufactured Slate Tiles and Shake Shingles – What is it made of?

With the addition of several newly-created custom videos, there’s something for everyone at the DaVinci Roofscapes website. Roofers and contractors can gain step-by-step tips on installing Bellaforté slate and shake products on a new video, homeowners can learn how to select the ideal colors for the exterior of their homes, and everyone benefits from a new plant tour video showing how DaVinci polymer roofing products are made.

The new FRESH Home Exterior Colorsvideo is hosted by national color expert Kate Smith, chief color maven and president of Sensational Color. Smith authored a 30-page brochure on the same topic for DaVinci in 2011 and now shares her insights in the video. She provides step-by-step guidance on understanding the home’s exterior features and playing off them with color accents. Smith details out the FRESH approach for viewers, which stands for Fixed features, Regional colors, Environment and surroundings, Style of the home, and Have-to-use colors.

For the new Bellaforté Installation video, expert installers provide detailed directions on installation tips for both Bellaforté Shake and Slate products in roofing applications. The informative videos are intended to support written installation instructions also available from DaVinci.

Finally, the new DaVinci Plant Tour video features home improvement expert Mark Clement of MyFixitUpLife touring the DaVinci manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Kansas. Clement explores both the art and science of developing the polymer roofing tiles and hosts an informative behind-the-scenes look at the DaVinci operations.

 Click HERE see all these videos and visit the DaVinci website!

On a trip not too long ago I was flying over a construction site. As I looked down on the terracotta roofs and reddish orange clay it reminded me to share with you another element that can be an excellent clue to your perfect roofing color -- your soil.
 

Yes, that's right. The color of the dirt around your property. This may sound crazy but it is a really great way for you to find a color that will help you to naturally blend your home into its surroundings.  When the horizontal plane of color that tops off your home is the same as the color surrounding your home's foundation it instantly anchors your home to the landscape.
 

Thinking about the soil color as you choose the foundation color is a good idea for another reason you might not have considered. As you water your plants or as the rain splashes off the ground, the mud-tinted water drops will disappear into the foundation if it's a color similar to that of the soil.  If not, the bottom edge around your home may always have a slightly "soiled" look. Even if once construction is completed you don't see any exposed soil, the color works because the color of the Terra firma (a Latin phrase meaning "solid earth" from terra "earth" and firma "solid") is part of all of everything that emerges from it including rocks, trees and plants.

I always develop the overall color plan for a home's exterior from the top down but when I look for color clues looking down is often the place I begin. Looking to the soil or terra firma can give you a firm foundation for your color scheme.

So if terra firma means solid earth do you think that the Latin translation for DaVinci Roofscapes is roof firma?

Mary Katherine Hirsh knew it was time for a new roof after she was evacuated from her home in November 2011 due to a firestorm sweeping through her Reno neighborhood. According to a local fire official, the original 42-year-old wooden shakes on her Country French style home were a tinderbox waiting to burn.

"The idea that a stray cinder landing on my roof could ignite the entire home was scary,” says Hirsh, a Nevada resident. “I immediately started researching roofing options and focused in on fire-resistant polymer roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes.”

Hirsh reports that the slate style suits her home’s design more than the original wooden shakes. She investigated slate options but rejected them due to the potential for cracking due to freeze and thaw conditions in her area. To complement the house, Hirsh selected the standard European blend from DaVinci, which includes light, medium and dark gray tones along with light and dark purple.

“With slate I would have paid yearly fees just to maintain the roof,” says Hirsh. “Now with this new polymer roof I won’t have to worry about it ever again. The 50-year limited warranty from DaVinci means that this house is protected for decades in the future.”

Selecting the Right Roofing Contractor

As part of her research for the new roof, Hirsh interviewed a wide variety of roofing contractors. “I knew I found the right roofer when Ken Perry of Fletcher Roofing and Siding went up on the roof and came back down to give me first-hand knowledge of how badly the wood shakes had been ‘chewed up’ by the sun and wind,” says Hirsh. “I selected this roofing company because of their dedication to doing the job perfectly while protecting the landscaping around my home.”

