Oklahoma homeowner Terri Underhill was jealous. After seeing her neighbor's new DaVinci Roofscapes polymer slate roof she had a bad case of "roof envy"—and she knew what had to be done.

Fondly known in Colorado Springs as the “Castle on the Hill,” the Union Printers Home has a long history of caring for people. Built in 1892 by members of the International Typographical Union to offer specialized health care to their union members, the facility today serves the general public with a multitude of services including assisted living, nursing care, rehabilitation and hospice.

The restful setting of the Villa Maria Guadalupe Retreat in Stamford, Ct., now has a new roof overhead that perfectly complements the structure’s Mediterranean style architecture. Thanks to the expert roofers at Classic Restorations Inc., a polymer Multi-Width Slate roof from DaVinci Roofscapes® has been added to the rambling structure.

Expansive views and direct access to Lake Erie make the Catawba Shores lakeside community an ideal living location … except when a severe hail storm damaged all 35 of the condo roofs last year. Now, with the recent installation of replacement Bellaforté Shake polymer roofing tiles, carefree living has returned to Catawba Shores.

From their patio area sitting atop Mill Mountain, Kevin and Nancy Dye have a sweeping view of downtown Roanoke, Va. The only home high up on the north side of the mountain, the landmark property sits just below the famous illuminated Mill Mountain Star, making it a much-seen location.

According to national color expert Kate Smith, the most timeless roofing colors used on American homes include black, gray and cedar. And, colors that are gaining popularity in "shaking up" today's roofs include shades of green, clay and terracotta.

Roofer Guy Galitski is used to roofing challenges. President of G.G. Roofing since 1977, Galitski has installed thousands of roofs in his career. So, when a homeowner in San Juan Capistrano needed to reroof her steep12/12 pitch roof, Galitski and his team eagerly tackled the job.

Nathan Barbuto, Jr. and his team at Nathan’s Roofing, Windows & Siding have found their “sweet spot” for roofing projects in Henrico County, Virginia. The family-owned company has been able to complete more than 20 roofing jobs in the last two years by offering polymer Valoré Slate roofing tiles for new construction and replacement projects.

After Mary Katherine Hirsh was evacuated from her home in November 2011 due to a firestorm sweeping through her Reno neighborhood, she knew it was time for a new roof. According to a local fire official, the original 42-year-old wooden shakes on her Country French style home were a tinderbox waiting to burn.

Perfectly situated with water views of Newport Bay, the Mai Kai condo community in Newport Beach, Calif. has all the benefits of waterfront living --- including the constant salt air and sea spray from the Pacific Ocean. So, when the real wood shake shingles on the 34 units deteriorated over time, the homeowner’s association decided to replace them with polymer shake roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes®.

And the winner is … Dennis and Pat Hodkinson, of Paris, Tenn., have won the $5,000 cash grand prize in the nationwide DaVinci Roofscapes® “Shake it Up” Exterior Color Contest. The Hodkinsons were named the contest winner after receiving more public votes than four other finalists out of 757 online votes cast. They can now use the cash prize to help add color to the exterior of their home.

May 26 – June 1, 2013: National Hurricane Preparedness Week

Inspired by their love of warm earth-tone colors and touches of safari-themed items found inside their home, Jack and Angie Craig transformed the outside of their colonial-style house with stand-out paint colors and a custom-color roof design created by DaVinci Roofscapes® and Epic Exteriors.

When a severe hailstorm ruined the roof on her 13-year old home, Texas resident Mercedez Tylock decided to “make lemonade out of lemons.” The professional interior designer turned her talents to the outside of her home and created a new exterior.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Homeowner Henry Bretthauer does his research and carefully weighs options before making purchasing decisions. That’s why it didn’t surprise his family and friends that it took 643 days for him to investigate and decide on his new DaVinci Roofscapes® Multi-Width Slate roof.

While springtime was slow to arrive this year, the warmer weather is now here just in time for May’s National Home Improvement Month. With so many home projects to tackle, where do you start? According to Mark Clement, a professional contractor and host of MyFixitUpLife home improvement radio show, begin by selecting those projects that give your home a curb appeal “pick-me-up” while also enhancing the functionality of your house.

