Red House Roof Reveal!

We waffled back and forth on the roof color decision for months. When it came down to it, we went with our gut and chose a color to make a statement.

The Red House roof is complete! A few days ago, we wrote about the removal and reconstruction of the roof structure and now we’re showing the finished exterior product for the first time! We didn’t take the roof decision-making process lightly and we went back and forth on our selection quite a few times.

Note: The shingle job is complete, but we’re still awaiting final soffit repairs and gutter installation. This photo was also taken after a huge storm passed through, so everything is also soaking wet.

Why Shingles?

Why did we choose traditional asphalt shingles over an alternative material like metal? The very short answer is ‘budget’. The purchase of this home and all of the decisions that came along with it happened quickly. As we planned for the renovation and started peeling back layers, we realized that the home’s attic space wasn’t properly ventilated, so it became a breeding ground for mold. The repair process involved rebuilding a large portion of the roof’s structure, so investing in a roof made of metal or other alternate materials simply wasn’t in the budget or timeline.

In the end, we were able to negotiate a free upgrade to Certainteed Landmark PRO shingles with our contractor to give us better warranties against failure, color loss and algae growth. We also love the traditional look of the Landmark shingles that play nicely off of the vintage cedar shake siding. We’re very happy with how it all turned out!

Why Red?

We figured that if we were gonna have a Red House, why not have a red house? Initially, we considered changing the entire color of the home. But as we lived with both the home’s name and the existing exterior color, maintaining the red cedar siding began to feel like the right decision. When it came time to pick a roof color, we scoured every corner of the internet for inspiration photos of all red houses and kept coming up empty handed.

I’m a very visual person, so I often need photo identifiers in order to make a final decision. Kim was finally able to dig up the photos below that started to convince me that an all red house could be really, really striking.

Then, as the leaves began to bud on the trees this spring, we loved the idea of the red on green contrast even more. In the end, a couple of crude photoshops of the house in different color combos pushed us over the edge and we were all in on all red. We couldn’t be happier with our decision!

Current and Future Project State

We spent the day at the house on Wednesday and so much had changed since our last visit! The two bathroom windows are installed and the huge 14’w x 80″h double sliding door at the back of the home is nearly finished. Once those items are complete, most of the work will move inside and be focused on the collar ties and ceiling framing work. HVAC is installed and awaiting testing, electrical work should be wrapping up any day and we’re a couple of inspections away from being ready for drywall.

We can’t wait to get this home baselined and to a state where we can take over the majority of the work and we think we’re about one month away from that point. Stay tuned for more updates next week!