Residential Roofing
A roof built for Colorado, not for the brochure.
Most Front Range homes don't lose their roof to old age, they lose it to hail. I build residential roofs around that reality: impact resistance, correct installation details, and documentation that holds up if you ever have to file a claim.
The Colorado reality
Your roof will almost certainly meet hail before it meets old age.
Colorado sits in the most active hail corridor in the country. That single fact should drive nearly every decision you make about your roof.
A 30-year shingle is rated for 30 years of weather in a normal climate. On the Front Range, the practical question isn't whether the shingle wears out, it's what happens the afternoon a storm cell drops golf-ball hail on your neighborhood. The roofs that survive it are the ones chosen with impact in mind.
That changes how I frame a replacement. Instead of asking which shingle looks best in the sample book, we start with two questions: how much impact will this roof shrug off, and what will it do to your insurance position five years from now?
Impact-resistant materials aren't just about avoiding the next replacement. Many Colorado carriers discount premiums for a Class 4 roof, and a well-documented, correctly installed system makes future claims dramatically less contentious. The paperwork matters as much as the shingle.
The other half is installation. Most roof failures I inspect aren't material failures, they're flashing, boots, and ventilation done fast and done wrong. Those details are where I spend my time, because that's where the leaks actually start.
Materials
What goes on your roof, and what each one is honestly good at.
No material is best for every house. Here's the plain-English version of what I install and who each system actually suits.
Class 4 Impact-Resistant Shingles
Best forAlmost every Front Range home. This is my default recommendation.
Class 4 is the highest impact rating in the UL 2218 steel-ball test, the shingle takes a strike that would bruise or fracture a standard shingle and keeps its mat intact. Many Colorado carriers discount premiums for a documented Class 4 roof, which means the upgrade often partially pays for itself over the life of the roof. Ask your agent what your specific discount would be; I'll give you the product documentation you need to submit.
Owens Corning Architectural Asphalt
Best forHomeowners who want a proven, warrantable system at a sane price.
Dimensional asphalt shingles are the workhorse of Colorado roofing for good reason: strong wind ratings, deep shadow lines, wide color range, and the best manufacturer warranty coverage available to me as a Platinum Preferred contractor. If you're not upgrading to Class 4, this is the baseline I'd put on my own house.
Presidential & Designer Shingles
Best forHomes where the roof is a major part of the architecture.
Luxury profiles imitate the depth and irregularity of wood shake or slate at a fraction of the weight and cost. They're thicker than standard shingles, so they carry real impact performance, and several designer lines are available in Class 4. Expect a longer lead time on color and a higher material cost per square.
Tile
Best forSouthwestern and Mediterranean homes already framed for the weight.
Concrete and clay tile last decades and handle sun exposure beautifully. The catch is structural: tile is heavy, and a house not originally built for it usually can't take it without framing work. Individual tiles crack under large hail, but they're replaceable piece by piece rather than as a full system.
Metal Roofing
Best forLongevity-minded owners, mountain properties, and fire-conscious areas.
Metal sheds snow, resists fire, and routinely outlives two asphalt roofs. The honest tradeoff in hail country is cosmetic denting, a metal roof can be structurally perfect and still show dimples after a storm, and not every policy pays for cosmetic damage. Worth reading your policy's cosmetic exclusion before you commit.
Standing Seam
Best forModern architecture, low-slope sections, and long-run durability.
Concealed-fastener standing seam is the premium end of metal: no exposed screws to back out, clean vertical lines, excellent water performance on shallow pitches where shingles struggle. It's the most expensive option per square, and it's the one where installer skill matters most, panel runs and seam work are unforgiving.
Scope
What a full replacement actually includes.
If a bid is dramatically cheaper than the others, it's usually because one of these line items quietly disappeared. Every one of these is standard on my replacements.
Full tear-off and haul-away
Down to the deck. No layering over a failed roof.
Deck inspection and repair
Rotted or delaminated sheathing gets replaced, and you get a photo of it.
Ice-and-water shield
At eaves, valleys, and penetrations, the freeze-thaw defense that matters here.
Synthetic underlayment
Across the full deck. Stronger and more tear-resistant than felt.
New flashing and pipe boots
Reusing old flashing is the single most common shortcut I find.
Ridge ventilation
Balanced intake and exhaust so the attic doesn't cook the shingles from below.
Drip edge
Code-required metal at eaves and rakes to keep water off the fascia.
Magnet sweep of the property
Multiple passes across the yard, driveway, and street.
Final walkthrough with you
We look at the work together before I ask for the final payment.
Also handled
The things attached to your roof.
A roof replacement touches more than shingles. Rather than hand you three phone numbers, I coordinate the rest of it.
Gutters and downspouts
Hail dents gutters as reliably as it bruises shingles, and they're frequently part of an approved claim. New gutters go on after the roof so the drip edge and gutter apron line up correctly.
Skylights
If a skylight is more than a decade old, replacing it during the roof is far cheaper than reflashing around it now and replacing it in three years. I'll tell you honestly which yours is.
Ventilation
Undersized or unbalanced attic ventilation shortens shingle life and can void manufacturer coverage. I calculate intake and exhaust for your actual attic square footage, not a rule of thumb.
Solar detach-and-reset
Panels have to come off and go back on, usually by a licensed solar contractor. I coordinate the schedule between crews so the roof isn't sitting open and you're not managing two companies.
Warranty
Three layers of coverage, and what each one actually covers.
Workmanship and materials fail in different ways, so they're covered separately. Here's how the layers stack.
Workmanship
Up to a 15-year workmanship warranty on my installation, the labor, the details, and the things a crew can get wrong.
- Covers installation defects, not weather events
- Held by me, not a rotating subcontractor
- Transferable considerations discussed up front
Manufacturer
Owens Corning material warranties, available at the enhanced levels reserved for Platinum Preferred contractors.
- Covers manufacturing defects in the shingle itself
- Enhanced terms available through Platinum Preferred status
- Registered on your behalf after completion
Platinum Protection
An optional 50-year Platinum Protection warranty covering the full system, materials and labor together.
- Longest coverage available on an Owens Corning system
- Materials and workmanship under one document
- Class 4 impact upgrades available with it
Timeline
Most residential roofs are done in a single day.
Here's the realistic version, including the parts nobody likes to mention.
Materials delivered the day before
A load of shingles arrives and gets staged on the roof or the driveway. If placement matters to you, landscaping, parked cars, tell me and we'll plan it.
Crew on site early, done by evening
A standard-size home is a one-day job: tear-off in the morning, dry-in and installation through the afternoon, cleanup before the crew leaves. Steep pitches, large square footage, or complex cut-ups can run into a second day.
It is a loud day
Tear-off is genuinely disruptive. Plan around pets, nap schedules, and anything hanging on the walls. Most people leave for a few hours in the morning.
Weather moves things
I won't open a roof into an incoming storm, so an afternoon cell can push a start by a day. You'll hear it from me directly, not by wondering why nobody showed up.
Inspection and final walkthrough
Municipal inspection is scheduled after completion, and we do a walkthrough together. Final paperwork and warranty registration follow, you shouldn't have to chase me for either.
Next step
Let's get eyes on your roof.
Free, no obligation, and usually same-day when scheduling permits. You'll get photos, a plain-English report, and an honest answer, even if that answer is “your roof is fine.”
Keep exploring