Think about completing your home's style! A conical or curly roof can add a unique architectural feature to your home. It adds some historic authenticity to older homes and also a polished, smooth design to modern designs. But they have the potential for challenges. The construction of a curved roof requires the right skills and experience, so you'll need to select an installer who has experience with this kind of job. In addition, you'll need to be cautious when choosing your roofing materials. Certain roofing materials work superior to others. Here's what you should be mindful of when you're thinking about changing or adding a curved area to the roof.

Different Types of Rounded Roofs

There are nearly as many roof shapes as plans for houses; however, rounded shapes on roofs tend to be categorized into a handful of kinds.

There are roofs with curved edges that are typically used on older homes. They are quite complex roof styles. They require special abilities to build and are therefore costly to build or repair, as well as shingle. In the past, builders preferred them since it was simpler to bend the branches that were used for thatched roofs into curving and round forms.

Another method of spotting curves on a roof is by adding an elongated turret. The Victorians were particularly drawn to the turret. They often appear across Queen Anne in the form of turreted gables or towers.

In the context of gabled roofs, the eyebrow dormer, a tiny curved outcrop placed over an arched or elliptical window, makes an additional type of rounded surface you can see on the roof. These aren't common, but they provide an interesting aesthetic value to gabled roofs.

Sometimes, the valleys on roofs -- the places between two roof planes -- will be rounded too. This is a method that provides the roof with an even, smooth appearance when the tiles or shingles are pushed across the surface.

In general, the greater the area of the curved part that you have on your roofing, the greater experience required to build it. A beginner roofer may be able to handle the curved valley, for example; however, for a turret, you need more expertise.

You May Be Limited on Materials

Curved roofs usually work best with shingles or tiles that can be altered to fit within the round plane. Therefore, it is not possible to put metal roof panels, like corrugated steel metal roofing, on your roof. In general, curved metal roofs are regarded as to be a highly custom-made product, made only by commercial roofing contractors for the most luxurious real property. If you're interested in the appearance or the toughness of steel, then you could find similar features with copper or tin shingles. These choices will accentuate the curves of your roof.

There are some products that are particularly suitable for roofs with rounded edges. For example, homeowners typically opt for barrel tiles to cover roofing designs with curving architectural elements. You've probably seen them on homes with a southwestern style. They're semi-circular and typically constructed from terra cotta clay roofing or formed tiles of concrete. Their curvaceous form makes them suitable to cover roofs with curving surfaces.

You Need a Special Curved Roof Professional

Curved surfaces make roofing work more difficult for roofers. The roofer doesn't just require more expertise and experience in constructing curved roofs and install the tiles or shingles to make sure there are no obvious gaps, but curved roofs are also not able to be walked over as roofers can with a flat or pitched roof. This can put workers in more danger, or your roofer might need to make use of special equipment to reach the shingles at the highest point of the roof.

To this end, certain roofing companies might refuse work on an inclined roof, particularly in the event that the roof is round. In addition, your roofing contractor isn't able to put tiles or shingles over the roof as is the usual procedure so that roofing crews aren't forced to climb up and down ladders throughout the day. This means you'll need to pay for more labor and materials as well.