Guide to Roof Age, Style, & Choices of Roofing Materials - Determinng the Age of a Building
InspectAPedia® -
This building roof architectural style & materials photo guide and text help determine the age of a building roofing materials & styles
Building component age: construction materials, methods, including hardware, saw cuts, and other details can help determine when a building was constructed or when it was modified.
Questions & answers about how to estimate building age from its roofing architectural style and materials
Roof age & architectural style guide: Here we provide a photo guide and a series of detailed descriptive articles that offer guidance in determining the age of a building and its roof by examination of the choices of roofing materials as well as the building roof architectural style.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.
Also see (page left links) article on specific types of roof covering such as ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES where we include articles about how those materials wear, fail, or leak. The age of a building or its individual components can sometimes be determined quite accurately by documentation, but when documents are not readily
available, visual clues such as those available during a professional home inspection can still determine when a house was built by examining its components, building materials, even nails, fasteners, and types of saw cuts on lumber.
Wood shingle roofing has been in use for hundreds of years in the U.S. and Europe.
But an inspection of
interior and exterior roofing details can indicate the probable age of a wood roof (which can last up to
40 years) as well as the roofing history of the building, the number and types of roofing layers, and related
house-age-determination details.
The wood shingle roof shown in the photo below is on a building in Key West, Florida,
adjacent to the Hemingway house, viewed from the Key West tower. Notice the absence of lichens on the
wood shingles in the roof area below the metal-flashed rooftop tower?
We discuss here various roofing materials (Wood, slate, asphalt shingles (in several generations),
clay tile, metal roofing (several styles and generations), and how they assist in finding The age of a building below.
History and Dates of Use of Various Roofing Materials
(in process)
This article explains the eras of use of different types of roofing materials as an aid to understanding the history and age of buildings. If you are trying to determine the age and condition of a particular roof covering, please see Roofing.
Cement board is a non-structural building sheathing material which in its contemporary form is made from Portland cement covered with a reinforced fiberglass mesh fabric. Cement board is used as a tile backer or a backer board for stucco applications on buildings. Current producers include Custom Building Products (WonderBoard™) and US Gypsum (Durock™).
Panels made of a mixture of cement and wood fibers are produced for building siding by James Hardi (Hardi-panel and Cemplank™), and CertainTeed (Weatherboard™).
(History & dates in process, contributions invited - CONTACT us)
Visual clues pointed out by a home inspector or available to any careful building inspector
can help indicate the age of a building.
Clues to building age include these examples which we expand and detail in text and articles below and listed at the left of this page.
Building material types (shiplap siding, cement asbestos shingle siding, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, plywood vs. tongue and groove sheathing, even types of brick. See FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types, etc (listed below).
FRAMING METHODS, Age, Types, Construction and framing methods such as post and beam, presence or absence of a ridge board,
balloon framing or platform framing
FRAMING SIZE & Spacing, Age, Types logs, hewn timbers, full-sized dimensional lumber, modern dimensional lumber, trusses, web trusses, panelized construction, etc.
Heating Equipment, Age, Types, such as mechanical systems and plumbing materials; presence of gas piping, style of fireplace
Insulation Materials, Age, Types, when did builders first no insulation, or use brick, corn cobs, newspaper, mineral wool, rock wool, vermiculite, fiberglass, chopped fiberglass, cellulose, foam board and spray foam insulating products?
Nails and Hardware, Age, Types Construction fasteners, nails, screws, the use of treenails or pegs
in post and beam framing, and fasteners such as roofing nails and screws used, hardware: window and door hardware, hinges, doorknobs, door pulls, latches
Plaster & Beaverboard & Drywall what did we use on building walls before drywall and paneling? Ages and eras of plaster, plasterboard, wood lath, metal lath, etc.
ROOFING MATERIALS, Age, Types, asphalt shingles, stone roofs, slate roofs, tile roofs, wood shingle and shake roofs, built up roofing ("tar and gravel roofs"), modified bitumen roofs, EPDM and other membrane roof coverings
And many similar details are available to the careful eye.