Although The North Face® retail store in Victor, New York, opened less than five months ago, the structure looks like it’s been part of the landscape for a decade or more. The retailer’s construction team selected products that complemented the historic setting of the area, so that The North Face store fits its location very naturally.

Whether you believe in global warming or not, there’s no doubt that homeowners nationwide need to prepare their homes for tougher weather conditions.

The installation of the first DaVinci Roofscapes® polymer roof in Thunder Bay, Canada has caused quite a stir --- and a traffic jam. During the six-day installation process of a Bellaforté Slate roof on the home of Barry George, both car and foot traffic came to a standstill in front of his Tudor-style home.

To meet the specific needs of homeowners, sometimes building industry professionals need to get creative. That’s what Tom Sullivan did when his clients requested a sky blue colored slate roof to remind them of their native Russian architecture.

Business owners in the Chicago suburb of Beverly, Illinois, take pride in maintaining the historic feel of their small community, so it was really no surprise when property owners Ed and Kim Bonk decided to upgrade their downtown building space with a new roof. The surprise came when they were able to achieve the historic look they sought with a man-made polymer slate roof from DaVinci Roofscapes®.

People love the look of natural wood throughout the home. From kitchen cabinets to hardwood flooring to natural cedar shake roofs, wood appeals to almost every homeowner. What doesn’t appeal to people are the inherent problems of having real wood products, such as rotting and decaying of wood, insect infestations, warping and high maintenance needs.

When high winds and severe weather from Hurricane Sandy whipped through New Jersey in October 2012, students at New Residence Hall at The College of New Jersey slept easily. The recently-installed DaVinci Roofscapes® polymer roof overhead helped keep them safe and secure.

 In the six months since their introduction to the marketplace, Bellaforté Shake polymer roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes have quadrupled the anticipated sales figures for the new product.

Roofer Mark Bloyer knows how to be competitive in his southern Kansas marketplace. He targets customers interested in quality – and then provides them with top-quality service and authentic-looking polymer roofing tiles boasting long-term warranties.

Tropical Sunset. Beaver Creek. Steely Green. These are just some of the personalized custom color roofing tiles that DaVinci Roofscapes® has created during the past several years. Because the company has the ability to custom create any roofing color or color blend, the options are limitless for builders, architects, roofers and homeowners who wish to create unique colors for their polymer DaVinci slate and shake roofing tiles.

According to national color expert Kate Smith, blue will be the color Americans gravitate toward in 2013.

When Travis Herritz first saw the new DaVinci Bellaforté Shake polymer roofing tiles this summer at a trade show, he smiled. The president of Springer Construction Services, LLC knew he had found a product that would help increase his business.

True copper roof accents have many faces. The newly installed gleam of shiny yellow-orange morphs over time into deep brown, then green, and finally a dullish blue-green color. Due to the oxidizing process of copper, this durable metal ages and changes when exposed to the weather. While fun to watch, the changes in copper presents a challenge when selecting a roof color that will look good with every “face” of the copper in the long term.

Does a green polymer tile roof work with a red brick house? Not likely. Will that same green roof be a better match for a white clapboard home? Absolutely.

Builders, remodelers, and homeowners eager to maximize natural resources are hoping for rainy weather. The environmentally friendly efforts of these concerned people rely on harvesting rainwater as a major initiative toward reducing water and energy costs by homeowners. What is the most popular collection point for rainwater? The roof.

What does a homeowner do when he’s so happy with his new Bellaforté roof that he wants to share it with family and friends? If that homeowner is Dan Baer, he throws a roof party!

Advice from Color Expert Kate Smith

Standard slate gray or bold terracotta? Solid brown or a blend of three warm brown tones? For some homeowners, the question of what color should cap off their homes is more challenging than the decision of what roofing product to use.

Baby boomers and homeowners of all ages should forget about hiding their gray and embrace “going gray” – at least on their roofs. That’s the advice of national color expert Kate Smith with Sensational Color.

The popular question in the 1970s was “What’s your sign?” In today’s culture, that question has turned into “What’s your color?” According to national color expert Kate Smith, people tend to identify their personalities with specific colors, all of which fall into either the “warm” or “cool” classifications.

