New choice for traditional beauty on colonial home

By DaVinci Roofscapes.

A very realistic synthetic slate product was the perfect aesthetic choice for this traditional colonial home.

Homeowner Michelle Dooley has a traditional colonial home. Located in Virginia, it previously had cedar shake roofing. However, when that roofing started to fail with old age and decay, she thought long and hard about making a change. 

Dooley and her husband Dan wanted to enhance the traditional beauty of their home. To do that they believed a faux slate roof would be the solution. But not just any imitation slate roof, a very realistic slate that would truly replicate natural slate. 

Getting support from DaVinci Roofscapes 

Michelle Dooley had heard about DaVinci Roofscapes. She reached out to the company and worked with their customer service representative, a color expert and a dedicated DaVinci DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor. 

“From start to finish, the team I worked with to get my new composite roof was exceptional,” says Michelle. “My experience started on DaVinci’s outstanding website, where I found most of the research I needed, and it only got better from there.” 

The homeowner started with a call to DaVinci’s Customer Service Department. There she chatted with Jessica Baumli. 

“Jessica gave me so much information,” says Michelle. “She really listened, gave me great feedback and provided me with solid details about composite roofing options.” 

Let’s talk color 

The next call was with DaVinci’s color expert, Kate Smith. The Chief Color Maven at Sensational Color, Smith works with homeowners to provide free “top down” color advice. Oftentimes this includes considering the fixed features of a home. In Michelle's case, it was the multi-tonal brick siding. 

“Kate’s recommendations confirmed some colors I already had in mind,” says Michelle. “She encouraged me to order samples of the colors I was ruling out, just to make sure I was making the right decisions.  

“I think having this free service is great. If I had friends or neighbors looking to get a new roof, I’d absolutely want them to consult with Kate. I think an expert like Kate can help a typical homeowner from preventing any color mishaps.” 

Finding the right roofer 

Along the way, Michelle knew that the most important thing was to find the right roofer for her project. That success came when DaVinci Roofscapes recommended their DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor, WGM Contracting.  

“Our roofers were outstanding and extremely detail oriented,” says Michelle. “They were true craftsmen who created a custom roof. They went above and beyond to gives us the roof of our dreams.” 

“We ordered a variety of samples through Jessica at DaVinci,” says Scott Kim, owner of WGM Contracting. “We put them on the roof so the homeowners could view them for several days, during both daylight and nighttime hours. Michelle and her husband Dan ended up selecting the traditional Slate Gray color.” 

Selecting the right slate product 

Once the color was selected, the Dooley's reviewed their DaVinci product options and gravitated to the thick tiles of DaVinci Province™ Slate. 

“Province Slate is 5/8-inch thick,” according to Kim. “It has realistic chisel marks like DaVinci Single-Width Slate. However, Province Slate is significantly lower in material cost due to the new design. They offer the same exposure, but they’re faster to install, so we save on installation costs.” 

Province Slate shingles are Class 4 impact and Class A fire rated. The composite slate tiles resist algae, moss, insects and fading. A “built in rain gutter” system on the side of the shingles allows water to drain safely off the next tiles without having a longer flange. And, the snap-fit design allows installers to save time. That’s because they do not have to manually align and space the shingles. 

Preparing for snow 

To add the finishing touches to the roof, WGM Contracting enhanced the Dooley roof with metal accents. In the front of the home, copper flashings are added near the garage, dormers and valleys. A great visual from the back patio is an eye-catching jumbo-sized chimney copper flashing. 

Due to the snowfall in the area, the Kim and his team also installed snow guards around the home. To help control snow shed, Yeti 18-style Rocky Mountain Snow Guards were placed in a pattern that best fits the roof for the safety of the homeowners. 

“The Dooley home has been transformed with this Province Slate roof,” says Kim. “It’s a classic look of authentic slate with its natural, non-repeating beauty that perfectly fits this traditional Virginia neighborhood.”