Keep in mind that even when we can identify specific types of building materials and building methods, precise dating of
the time of construction of a building remains difficult: old building materials were often re-used, so beams, siding, and other
components may appear in a building built later than when the materials were first made.
Also, in the U.S. various
states had machines for making cut nails, screws, and sawmills at different times. For example, New York State was industrialized
earlier than some western or southern states, so machine-made nails appear earlier in New York than elsewhere.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about how to estimate building age from its roofing architectural style and materials.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Thanks to reader Kathy Bohon for suggesting using various sources of public records to determine the age of a home, 7/30/2009.
Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend)
Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment ($69.00 U.S.). Technical Reference Guide, Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates, Ltd., 120 Carlton St. Suite 407, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 4K2 Canada, ISBN 1-895585-90-2 165pp.
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked?
"
"An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Manufactured & Modular Homes: Modular Building Systems Association, MBSA, modularhousing.com, is a trade association promoting and providing links to contact modular builders in North America. Also see the Manufactured Home Owners Association, MHOAA, at www.mhoaa.us. The Manufactured Home Owners Association of America is a National Organization dedicated to the protection of the rights of all people living in Manufactured Housing in the United States.
Re-Bath, tub lining products is a bath tub relining manufacturer and distributor located in Tempe, Arizona - see rebath.com
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Plank House Construction: webslog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228,
Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
Scott C. LeMarr has provided his file of keys to decode Furnace and Water Heater Age from the data provided on the manufacturer's equipment labels. Mr. LeMarr is
a professional home inspector, Certified Professional Inspector/President,
MASTER Indoor Environmental Specialist (MIES).
Vice President of Wisconsin NACHI. He and his company, Honest Home Inspections, LLC. can be reached at
262-424-5587 or by email to scott@honesthomeinspections.com
Weaver: Beaver Board and Upson Board:
Beaver Board and Upson Board: History and Conservation of Early Wallboard, Shelby Weaver,
APT Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2/3 (1997), pp. 71-78, Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), available online at JSTOR.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide, Edmund C. Snodgrass, Lucie L. Snodgrass, Timber Press, Incorporated, 2006, ISBN-10: 0881927872, ISBN-13: 978-0881927870. The text covers moisture needs, heat tolerance, hardiness, bloom color, foliage characteristics, and height of 350 species and cultivars.
Green Roof Construction and Maintenance, Kelley Luckett, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009, ISBN-10: 007160880X, ISBN-13: 978-0071608800, quoting: Key questions to ask at each stage of the green building process Tested tips and techniques for successful structural design
Construction methods for new and existing buildings
Information on insulation, drainage, detailing, irrigation, and plant selection
Details on optimal soil formulation
Illustrations featuring various stages of construction
Best practices for green roof maintenance
A survey of environmental benefits, including evapo-transpiration, storm-water management, habitat restoration, and improvement of air quality
Tips on the LEED design and certification process
Considerations for assessing return on investment
Color photographs of successfully installed green roofs
Useful checklists, tables, and charts
Problems in Roofing Design, B. Harrison McCampbell, Butterworth Heineman, 1991 ISBN 0-7506-9162-X (available used)
Roofing The Right Way, Steven Bolt, McGraw-Hill Professional; 3rd Ed (1996), ISBN-10: 0070066507, ISBN-13: 978-0070066502
Slate Roofs, National Slate Association, 1926, reprinted 1977
by Vermont Structural Slate Co., Inc., Fair Haven, VT 05743, 802-265-4933/34. (We recommend this book if you can find it. It
has gone in and out of print on occasion.)
The Slate Roof Bible, Joseph Jenkins, www.jenkinsslate.com,
143 Forest Lane, PO Box 607, Grove City, PA 16127 - 866-641-7141 (We recommend this book).
"Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
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