Much like a good suit, a home’s exterior makes a statement to the world. Also like a suit, what’s available, what’s possible and what’s in fashion will change, over time.
Natural and Neutral
When it comes to siding, for example, there’s been a definite shift in the past few years to a more sophisticated, timeless palette.
“We’ve got a colour we introduced two years ago called gunmetal grey,” says John Vukanovich, Vice President, Marketing at Ply Gem Canada. “It’s a dark grey siding that really looks rich and the sales on that have been tremendous.”
Black, too, is an increasingly popular choice. “There was a time you’d never see black on a home,” says Ted Talboom, Manager Retail Sales, Gentek Building Products. “Now it’s becoming really popular. People are using it as an accent, and it works really well with natural wood and stone.”
In general, popular hues are rich and classic, rather than bright and vibrant. “Dark colours have set the trends in vinyl siding over the last decade and are still in high demand,” says Catherine Quéze, Product Manager, Sidings at Duchesne et fils Ltée. “Homeowners are searching for great looks that reflect their personality while standing the test of time.”
The trend toward darker, bolder colours is based in part on improved technology. “Painting, coating and siding companies can now enable their products to withstand weather conditions,” says Marilyn Chase, Director of Marketing with Royal Building Products. “Improvements in product formulations have overcome concerns related to fading or distortion from heat or freezing and
Photo courtesy of Royal Building Products
Photo courtesy of Duchesne
Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Supplies
thawing conditions.” She adds, “Low-maintenance products are one of the biggest home renovation trends. Homeowners don’t want to spend a lot of time having to maintain their home.”
Wade O’Reilly with Kaycan Ltd. has seen the same trend, with respect to darker hues. “With both homeowners and contractors, curb appeal is important,” say O’Reilly. Keeping that curb appeal longer is easier now, too, says O’Reilly, who notes that his company offers a 25-year non-fade warranty on some lines.
Coordinated Effort
Blending siding with wood or stone is another key trend. “Lately what we’re seeing is more mixing of elements, so you might have stone at the ground level, siding in the middle, and then maybe cedar shake towards the roofline,” says Vukanovich. “That can all be color coordinated, and that’s a real strong design trend, lately.”
Chase agrees, adding, “Homeowners are mixing a variety of siding materials – like vinyl siding with aluminum and stone accents – to put an individual twist on their home design.” To make the look work and keep it modern, they’re choosing clean and simple lines with their moulding and trim, says Chase.
Vukanovich points out this shift is nation-wide, even where there’s significant regional differences. “In Atlantic Canada, for example, you’ll see siding in blue, red and plenty of other colours,” says Vukanovich. “But even in that market where they’ve traditionally had more of a vibrant colour palette, we’re still seeing them mix up the textures.”
It’s a look that’s been around in high-end design for some time, but its appeal and application are becoming more wide-spread. “What we’ve normally seen in custom homes, we’re seeing in new construction,” says Talboom.
For those in the industry, that means an opportunity for big-picture planning with clients. “We definitely see the integration of products as something that’s going to be critical, in the near future,” says Vukanovich. “We rarely talk just in terms of siding, but in terms of
the complementary products to go with the siding, like stone, like shakes, like aluminum soffit and trim coil. We see those being sold as packages more than individual products and then mixing the colour palette together.”
Advances in technology, too, have made creating the look of a custom home more affordable, in recent years. “Products these days are easier to install, and that means labour is less expensive,” says Talboom. “In past years, you’d need a stone mason to do that kind of intricate work around the house, but now you can get panels, made of cement, that can be screwed on, and you wouldn’t know the difference.”
Weathering the Changes
In terms of roofing, new advances and products have given consumers greater choice, as well. That’s good news, because changes in our weather patterns mean a
need for products with a set of attributes.
“With environmental conditions getting more extreme, we came up with an asphalt shingle that has better resistance to wind uplift,” says Gilles Landry, Building Products Manager, Building Products of Canada Corp.
“All our laminate shingles include a patented solid sealant band that we call the Weather-Tite Technology,” says Landry, allowing the company to extend its warranty and cover the effects of winds up to 135mph. Laminate shingles can also provide an advantage with respect to temperature, says Adam Prestwich, Director of Sales, Canada, GAF. “We seem to be getting a lot more heat, with warmer summers and milder winters,” says Prestwich. “Heat has a profound affect on asphalt tiles—they get compromised and their weatherability gets cooked out.” In fact, says Prestwich, laminate shingles have gone from being an outlier product to commanding 82% of the marketplace.
Rob Davidson, VP of Residential Sales for IKO Canada, says the weather has prompted innovation at his company, as well. The company has new shingle feature called ArmourZone, offering an enlarged nailing area.
