Designing your own roof can be an exciting project, perhaps you are building your dream home from the ground up and you want to be in charge of every design detail, or you are considering replacing an old or damaged roof.

In architecture, the roof design is essential to a home because it is the protective barrier that acts as a shield from nature’s elements like the blistering sun, heavy run, winds, snow, and other debris.

Having prior architectural knowledge is recommended when designing the roof of a home, but hiring roofing contractors can come in handy as well because they can handle all the drafting and prep work needed for a great quality roof.

Roof Structure
As is with any design project, there is always a drafting or planning phase, it is like an outline for how your roof will look like.

Inspiration can be drawn from home improvement magazines, online publications that focus on roof design, and even searching the web for roof design images that can spark ideas.

It all beings with a drawing with notes being made simultaneously regarding roof materials like shingles, tiles, or metal.

Slope and Incline
Measurements are essential in the drafting process of roof design, critical details like roof pitch and roof slope are going to be important.

Identifying angles in conjunction with vertical and horizontal elevations in the design should also be taken into account.

When commencing your drawing, it helps to pay close attention to intersections and where other parts of the roof will come together so as to know where a certain section of the roof begins and where another ends.

Roof design is also functional, therefore your roof should be designed to have nature’s elements like water and snow slide down on the sides of the house, meaning there should be high enough inclines in certain sections of your roof design.

Roof Materials and Color
The best part about designing your own roof is that you have full control of what materials you are going to use.

Your final decision may depend on the region where you live and its weather conditions, most people choose their roof material on personal preference, but also on its effectiveness in shielding their home from nature’s elements.

There are various roof shapes to think about that can be used with your selected roof material and when it comes to color selection, usually the current base color of a home is a deciding factor for the color of the roof.

Hiring a Professional Drafter
After you are done with a roof design you are satisfied with, you can then present your draft to a professional drafter or architect so they can check your work to see if it’s a design that is tangible.

A professional drafter can evaluate your drawing, check the measurements, inclines, angles, and even offer suggestions on contemporary roof styles that are being used today.

Design software such as CAD (Computer-aided design) is often used by these professionals to calculate dimensions and other design details, alternatively, you can gain access to the software as well and start drafting your design digitally on your computer.

Programs in 3D modeling and rendering can also come in handy that can bring more visualization into the roof design you are trying to draft for your home.

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