Do you need a roof replacement? Are you looking to improve your roof and home’s look or performance?
You can add plenty of upgrades when getting a roof replacement to improve your roof and home. These improvements range from increased curb appeal to better energy efficiency to long-term protection.
Unfortunately, most homeowners don’t know the roofing upgrades available to them, let alone how they could improve their home.
For over 30 years, Bill Ragan Roofing has taken pride in educating homeowners on how to get exactly what they’re looking for or need when getting a new roof. So, let’s look at the common upgrades to consider for your residential roof replacement.
This article covers the following 6 roofing upgrades that improve your roof and home:
- Choosing a better quality roofing material
- Get an enhanced warranty with a full roof system
- Improve your attic ventilation with new roof vents
- Upgrading the metal used for roof flashing
- Installing metal accents on different roof areas
- Adding gutter screens
1. Choosing a better quality roofing material
The roofing material you choose for your replacement impacts every aspect of your new roof, including curb appeal, lifespan, warranties, and cost. If you’re like the majority of homeowners in the United States, you probably have 3-tab or architectural shingles.
However, a roof replacement is the perfect opportunity to upgrade to a better-quality material. If you have a 3-tab shingle roof, I definitely recommend upgrading to architectural shingles.
3-tab shingles are phasing out of the industry, so they’re simply becoming obsolete. Architectural asphalt shingles are the most popular roofing material in the country for their affordability and quality for the price point.
However, you can also upgrade to a more premium roofing material. If you want more curb appeal and life from an asphalt shingle, luxury asphalt shingles are a great option.
If you want a step up from asphalt, standing seam metal roofing is becoming increasingly popular in the industry for its durability and long lifespan. If you want head-turning curb appeal without sacrificing lifespan, synthetic shingles, cedar shakes, and slate tiles
However, these premium roofing materials are incredibly expensive. The important thing is to pick the one that fits your budget and invest in quality for that specific roof system.
2. Get an enhanced warranty with a full roof system
An asphalt roof comes with a standard material warranty on the shingles themselves and the rest of your roofing components. While it’s cheaper to mix and match components, upgrading to a full roof system gives you a chance to qualify for an enhanced warranty.
To qualify, the shingles and other roofing components must come from one specific manufacturer to form a complete roof system and be installed by a certified roofer.
After installation, this warranty ensures the manufacturer covers your entire roof system for the life of your roof. The manufacturer will even cover a roofer’s workmanship if you hire one with the highest level of certifications.
Most manufacturers also allow the warranty to be transferred to a new homeowner once, which is a great selling point when putting your home on the market.
3. Improve your attic ventilation with new roof vents
Your attic’s ventilation system (passive or active) and your roof vents allow your home to breathe. Many homeowners upgrade their roof vents and/or ventilation system for various reasons during a roof replacement.
The biggest reason is to improve their home’s energy efficiency and roof performance. Both ventilation methods do the job, but an active ventilation system is more effective.
This is simply because an active system consistently circulates the air throughout the day instead of relying on rising heat to push air out. It not only improves your home’s energy efficiently and makes the bill lower, but it also means seeing less vents on your roof.
For example, you would need 8 static vents (passive) compared to 2 turbine vents (active). You’d be surprised how many homeowners want a different type of roof vent because they don’t like the look.
Some don’t like the look of turbine vents, so they’ll choose a lower profile vent, like a ridge vent. No matter if you upgrade the vent or just replace your current ones, your attic must have the right amount of ventilation and vents to avoid costly problems.
4. Upgrading the metal used for roof flashing
Roof flashing is a metal material used to direct water away from vulnerable areas (walls, chimneys, roof valleys) on your roof. It’s one of the most crucial roofing components every roof needs to have.
The majority of homeowners stick with the most commonly used roof flashing, aluminum or prefinished steel. However, some homeowners choose to upgrade to copper roof flashing for increased curb appeal.
This upgrade is a very popular choice with luxury shingles and other premium materials. It won’t be for everyone, mostly because it’s a very expensive addition.
However, adding to a premium material is a great and worthwhile upgrade if you have the budget.
5. Installing metal accents on different roof areas
One of the most popular roof replacement upgrades is adding a metal roof accent to increase curb appeal. This is usually over front porches, side porches, back porches, bay windows, arches, and other roof areas.
The most popular metal option is prefinished steel, but copper is also commonly used on roofs with a premium material. The great thing about steel is that you can pick the color that best accents your home and shingle color.
However, it adds a pretty good amount to the final price of your roof replacement. So, consider your budget and if the look makes sense to determine if adding a metal accent is worth it.
6. Adding gutter screens
While some homeowners replace their gutters during a roof replacement, adding gutter screens is a common upgrade. Gutter screens are exactly what they’re called; it’s a wired mesh (expanded aluminum wire or powder-coated steel wire) screen that goes over your gutters.
This allows water to flow into your gutters while the mesh screen catches any debris coming down your roof. They are a great option to avoid overflowing gutters, especially if trees surround your home.
While it’s possible for small debris (like maple tree helicopters) to slip between the wire, bigger debris will slide over the side instead of falling into your gutters. There are also gutter helmets/guards, but a third party usually installs them.
How much does a new roof cost?
Now you know 6 roofing upgrades to add to improve your roof and home. Each of the upgrades improves your roof and home in a big way.
However, they’re called upgrades for a reason. So, it will increase the cost of a roof replacement.
Unfortunately, you can’t really decide if an upgrade is worth it or fits your budget if you don't know how much a new roof costs in the first place. Because pricing is the number one concern for most homeowners, I wrote another article to help you understand roofing costs.
Check out How Much Does a New Roof Cost in 2024 to learn the average cost, price per square foot for common materials, and more.