One of the things that impressed Hirsh the most was the daily care and clean-up performed by the team at Fletcher Roofing and Siding. Careful draping of shrubbery, removal of debris and sweeping the yard with magnets to remove nails kept Hirsh happy during the five-week installation.

“This was the first time we installed DaVinci tiles and it was an extremely easy product to work with,” says Luke Fletcher, owner of Fletcher Roofing and Siding, Inc. out of Reno. “Since finishing the Hirsh project we’ve done several other bids using this product. The aesthetic appeal of the roof is incredible, along with the authenticity of the slate.

“Everyone who sees this house believes it’s natural slate. I anticipate we’ll have a big business for the polymer shake tiles in our marketplace too. I’m grateful that Mrs. Hirsh did her research and introduced us to this exceptional roofing product.”

Visit our blog "Invest in Your Roof"to gain more information on the value of polymer roofing tiles.

As an architect, if you call into our office seeking technical advice you will most likely get me. Most of the time I've got it covered, but sometimes a question can leave me stumped so I have to turn to Tim Gentry, VP of Technical Services, for help. Click here to meet the DaVinci Roofscapes' Technical Team and keep reading to get answers to the questions most closely related to the design professional.

Custom Installations

Do you want to add a unique quality to your design and wonder if a polymer roofing product is the right choice? Click here to read Tim's thoughts on custom staggers, unique roof shapes and more.

What Does a Class A Fire Rating Mean?

In his job with DaVinci, Tim oversees all product testing and knows all the up to date testing methods and requirements. While many people have heard the term 'Class A', most are unsure what exactly that means. Click here to read more about the ASTM E 108 test.

Installing DaVinci Tiles with No Waste

This seems like a crazy concept, but think of the cost savings to your client knowing that DaVinci tiles can be installed with either very low or no waste? Click here to keep reading Tim's blog about the waste factor for our polymer slate and shake roof tiles.

Preventing Ice Dams

Often I receive calls from architects concerned about cold weather application, freeze thaw durability and if the product will create ice dams (therefore problems) on their client's roof. Click here to read Tim's ideas on preventing ice dams with the DaVinci tiles.
 

Hi,

First, thank you for an amazing product! I will be using the Multi-Width DaVinci but need help with the color, please. I like the Aberdeen and Vineyard but would appreciate your thoughts. I've included a picture of my home. I will be changing the red door and shutters are no longer there.

Thank you,

Dawn Volland
Riverside, IL
Product: Multi-Width DaVinci
 

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Hi Dawn,

I am glad to hear that you love our product. We do too! 

As for your color choices, either would work on your home very nicely. I prefer the Vineyard blend a little bit better because since you like the multiple color blends I believe you would enjoy the slightly more colorful blend. Aberdeen would also work and just be a bit more muted. It really is just a matter of your personal taste.

Just a couple of other tips. I am glad you removed the shutters and like the color of your front door. If you were to paint, staying with red would be a good choice. If you wanted a change, picking up on one of the other colors in the roof but deeper or darker would give you some additional options.

I would change the color of your railing so that it doesn't match the door. A bronze or color to match your window frames would be a better choice that would add strength to the entrance and keep the main attention on your door.

The brown you have now is also fine but if you do ever repaint the brown I would consider a slightly more bronze brown such as SW  6160 Best Bronze rather than the true brown you have now. I think with your new roof and the brick it would be a good color to bridge the two and also feel a bit updated.

I hope that advice helps you to make a decision for your lovely home.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

Home is cedar color and I like the Davinci New Cedar Color; current color is exactly like DaVinci Tahoe. Comments please.

1. Home Size: 4,000+ sq. ft.; three story
2. Age of Home: 27 years; roof original split cedar shake
3. Siding: Cedar siding, stained 2012 with Sikkens.

