Category: Roofings

How to select the Best roof tile colour for your home ?

As you may know, the roof is the crown of every house. It is where the eyes will go first and a good looking roof is always a deal breaker. It is studied that when someone views your house for the first time, 40% of the view of your house constitutes of your roof. That means an amazing design or attractive colour choice can completely change the looks of your house, and so does a poor one. Unlike olden times, nowadays we have a lot of designs and plenty of colour choices in the roof tiles section, to address to this issue.

roofing tile colour choices
roofing tile colour selection

One of the major advantages of the branded roofing tiles are the wide colour choices available on the market. All of them are popular in our country and you can see different shades of them in every rooftop. But having plenty also comes with its disadvantages. sometimes it is very confusing and puzzling on which colour to chose for the roof, from the wide variety of designs available on the stores.

When selecting the right colour for your home, you need to choose based on the following 5 factors. They are ;

  1. The colour shceme of your house
  2. Architecture style and design of the home
  3. Heat absorption rate of the colour and the energy efficiency
  4. Use colour selectors, visualizers or 3-D design by your architect/designer to compare with the house in your dreams
  5. The environment or neighbourhood of the house

We often encounters home makers who get stunned at the amazing colour choices and doubts if they choose the right colour roof tile for their home or not. So in this guide, we will take you through the list of items to consider when selecting the roofing colour for your dream homes.

  1. Colour Scheme

    The first factor to consider when selecting a roofing tile colour is the colour scheme of your entire house. The colour scheme includes everything from the paint to the claddings on the wall and the landscape you have in mind for your home. The roof tile colour should also stand in accordance with the colour theme. Some colours like white will go on with all the colours, but if you have custom colours for your walls, piller or sidings – you should consider that. We have made a small list of colours and their matching roof tile colours for your assistance. The table given below will show you house colour and their best matching roof colours.

    House Siding Color Best Matching Roof Colors
    Red Steel Grey(black), dark gray, Red Coffee, Teracotta, Red & Black, Antique Red
    White All colours, Red / Dark shades will match more
    Gray Steel Grey(black), dark gray, Galaxy, Blue grey Jasper, Pista green, white
    Beige/Tan Coffee, Steel Grey(black), dark green, Blue grey classic, Antique Red
    Coffee Pista green, Steel Grey(black), blue grey, Antique Red
    Blue Steel Grey(black), Coffee, Dark gray

    beautiful roof tile colour

  2. Architecture Style

    The architecture style of your home is too good a factor to consider when choosing your roofing colour for your dream home. This include everything from the theme of the house to the specific design and message it wants to confirm. An antique style house or traditional looking single floor house may carry the shades of terracotta, Antique red or coffee. A modern box-model house with very little area of roofing may go with brighter shades or special colours like Jasper Galaxy model. So The architecture definitely have a say in your colour selection.

  3. Heat absorption

    This is also an important factor to consider when selecting the roof tiles. It is basic science that dark colours like black absorbs more heat and light colours will reflects heat. So when you compromise the colour for the looks, also bear in mind that it can affect the temperature inside your house too. Even though the black and white combination is one of the classic colour schemes, we would recommend you to go through alternate shades like coffee, deep grey, galaxy etc, unless your home have an efficiently engineered ventilation and cooling system.

  4. Use Colour selector Tools

    You can use the Decision making aids like Roof tile colour selector tools provided by the reputed brands to visualize how each colours will look on your roof. You can find the KPG ROOFINGS colour selector tool in the link provided – https://www.roofings.in/try. Additionally you can ask your architect or designer to do a custom design for you with the selected colours on your own house, so you can easily make the decision aid.

  5. Neighbourhood / Environment

    It is also a fact to keep in mind. Your colour scheme should stand in accordance with your neighbourhood also. A holiday home in the woods will looks better with teracotta or pista green shades, while a futuristic home in the town or highways would look better with special colours like antique red, galaxy or some jasper series colours. Be it in beach side, village, mountains, colonies or wherever your home is, You should consider that also as a factor when picking a colour for your roof tile.

So, consider all these factors before selecting your next roofings. We have the largest colour choice available in india and have the network to deliver you the product. You can see our gallery to view some of our projects or directly head to the colour selector.

