I live in a ranch house and there is currently very poor insulation in the attic. I've been told that although our a/c is sufficient, we are losing cool air thru the attic. Will adding more insulation make a difference? I think that your cool air loss thru attic is more of a hot attic air infiltration & lack of sufficient insulation. adding insulation may help, but first seal any leaks between living space & attic. once you insulate you won't ba able to access these areas from in the attic. blower door tests will help to determine where these leaks are. you can also seal ductwork with mastics not duct tapes. most homes have a lot of duct leakage. I find the air sealing and duct sealing makes a huge difference. Recessed lights are a big leakage and allow insulation and hot attic air into the house. Will replacing the attic fan (which is very onld) help or will it end up pulling more cool air from the rooms ( many of which have recessed lights)? Also, what is the function of a roof fan? attic fans pull outside air in through open windows. if you live in a high humdity area this is not a good idea. if you have allergies...not a good idea. we don't do this in my area (south La.) but I read of others in milder climates who do. so this would be climate specific and dependent upon your needs. roof vent fans...pull conditioned air from house via leakage sites and duct leakage. what type of attic ventilation do you have? The a/c runs almost constantly, but the rooms just don't seem to cool. And, it's a relatively small space 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. it may need servicing, new filter, coil cleaned, more freon...lots of things if the unit is in good shape, it may be that the house just has too much heat gain. is this a new to you house or have you been living in it for a while and this is a new situation? What is your location?? best of luck.

I agree with pipersville-carol. I too like roofs that have more of a natural color. We went with Timberline Mission Brown. We have cedar shakes on our house, so there are many varied colors in the siding due to weathering. Mission brown had more contrast between the different colors in the little specs on the shingles. I would see if you can get samples that are a whole length of a shinge (ask a local supplier). That way you can see the REAL variations in the colors on the shingles. I actually asked a few friends who had remodeled within the past few years and they had leftover shingles in their garages and I was able to see a whole shingle (or several). I put them up against the house, laid them out on the driveway and walked away to see how they looked from far away. Another thing I learned AFTER the roof was up is that the pitch of your roof will also determine how the shingles will look. Our roof is rather flat, so you can't really see the variations in color--which I painstakingly obsessed over--of the shingles. However, the more steep your roof, the more you see of the flat part of the shingle. Drive around neighborhoods and look at roofs, maybe stop and ask the homeowner of houses you like and ask them the name/brand of their roof or ask your friends. A roof can really enhance the look of your house, so I would research it a bit. Good luck!

What roof did you decide on? Our house is brick but we are also trying to decide between mission brown and weathered wood. I don’t want to regret choosing a roof that’s too light in color. I agree that the charcoal is too dark, but the slate is too light and has a green tinge to it. It’s a very hard choice!

Sammy, Do you have a specific brand in mind with these colors? Some shingle names have large differences between manufacturers.