Roof is one of the most essential part of your home. It protects you and your interiors from the external elements and the harsh weather conditions and therefore a good roofing system is a must for every home. The most important factor while planning the roofing system for your home is the roofing material you use.

You can choose from a wide variety of roofing materials for your home. Like asphalt shingles, wood shakes, ceramic tile, steel panels and green products like recycled rubber. But you should always consider some important factors like cost, durability, longevity, safety, maintenance efforts etc. before purchasing it as roof is one of the biggest investment for any homeowner.

As with most home building materials, roofing products these days are trending towards engineered materials. One reason for this trend is the ever-increasing cost of natural materials like wood and stone. But perhaps the most important reason people are using engineered roofing materials is the return on investment they offer; while the up front cost of installing a roof is one consideration, the service life and maintenance costs must also be factored in order to determine which roofing material provides the best value.

You will find big difference in the cost of different roofing materials. Like the rate of an asphalt shingled roof is approximately around $50 to $150 per square. Plus tearing off the old shingles will cost around $30 to $50 per square.

The cost of metal roofs vary according to their quality. The starting range can be around $100 per square which can go up to $600 for better qualities like copper roofs.

Installing a ceramic tile or a slate roof will cost the most. Clay tiles run from $300 to $500 per square and slate can run as much as $1000 a square, requiring highly skilled roofers and an extraordinary amount of labor.

The total cost of your roofing project not only involves the installation and the labor cost but also the total service life. For how long your roof stay matters a lot. Different materials have different life span. Like an asphalt shingled roof may last 20 years while a slate roof can stay for many more years.

It is always advisable to purchase the roofing material from a famous reputed manufacturer only who can guarantee his product quality.