Different Type of Roof tiles In Indian Market

There are different type of roofing materials available in the indian market. In this post we are introducing some of the most popular roofing materials, their compositions and advantages and disadvantages of these materials. The popular roofing materials being traditional red clay tiles/teracotta tiles, ceramic tiles, cement / concrete tiles, shingles etc.

Which is the best roof tiles in india ?

As you know, KPG roofings is the best roof tiles brand in india. KPG is the most sold ceramic clay roof tiles in the country and also has the largest roof tile showroom network in india. The major advantages of KPG roof tiles are its durability and colour permanence. But what about the other tiles ? Are they equally good ? What are the pros and cons?

Let us check out different types of roof tiles in indian market.

Traditional clay tile (Teracotta Tiles)

Red clay Tiles are natural and have been the most prominent roofing material since olden times. These tiles are made by burning moulded red clay at a high temperature in the furnace. The toughness and heat resistance makes clay tiles more favoured over shingles, material sheets and so forth. It also gives an antique look and style to the house.

But it has more disadvantages than any other materials. The important one being the failure of the red clay tiles to withstand the seasons. In places where the temperature changes or seasonal changes are frequent, the traditional tiles fails miserably. The tiles gets black shades and will lose its colour to dust, algea and other infections very easily.

Normally, the bright ruddy shade of the red clay blurs within 2-5 years because of the climate conditions. The thickness of red clay is more than the white clay, so more amount of red clay is expected to make the tiles of same strength. Because of this, red clay are ordinarily heavier than white clay and needs more stronger framework to support it. The water absorption of clay tiles are likewise high, since the base material is standard clay itself.

  • Heat resistant
  • Long life span than concrete tiles / roofing sheets
  • Composite of natural red clay
  • Effective covering area is about 0.75 sq. feet per tile
  • Less efficient in varying seasons
  • Vulnerable to algae, fungi and other infections
  • Absorbs more water and take more damage
  • More thicker and heavier
  • needs stronger frame work to hold
  • Colour life approximately about 2-3 years
  • Will need to clean or repair every 2-5 years

Some popular clay tile companies in india are commonwealth tiles and mangalore roof tiles.

Concrete Tiles / Cement tiles

concrete roof tile

The amazing colour ranges of concrete tiles made it common for quite some times. They comes in different colours and profiles and was easily available as the manufacturing is easy. But they lost there market share and lost their reliability due to issues like their heavy weight, need for much heavy truss works, Water leakage and fading colours.

Be that as it may, they are as yet being sold in the market by a few traders and the colour selections pull in clients to these tiles. This tiles likewise includes more warmth inside the house, defeating the core principles rooftop tiles, since it is made of cement.

This will have similar properties of concrete and as exposed to rain and heat, the tile begins to deform. The colour will fade and since it absorb water and moisture, the algea and fungus are common story for them. The bad reputation and low reliability of this tiles has now forced them out of the market and the colour selection is the only attractive factor for this tiles.

These costs around Rs. 50 – 60 in india per piece.

Shingles

roofing shingles photo

These are getting popular nowadays due to their attractive textures and easiness in installing on curved surfaces. They have a base material and ceramic stones/powder is coated in it. They have stylish textures and designs. These can be bent up to 180 degrees and looks good on curved surface. They give attractive and premium looks to the rooftop. The drawbacks are the heat issues and the fading looks. As asphalt is the base materials and the practice of sticking directly prevents the airflow, the hot air is trapped under the roof and it has to penetrate the concrete wall, asphalt gum and the shingles to go out. This increase the room temperature unless strong ventilation is provided. The shingles normally have premium powder coating / stone coating made by ceramic granules. But due to the climatic conditions in India, especially in the coastal states, they are prone to algae and fungus. The material itself is algae resistant, but the rough surface makes it easy for dust particles and other materials to settle down on the shingles surface, which in turn gets affected by algae or fungus. So, these material will look pale and old ( which can be cleaned by washing with a water gun ) in your rooftop. But these can stay premium for quite some time and can stay attractive as long as you maintain it by cleaning. Since these are a premium product, the customers using this tends to have periodic renovations or maintenance.

These costs around Rs. 100-150 based on their quality and colours.