Douglas Reinika
Winthrop, WA
Product: Cedar Shake

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Dear Mr. Reinika,

What a perfect setting and lovely home. I think you are on the right track with the New Cedar. It is a great choice for your home. The current roof color has grayed with weather and age. It is probably not as attractive as it once was. The nice thing is you will not have to worry any longer about the color since with a DaVinci Roofscapes roof it will look at good 10, 15, 20 + or more years from now as it does the day you install it.

Having the New Cedar will uplift the entire exterior and I think you are going to be very pleased with the overall look of your home.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith
DaVinci Roofscapes Color Expert

What does a class A fire rating mean on a roofing product mean? It means that the roof covering has undergone extensive fire testing using the ASTM E 108 test standard at the Class A level. Class A is the best classification available.

For polymer roof coverings there are three tests.

1. Intermittent Flame - an assembly of tiles is subjected to an intense flame for two minutes then turned off for two minutes. This is cycled 15 times to see if there is failure in the roof deck.

2.  Spread of Flame -  flame and air current are applied for 10 consecutive minutes and then checked for failure. 

3. Burning Brand - This is my personal favorite...not that I liked starting fires as a child. In this test, a burning brand is placed on an assembly of roofing tiles with a high volume of wind behind it. The decking of the assembly is constantly monitored for 90 minutes to see if any fire burns through.  If fire burns through the roof deck anytime during the 90 minute trial, the tiles fail.  Below are pictures of DaVinci's Class A Fire rated slate and simulated shake roofing. DaVinci tiles PASS these tests with flying colors. 
 

At many schools, a new band storage facility wouldn’t cause much cheering. But, at Florida State University, which boasts the largest college marching band in the world, it’s reason to celebrate!

The new facility boasts a DaVinci Multi-Width Slate polymer roof in Castle Grey. With room to store the instruments for 470 marching band members, the new FSU band storage facility on the Tallahassee, Florida campus gets lots of use. Whenever the FSU Seminoles are in town, the Marching Chiefs band members (which was started in 1939) are on the field in full uniform performing impressive halftime routines.

Something else that’s impressive is the new roof on their storage facility.  Installed by Exterior Specialists Inc., the DaVinci slate roof resists, fire, impact, insects, algae and curling --- and it has a 50-year limited warranty. That means that generations of marching band members can safely store their valuable instruments in the facility without worry!

Ready to “shake up” the outside of your home with color? DaVinci Roofscapes and Sensational Color have joined together to introduce a new free 36-page FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior downloadable guide online.

Written by national color expert Kate Smith of Sensational Color, the guide explores color options for seven different home styles and makes it easy for people to choose color palettes that complement the exterior of the home.

“Many homeowners are afraid to add color to their home exteriors because they don’t want to make a mistake,” says Smith, a career color trend forecaster. “Especially when people look at the style of their homes, they can become confused by what colors will enhance their exteriors. This guide takes away those fears and puts the power of color in the hands of the homeowner!”

Smith takes a “top down” approach to providing tips for adding eye-pleasing color palettes to the home exterior. She advises people to start with the roof color, then work their way down the house to consider the siding, window frames, front entry door and trim.

The specific home styles addressed in the FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior guide include Ranch, Colonial, Bungalow, Victorian, Spanish Mission, European and New American. Smith offers several color combinations for each style’s exterior along with tips for making homes complement their neighborhood settings.

The comprehensive and colorful online piece was a collaborative effort of Smith and several building product manufacturers, including DaVinci Roofscapes, Fypon®, Simonton Windows® and Therma-Tru®.

The free color guide is located on each company’s web site (click HERE) plus on the www.sensationalcolor.com website developed by Smith. Her first ebook in the series, FRESH Home Exterior Colors, is also available for free at http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/. That 30-page step-by-step tutorial provides insights on adding color to the home exterior by using the FRESH approach, which stands for Fixed features, Regional colors, Environment and surroundings, Style of the home, and Have-to-use colors.

