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neetsiepie

Roof shingle color

10 years ago

We are going to have a new roof put on our house-it's your basic ranch, with the garage facing the street. The roof will be composition shingles. Our house has lap siding and cedar shake (painted) siding and the street side facade has some aged brick, less than 30 feet of length, and we're considering removing it. Our house is 50+ years old, in a subdivision of mid-century age homes.

The house will also be painted next summer, so we are at the point of chosing shingle colors. We can get a VERY good deal on 30 year high rated shingles, BUT they're green. Currently we have the cinnamon brown that I really hate.

There are no restrictions (HOA) on color, and the roofs in our neighborhood run the gamut of colors from brown, to black to slate to blue. The house is in an older subdivision, so the lots are pretty far apart. The houses on either side have a dark slate and a brand new dark tan.

Would green be a negative to you if you were looking at a house? It's not kelly green, more like a forest green. We're not planning to sell in the next 10 years, but resale during the useful life of the roof will likely happen. If we went with green, we'd likely paint the house white or cream with a complimentary trim to the roof. We need to make a decision soon, like in the next week so we can make the order, so your opinons are needed! Thanks.

Comments (27)

  • 10 years ago

    I've been looking at shingles too due to hail damage. My house is a small ranch/cottage with original shingle siding painted white. The white has been great for maintenance as I can touch up areas as needed.

    There have been so many new roofs put in this last mo I look at them constantly right now when driving. Solid brown and dark gray loom and do nothing for me. Before needing a roof though, there was a charming house done in green shingles with wonderful details added both on the house and front lawn/garden area matching it. I love the green and seems there would be many options for colors, dark or light, to paint your house.

    Can you do a photo shop of your house with shingles close to the same color?

    Here is a link to an image search. They are metal shingles, but can give you ideas. Look at the 4th house in the gallery. Now you have me rethinking my multi light/dark gray selection. Does the manuf. of your shingles have a website with a gallery to peruse the color?

    Here is a link that might be useful: green roof

  • 10 years ago

    I think it could work, though it would be more of a challenging color to deal with than something more neutral.

    Both GAF and certainteed have on line packages on their web sites where you can play with pictures of their houses or you can upload one of your own and try on the various roofs and siding options.

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  • 10 years ago

    I love white houses with green roofs.

  • 10 years ago

    I like white houses with green roofs, too! There is home in my town with this color scheme that I admire each time I pass it. I don't have a photo--and cannot find a similar one on the Internet. But it's charming.

    It has to be a crisp, white, though, and would take a few coats over your current color.

  • 10 years ago

    I also like white houses with green roofs but, all things being equal, I'd choose a house with a charcoal or black roof. I prefer a neutral roof to allow more latitude in siding color.

  • 10 years ago

    I completely agree with lazydaisynot....I would go with neutral. My all time favorite versatile roof color is Weatherwood....has brown/gray/black and goes with every color brick/siding in my opinion!

  • 10 years ago

    I don't care for green shingles-would much prefer composite shingles in the gray or weathered wood colors.

  • 10 years ago

    It's frequently said in this forum that a neutral colored roof allows for more siding colors, but what siding colors do people usually choose? Grays, beiges, greiges, all of which go with a green roof.

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks for your thoughts. We have to decide if we're going to buy the green ones soon-it's not my first choice, but the price is almost half of what it would be if we go with any other color. They were a cancelled order, so the price is right.

    The house does not have vinyl siding-it's painted wood, so changing out the color is not hard and if we paint it, it'll be the last time WE paint it! Lol.

    We're going to get a few of the shingles to make our final decision. I am leaning toward it now that I see it with other colors. The current house color would class terribly-but it's changing (I've looked for a good excuse to repaint since we bought this place 10 years ago!)

  • 10 years ago

    If it's not your first choice, then don't do it just because it's a deal. It's not an inexpensive item you can easily change out when you grow tired of it like a rug or chair. You will be looking at it every day and will probably kick yourself down the road that you went for the deal instead of getting what you want. Personally, I would not want a green roof and I think it would turn off some prospective buyers.

  • 10 years ago

    Pesky, make sure you have hip shingles for the ridge of the roof. They make a world of difference in the look.

  • 10 years ago

    What Joaniepoanie said. I would never compromise on something that permanent to get a good deal (and I love good deals.) We live on an extremely tight budget. To save money, I shop yard sales and Craigslist. Our kids think I'm a cheapskate but when it comes to home improvement projects, I buy the best product we can afford, even if it means putting off the project.

    I would only choose a neutral roof although green isn't a bad choice. The colors I really hate are multi-colored, peach, aqua & white - anything that makes the roof the focal point of the house. I don't like red much either. At least a dark green doesn't scream, "Look at me!"