White Clay Roof Tiles

These are becoming more and more popular everyday. The main advantages of white clay roof tiles are that they are baked at extremely high temperature (about 1200 degrees) and pressure (100 ton). They also add minute ceramic particles to increase the strength. They comes in several quality and the first quality brands like KPG ROOFINGS, have triple layer of colour coating. This ensures maximum colour permeability and gives 30 years colour guarantee for the products. They are weather resistant and repels water. This makes them safe from algae and fungus infection. The glass coating ensures that the colour gets maximum life.

  • Durability and have longer life than clay roof tiles
  • Prevents heat
  • Effective covering area of 1 sq. feet per tile
  • KPG tiles are water-proof, fire-proof, rust-proof and weather-proof, making it one of the most durable construction materials.
  • They can withstand any weather and their color does not fade away. KPG roof tiles even offer a 30 year warranty on the color. KPG roof tiles won’t rust, fade, warp, disfigure or corrode.
  • Prevents algae and fungus
  • The base material used to manufacture KPG tiles are natural white clay.
  • Due to KPG tiles being extremely durable, maintenance costs ranges from zero to Zero.
  • KPG Branded tiles are lighter (2.2 kg) than traditional clay tiles (2.8 kg) and have much more density. This ensure the KPG roof tiles are more stronger and durable than clay roof tiles.
  • Load bearing capacity of 250 kgs
  • Visually Stunning and premium looks.
  • Available in 15+ colours.

The amazing looks also adds to the advantages of these rooftiles. There are many other brands also selling medium quality roof tiles . These type of branded tiles are highly preferred in indian market at the current scenario. Make up your mind and purchase from the experts when you are making the ultimate choice.

Flat roof Vs Sloped roof : Which type of slope to prefer in Kerala / india ?

The discussions on whether building a flat roof or building a slopped roof for your home is very common nowadays. This is perhaps one of the highly confusing part for most of the common people and even architects are confused about this. So, here we are just going through the pros and cons of both the structure.

Before we start, It is better to know that no roof can be made as completely flat. This will let the water reside in the roof/concrete. Water is very very heavier and can cause critical damage to the house. So, Even in flat roof structure, there will be a mild slope to drain out the water.

The flat roof has been popular over time throughout india and in kerala. These are inspired from foreign designs and modular concept. This design ensures that you have effectively used all the available space. These are generally preferred in the places with lesser rainfall. This style can looks aesthetically stunning with exterior elements like glass, ACP works, cladding works, pergola designs etc.

Advantages / Disadvantages of Flat Roof

  • Aesthetically stunning with added elements like glass, lights, pergola design etc.
  • Faster construction and is easier to work with.
  • Initial cost is less compared to sloped roof, considering the reduced need of labour and materials.
  • Not preferred in areas with heavy rainfall since it is harder for water to completely drain out. Water will  be heavier and can cause serious damage to your roof. Also when water is stocked at the roof, chances are roof may experience collapse or leakage.
  • Relatively lesser life and maintenance  required due to accumulation of water.
  • Takes in more heat since less air space and air circulation between living area and roof.
  • you will loss the opportunity to implement an attractive roofing, since usage of roofing tiles / roofing sheets will be less relevant as they have no view from outside.

Advantages / Disadvantages of Slopped Roof

  • Gives a traditional, antique and royal style to your house, coupling with external decors suiting the theme.
  • Gives you excellent opportunity to add a crown to your home and showcase the beauty of your roofing tiles / sheets. Installing an attractive roofings will give your home a precious and aesthetically advanced outlook. Check out the roof tile colour selector to see some samples.
  • Renowned for their long life and reliability.
  • Highly preferred in areas with good amount of rainfall, as this will completely drains out the water completely. Usage of roofing sheets or roof tiles will ensure the water never gets settled in your terrace
  • Initial cost could be more than flat roof as it needs more labour and materials.
  • Heat will be lesser than flat roof. There will be more air room and ventilation due to the slanting structure and height, effectively resulting in reduced temperature due to the air circulation.
  • Temperature can be further reduced by usage of heat resisting roofings.

Conclusion

Comparing both the structures, it is clear that in a place like kerala, where there is rainfall for 6 months, Slopped roof structure is preferred over the flat roof structure. The slightly higher initial cost will be balanced over the course of time, by the lesser maintenance expense. Slopped roof tile also gives you more option to spice up your homes by roof tiles / roofing sheets, more resistance to heat and a more durable roof with longer lifespan.