Where do you live? What are your concerns when looking for a new roofing product for your home or building?

More than likely, wherever you live, we have a polymer roofing product that will fit your needs. All of our lightweight roofing materials are tested for fire, impact and wind, so wherever you call home, we have you covered.

Here is a quick run down of the different products we offer:

• Single-Width Valoré Slate & Shake
• Multi-Width DaVinci Slate & Shake
• Bellaforté Slate & Shake
• DaVinci Fancy Shake

All of our products offer a Class A  or Class C Fire rating(depending on how the tiles are installed), Class 4 Impact rating and are Certified to withstand up to 110MPH* winds giving them superior abilities to weather the storm. 

What questions do you have about our products and their ability to weather the storm? How can we address concerns you have for a roofing product in your home town?


 * See DaVinci Installation Instructions for details.

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 a 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 new course, The FRESH Approach to Choosing Exterior Colors. It is free and available online 24/7.

If you're a fan of our Facebook page you might recall that back in March of this year we ran the  “Shake it Up”  home exterior color contest.

Together with Fypon, Simonton Windows and Therma-Tru Doors, we sponsored an online contest for homeowners offering a $5,000 cash grand prize to help the winner add color to the exterior his or her home.

In order to enter the contest, homeowners had to submit a photo of their home along with an explanation of why their home could use the $5,000 cash prize.

Submissions were allowed through April 21 and then all submissions were evaluated and narrowed down to the top 5. Once selected, the top five entries were passed along to a professional artist who worked with color expert Kate Smith to create renderings of what those 5 finalist homes would look like if color and colorful products were added to the home's exterior. 

Upon completion of the renderings, the online voting process began and ran for 2 weeks in May to select a winner. Ultimately, the Hodkinsons of Tennessee won the grand prize. Congratulations to the Hodkinsons - we look forward to seeing all they have done with their $5,000 cash prize!

DaVinci Roofscapes steep slope roofing tiles are designed with an engineered rib structure to make them strong, and assure that they stay flat. This rib structure does a very good job keeping the DaVinci composite shake and slate tiles flat. In fact the rib structure prevents the tiles from curling down to follow the contours and bumps on uneven roof deck. This is why it is always important to make sure the deck is flat and clean. A small bump in the decking can cause the butt of the tiles to rise farther than the original bump. In the following picture you can see that a 1/8" shim can cause the butt of the tile to rise 1/4" or more.

When DaVinci first started out we launched with our flagship product - a multi-width polymer slate profile. These tiles came in (and still do) 5 different widths - 12", 10", 9", 7" and 6".  The 5 different widths help with:

• quicker installation (there is less cutting and therefore the tiles can be installed more quickly)


• less waste (again because there is less cutting, there is less waste)


• natural appearance (slate is a natural product, so when you are emulating it with a manufactured slate tile, you want to have the varied widths that they had with natural slate).

Also, multiple widths create a more natural appearance that can be laid in a straight or staggered pattern. You can see how this looks in the photo to the right.

However, we soon discovered that some home and building owners (and architects) were looking for a single width 12" tile to replicate the old roofs they were replacing. And the 12" tile seemed to be the ideal choice.

So, we started to offer our slate tiles in not only the multi-width option, but also the single-width option - Single-Width Valoré Slate Tiles. Our Valoré profile allows for a clean, simple design which is ideal for certain architectural styles of homes. You can see that example in the photo on the left - notice that the tiles are laid in a straight pattern and are also all the same width.

Do you have questions about any of the DaVinci Slate profiles? Feel free to email us or call 1-800-328-4624.

Not too long ago a homeowner contacted us with a question about selecting a roof color for the new home he is having built. He is in the process of selecting materials and knew he wanted to include the copper patina tiles shown below.