    Since you'll see your roof every day, go with what you like best. Saving money in other areas might make you feel better about spending twice as much on the roof. Cancel your cable service, or reduce spending on clothing, Starbucks, eating out and going to movies? Put off buying a newer car?

  • 10 years ago

    It's perfectly fine for an Oregon home. Most of the 50 year old ranch roofs that I see around Portland are covered in moss anyway.

  • 10 years ago

    LoL may_flowers. My DH is a fanatic about the moss, he's up there all the time pressure washing and clearing moss. We're definitely going to add copper strips to help with the moss issue.

    I was looking at roofs today as I drove to work-they're predomniately that cinannamon-y brown, dark slate or light slate gray. I've seen a few blue, and I did see a few green-they're not too bad actually.

    I told DH that we can go with the green ONLY if the contractor has enough for the job. I suspect DH is underestimating the number of pallats we'll need because I think he based it on our neighbors who both replaced roofs in the last year and their houses are smaller than ours, and we have an extra long double car attached garage,

    My DH is a deal guy-if he can get a deal, he likes to go for it. I made sure we budgeted for full price materials, so if the green shingles are what we choose, DH will get some new skylights with the savings.

  • 10 years ago

    Sorry, but a new green roof would be a turn off for me if I was thinking about buying a house. It wouldn't bother me if the roof was older and I knew replacement was in the near future, but I honestly would walk away from a house with a less than appealing new roof. A roof is a big investment, choose carefully especially if resale is going to be an issue in the near future. New buyers, especially those with small budgets are not going to want to replace it or have to live with it for 20 years. If resale isn't a big issue, then go for it if you love it!

  • 10 years ago

    pesky, would you like for me to do a mock-up so you can get an idea of what a green roof might look like? If you can get a somewhat close shot of your house, preferably not in shadow (and preferably with a real camera instead of a camera phone, but that's a minor quibble), I'd be happy to play with the picture.

    I debated long & hard between a green or red roof and opted for red. I thought it would set off the pretty stone and also look perky during our bleak gray winters. It's New England-y, so it fits the area. But I still love green and find it refreshing among the ocean of black/charcoal/weathered wood roofs. Here's our colored roof (DH got a bug to paint the deck -- he's going at it furiously today). Just wanted to show you wouldn't be alone, in case you were afraid of sticking out with a colored roof. It's not a life changing event, lol.

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks for the offer! Shadows won't be an issue as we cut down two large trees in front and we're in the midst of some major front yard reno.

    I'll try to get you some photos soon.

  • 10 years ago

    I hope this works awm. As I noted, we're in the midst of some major landscape reno. The county is finally putting in sidewalks so our street is a construction zone! We took advantage of that to redo drainage and put in new hardscaping and landscaping. Today, in fact, we're hoping to make some serious headway into getting the footings for the wrought iron and stone fence put in and the lamp post relocated. We're also going to put in an outdoor electrical receptacle so I can finally have a dedicated line for my fountain and christmas lights instead of running an extension cord from the garage!

    We will be repainting so the house color will change. We're not committed to the brick facade either, but that won't be for at least a year before that changes out.

  • 10 years ago

    awm, I really like your red roof!

    Pesky, I think green can work in in the PNW. We have colonial slate, which may be boring, but it really is a great color and neutral.

    There is a house I pass on the way home that has a blue roof. It is much bluer than what it looks online. I don't know if the green is the same.

  • 10 years ago

    OK, pesky, here ya go. Keep in mind I'm no expert, and this might look better if you stand back and squint (or take off your glasses!). But you can get a rough idea at least. You don't have that much roof area showing, so roof color could work as an accent here. If you're in the PNW, then rich browns or light/middle grays would be suitable too.

  • 10 years ago

    Oh wow! That really goes well with the trees. I am now thinking that might be a viable option! Of we paint the house in white, and add an accent to the trim and eaves, it could really be cute.

    Thank you so much AWM!

  • 10 years ago

    Here's another rendition (crude but effective!) with two popular color types. If you cover one half with your hand, you can see how the color works with the roof.

  • 10 years ago

    Here's a red brown & a dark brown:

  • 10 years ago

    Yellow with white trim and black green accents.

  • 10 years ago

    our new "old" farmhouse is white, with red brick "foundation" and green shingles
    i grew up (built in the late 40's early 50's) in a cream color house with green roof
    my mother was so terribly proud because it was "different" we lived in a very rural area........

  • 10 years ago

    Love the taupe paint color with green roof!

  • 10 years ago

    I was enchanted with the white/green, but the more I started looking at the taupe/white/green, the more I like that. Especially since our gutters and windows are all white vinyl. I think tomorrow we find out if there is enough of the green material-if there is, the savings on that versus another color will buy the paint for the house...ok, I think I'm being a bit ambitious-no way we can paint before chancing rainy season. But DH assures me, one way or another we ARE getting that roof done by Sept. 30th.

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