Homeowners often call PABCO® Roofing Products and ask for advice about shingle color choices for their roof.
Kevin Olson, Director of Customer Service at PABCO Roofing Products, frequently answers these calls. “Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the reasons a homeowner might choose one color over another,” says Olson. “Decisions about roof and shingles colors aren’t always about what the homeowner likes. Most of the time, the choices are made with a specific goal in mind.”
If you are a homeowner, selecting an asphalt shingle roofing product is something you may only do once or twice during your lifetime. We understand it can be a difficult choice. In the end, indeed the decision is yours and you may have to live with your choice for many years to come.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a few questions you should ask yourself when selecting asphalt shingle colors for your residential roofing project.
1. Are you going to live there for many years? Or are you going to be selling your home soon?
You can coordinate the roof color to your favorite house color if you plan to live there for many years. If you don’t have an actual favorite house color, you may want to choose a neutral roof color to give you some flexibility. If you are selling soon, you want the potential buyer to have that same flexibility.
Antique black, pewter gray, and weathered wood are the most popular color choices of PABCO’s shingles. These colors are considered neutral and allow your asphalt shingles to pair with a larger spectrum of house colors options. Neutral shingles colors are preferable if you intend to sell your home soon. The new owner may want to change the house’s color. It’s easier and less expensive to change a paint color versus changing a roof color.
2. What is the goal for your roof shingle color?
What is the result you are trying to achieve? For example, if you have a smaller home, a unique roof color helps your home stand out. For instance, PABCO Prestige® asphalt shingles in Sherwood green or blue slate can help to add some additional curb appeal.
Is your home built with bricks? Brick facades are often a patchwork of colors; pewter gray shingles would subtly complement the brick. Using a complementary color like gray doesn’t distract from the visual interest of the brick pattern. If your home is in a wooded area, PABCO Premier® Oakwood architectural shingles will harmonize with the natural landscape. If you have a historic home, and you’re considering a roof renovation, our Cascade™ diamond-shaped shingle in Cambrian slate would be an excellent choice for accentuating the unique architecture of your roof.
You will need to decide. For example, do you want your roof to be the main visual feature of your home? Or do you want the roof to complement the home’s style or color scheme?
3. Are you focused on saving energy?
PABCO’s Premier Radiance® shingles reflect rays from the sun into the atmosphere, ideal for warmer climates where air conditioning use is high. Also known as “COOL” asphalt shingles, these shingles can help make your home more comfortable. In some geographical regions like California, they may be required. Cool asphalt shingles are rated by solar reflectance, thermal emittance, and the solar reflective index (SRI). Premier Radiance shingle colors run in the lighter hues, but you can still choose neutral tones like cool pewter gray or cool black.
4. You chose a color; what’s next?
After you’ve narrowed down your basic color choices, black or gray, etc., the next step would be to obtain an actual roof shingle sample. You can contact us, and we’ll help you find your local PABCO Preferred roofing contractor. Or go here, to locate a distributor near you that carries PABCO Roofing Products. The contractor can bring you physical asphalt shingle samples in the colors you want to consider.
All asphalt shingles have a coarse surface. Nuances like the sun’s angle and shadows, could make the granule colors appear different than if you viewed the shingle in a distributor’s showroom where the lighting is most likely artificial. So, take that extra step to give yourself the best chance of achieving the look that you want.
As we mentioned before, choosing a PABCO roofing product for your home is a major purchase and will last for decades. Therefore, selecting a shingle color that meets your end goal is essential. For ideas and inspiration you can use our visualizer tool and get an idea of what your home might look like with different color options.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like more information on any of our asphalt shingles, have questions about the color, product, or where to find a PABCO Preferred contractor.