Photos courtesy of Building Products of Canada Corp.
Photo courtesy of GAF
“AmourZone is reinforced by a tear-resistant, woven band that helps provide resistance to high winds, with a limited wind warranty of up to 210 km/h,” says Davison. “The ArmourZone also provides fastening strength over a greater surface area of the shingle, helping to resist nail heads from pulling through the shingle in high winds.”
Customization in Demand
Manufacturers are now producing laminate shingles for hip and ridge areas on roofs (the horizontal and vertical planes where rooflines meet) in low, medium or high profiles. This, says Prestwich, offers customers the opportunity to customize. “Depending on where you are in Canada, you might be looking for different shingle profiles,” says Prestwich. “For example, on the east coast, houses have mostly low-profile hip and ridge.” He adds, “On the west coast, they’re used to wood shake roofs, which are very dimensional, so they go with a high profile.”
Customers are looking for choice, says Davidson. “Homeowners are demanding customization through a variety of colour options and shingle styles.” To meet the demand, IKO offers 11 colour options, from cool to warm, as well as a range of shingle styles including some that mimic cedar shakes or look like natural slate.
Steel shingles are another alternative for customers wanting durability with plenty of style options. “For many years, the only affordable option in roofing was asphalt,” says Steve Brooks, Residential Sales Manager for Vicwest Building products. He says homeowners are now thinking differently about their roofs and recognize the distinction between cost and investment. “Today, there are shingles, shakes and panels that look like slate or tile, all made of specially engineered metal,” says Brooks, who adds that homeowners appreciate the range of looks as well as the durability of the product.
“The demand for sustainable, eco-friendly and energy efficient home improvement roofing materials continues to grow in North America, growing at a rate of between 8 and 10% every year,” says Brooks. “More and more people are looking at an alternative to asphalt shingles and investing in a long-term solution to their roofing needs with an affordable steel roof that will last for years.”
René Laplante, President and CEO of Ideal Roofing points out that steel roofing’s market share is growing steadily and now stands at 12%. “Steel roofing will outlast asphalt shingles by three times,” says Laplante. “It’s also available in a multitude of choices, so it’s become a very popular choice for residential applications.”
Photo courtesy of IKO Canada
Photos courtesy of Ideal Roofing
Photo courtesy of Vicwest Building Products
Serve and Protect
Another evolution in roofing products is the development of a synthetic under-layment—the layer of protection between shingles and the deck to which they’re affixed. “Synthetic underlayments have gained a lot of ground,” says Prestwich. They offer a protection from wind, and can be made in a breathable synthetic that keeps rain out but allows moisture from the home to vent. “It also helps mitigate some of the expansion and contraction that happens with the Canadian climate, which puts a lot of stress on asphalt shingles if they are fastened directly to that deck,” says Prestwich.
Here comes the Sun Technology
Just around the corner, the next big thing in roofing is likely solar-related innovation: specifically, individual shingles that collect solar power. “The technology isn’t quite there yet, but there are definitely people trying to launch that kind of product,” says Prestwich. “You can see where imagi-nation and technology is going.”
For now, there have been significant steps in that direction. “GAF has launched a line of solar panels that flash right into the roof,” says Prestwich.“So the panels don’t go above the shingles, they go directly to the deck and you flash around it like you would a skylight.” He adds, “It’s very low profile, very streamlined.”
The Power of a Makeover
Many of the trends in roofing reflect consumers’ growing interest with that part of their home’s exterior. “In the last decade and a half the architectural community has had a big influence on homes,” says Prestwich. Roofs in the past few decades have become more prominent and intricate. While replacing shingles on a 1950s bungalow wouldn’t make much of a difference to curb appeal, the same investment in a newer home could have a huge impact. “With more prominent roofs, you have to invest the same time on a roof you’d spend thinking about the garage door, the windows, the front entry and so on,” says Prestwich.
If there’s a renewed emphasis on improving a home’s curb appeal, popular culture might be behind at least some of that shift. “I think the proliferation of renovation shows on TV has encouraged people to think about this a lot more,” says Vukanovich. “There’s also more information available on manufacturers’ websites and on design sites like Houzz.com. I think that’s all influencing the trends.”
In It for the Long Haul
Sky-high home prices in many parts of the country may play a role, as well. As Canadians choose to stay put and renovate, they tend to want to make their changes last for a longer time, a move that’s likely influencing the shift to more conservative colours, natural materials and custom-looking design choices. Like shopping for a good suit, choosing quality over fads means an investment in the longer term. “That’s probably at least partly behind the appeal of choices like darker colours, natural elements, and so on,” says Talboom. “If you plan to enjoy your home for a while, you want any investments you make to have some real longevity.”