Our homeowner also knew he wanted lightweight roof tiles but he thought his choice would be limited to the green or gray imitation shake or synthetic slate roofing. Since the copper is being installed with the patina already applied the roof will not change color further so he certainly could select a green or gray tile to harmonizes with the copper but these are not his only choices and for a homeowner who is going to install copper and let it age naturally they might not be the best color choices. Here is why:

Copper oxidizes when it is exposed to the elements. Rather than rust it morphs from a shiny yellow-orange to deep brown then green and finally becomes dull bluish-green. As the process occurs the copper is developing what is known as patina. Copper patina is called verdigris. The term comes from the French phrase “verte grez”.

The chart below (I took the liberty to reformat it) comes from Denninger a company that produces copper weather vanes and finials. It shows how the color naturally advances from raw copper to chocolaty-brown to dark verdis to the almost white of a truly aged copper decoration. Denninger gives this as a guide but also notes that in some geographic locations, copper will patina faster, or with a different hue.

Bellaforté Slate by DaVinci shown Dark New Cedar, Dark Autumn, Dark Amber

The homeowner could use any of the warm shake or slate tiles that have cooper-y undertones.  I have shown a few that might work well above. Any of these will blend well with copper. You can see how well the tiles below work with the cooper above at each stage of the patina process.

The warm undertones of these Bellaforté tiles are an excellent choice for homes with copper details. Even though the product our homeowner has chosen already has the patina when installed the same thinking can apply whether the copper took 20+ years to reach the patina or was installed new with a “pre-aged” finish. This is because the based color of the copper continues to influence the surface color.

The same line of thinking can apply to any metal that has a finish or patina. The color change is most pronounced with copper but consider the original color as an option when creating a scheme for any metal details on your home inside or out.

Guy Galitski has installed thousands of roofs in his career. So, when a homeowner in San Juan Capistrano needed to reroof her steep slope roof, Galitski and his team eagerly tackled the job.

“We used Bellaforté Shake polymer roofing tiles for this project which really helped the job go smoothly because they’re typically lighter in weight than actual wood shakes,” says Galitski, President of G.G. Roofing since 1977 and a member of the DaVinci Roofscapes Masterpiece Contractor Program. “A square of Bellaforté Shake (with 100 pieces per square) weighs just 190 pounds. The lower tile weight helps reduce our installation time.

“The roof is clearly the most visible part of this home and reaches up more than three stories high. It was previously covered in real wood shakes that had badly deteriorated over time. The homeowner selected the multiple-width appearance of Bellaforté Shake in an Abruzzo color blend because it was the closest product to actual shake she’d ever seen.”

One of the most important purchasing considerations for the California homeowner was the fact that Bellaforté Shake tiles are designed to meet Class A fire and Class 4 impact certification standards.

For this installation project the team of six installers from G.G. Roofing took 10 days to complete the job. “We would have completed an average roof project in half the time, but there was an intense steepness to this slope,” says Galitski. “We’ve installed DaVinci Slate and Shake products on multiple homes. Each time we have the same positive experience and the homeowner is pleased with the realistic-looking results.

“DaVinci has a reliable product that provides my customers an alternative to actual slate, wood or tile. Homeowners realize the cost savings is in the reduction of maintenance needed over time for these products, plus the 50-year limited warranty that gives them peace-of-mind.”

For more details on Bellaforté Shake products, visit DaVinci Launches Bellaforté Shake Roofing Tiles

Think the FRESH Approach, as described by DaVinci Roofscapes' Color Expert Kate Smith, is only for residential projects? Think again! As outlined in our new continuing education course, The FRESH Approach for Choosing Exterior Colors, you should use this technique when considering exterior color for your commercial projects as well. Some things to keep in mind are the neighborhood the building is in, the function of the building and if there are any signage or logos already planned for the exterior the building.

Sound interesting? Take The FRESH Approach for Choosing Exterior Colors for free, anytime on AEC Daily.

DaVinci Roofscapes Cedar Shake Alternative in the Mountain Blend

For more information on DaVinci Roofscapes products, feel free to email us or call 1-800-328-4264.