Roofing...how boring...right?
 

Wrong!!! Not when you're talking about the fine craftsmanship of a Vermont black slate roofing installation. That's exactly what I'm about to share with you. The installation occurred at the Victorian home I've been visiting while under construction.

This slate roof was no small task to complete. They used somewhere in the range of 100 square of Vermont black slate. That's a LOT of slate to have to install on a private residence!

 Layering roofing has been a way to save time and a little bit of money when you need to replace your roof. However, layering roofing can void shingle warrantees, add excessive weight to the structure of your house, and diminish the overall life of the roof.

Before considering layering roofing over an existing roof, check your local building codes. Many restrict the amount of times you can layer the roofing, so chances are if your roof already has more than one layer of roofing, you're ineligible.

If you only have a single layer of roofing currently, and your home is fairly new, structurally the home will probably withstand the extra weight.

Roll roofing is the perfect material for the novice roofer who wishes to finish a shed or porch roof with a slight slope or flat roof. Produced in large rolls that are cut and nailed into place, installation is incredibly simple and can be completed quickly.

  Never install roll roofing unless it is at least 50 degrees to prevent cracking.

The heat will make the roll roofing easy to work with, so leave it on the roof for a few hours to warm up.

While you are waiting, install a drip edge all around the perimeter of the roof to prevent the water from working underneath the edge of the roofing. Normally made of plastic, a drip edge will further protect your roof and give it a finished edge. 
 
 

Making a sustainable roofing choice for your home doesn't require planting a garden on your roof. There are many environmentally sound choices that don't involve plant life or hundreds of pounds of soil overhead.

Below are four of the most common and easiest sustainable roofing choices available to the homeowner.

Reclaimed antique terra cotta roof tiles from Europe have been masterfully installed on this English cottage-style home. It's just one unique feature and/or material after another for this English cottage-style home. I stated in my introductory post that the materials being used to construct it would BLOW...YOU...AWAY! Well...I don't think it has disappointed.

General contractor, Rhett Bonner, and builder/developer of The Retreat, Jerry Bonner, closely guard their materials sources so I was unable to get a vendor name from which he obtained the antique reclaimed terra cotta roof tiles from but he did tell me how his supplier does it. Basically, his source buys reclaimed roof tiles from all over France (and probably most of Europe), ships them over in a container via ocean freight and voilà! They just happen to have gotten their hands on antique terracotta roof tiles. A rare find, indeed!

pssst...I'm not 100% certain but I think one of his sources may be Origines: Architectural Antiques in Paris.