Homeowners looking to make smart, energy-efficient investments in their homes should always start with ENERGY STAR® qualified products. That’s the advice of Mark Clement, host of the MyFixitUpLife home improvement radio show and website.

Just in time for October’s National Energy Awareness Month, DaVinci Roofscapes® has announced that eight of the company’s EcoBlend® polymer roofing tiles have qualified as ENERGY STAR® compliant. DaVinci has now become an ENERGY STAR partner and offers the eight EcoBlend roofing options in the company’s Slate, Shake, Fancy Shake, and Bellaforté product lines.

Have you ever wished you could have an elegant new roof like your neighbors? You may have a case of “roof envy.” Don’t worry, there’s an easy – and surprisingly affordable – cure.

Second-generation roofer Stacy Stines remembers when his father started the family business in 1978 with a focus on using real wood shakes for roofs. Over the years Stines has seen a change – and a growing preference among homeowners for longer-lasting polymer roofing products.

Developers and building industry professionals eager to construct and remodel projects with long-lasting roofing products are turning to low-maintenance polymer roofing tiles. With their 50-year warranty, slate and shake tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes® are becoming a popular choice for restaurants, hotels, banks, and other commercial projects.

In Durango, Colorado, the milled wood roof shingles on the 1880s Peterson House were so worn by time and weather that they had simply crumbled apart. As part of ongoing restoration efforts of the historic structure in 2011, the team at the Animas Museum turned to experts at DaVinci Roofscapes® to provide a polymer roof that would replicate the look of the original roof.

For almost 50 years the Spalliero family has served up authentic southern Italian and American cuisine at Yesterday’s Restaurant in Hazlet, New Jersey. That service stopped on March 14, 2010, when a late-night fire closed the restaurant for eight months.

Understanding the different color pigments of brick and stone features on a home is critical to selecting the right roofing colors. According to color expert Kate Smith, a “top down” approach is needed to select roofing colors that will unify a home’s exterior.

Visitors to the Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church in Johnson City, New York are immediately captivated by the traditional Ukrainian design of the church structure. Topped by three 80' tall domes, the massive building looks like it’s made completely of wood shakes on the sides and roof. Look closer, however, and you’ll see that the roof is really made of polymer shakes that perfectly replicate real wood shake shingles.

From Saint Louis Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri, to Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church in Johnson City, New York, church members nationwide are giving thanks for the sturdy polymer roofing products over their heads. Whether replaced due to old age or storm damage, replacement roofs on churches across America are moving toward dependable, long-lasting polymer slate and shake roofing tiles.

According to the 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes’ Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study, nearly all* (88%) homeowners see the exterior of their home as a whole picture rather than the sum of all its different exterior features. This finding is supported by additional research showing that curb appeal is important to homeowners – and the style of the home and how it looks on the property are the most attention-grabbing features of the home.

Free Tools Available for Professionals

DaVinci Roofscapes®, the color leader in the polymer roofing industry, has enhanced its popular online DaVinci Color Studio by adding several new free services. An interactive advice component with a national color expert, a downloadable 30-page Color Guide, and the ability to create custom roof blends using any of 49 colors are just some of the eye-catching enhancements to the site that allow industry professionals to confidently guide homeowners when selecting roofing colors for the home.

In response to marketplace demand, DaVinci Roofscapes® now offers a line of multi-width Bellaforté Shake polymer roofing tiles. Available in eight different profiles that replicate real cedar shakes, the tiles feature snap-fit tabs for easy installation and self-alignment.

DaVinci Roofscapes®, the leader in synthetic roofing tiles, successfully showcased the company’s newest roofing colors and blends at the 2011 International Builders’ Show. The company exhibited its revolutionary Bellafortéline of interlocking and self-aligning slate tiles along with the company’s original polymer Slate and Shake roofing tiles.

This topic includes information related to roof tiles installed during construction. Roof tiles are available in a variety of materials; clay, concrete, metal, mineral-fiber cement, plastic, and rubber. Roof tiles are available in a variety of colors and profiles. They are fastened to a roofs structure and depending on the manufacturer, may have a 50 year to lifetime warranty.

Slate is a very stable natural material.  It is thermally stable and not readily changed by chemical or biological reaction.  Slate comes in various colors, usually in shades of pale grey to dark grey, although it may also be purple, green or cyan depending on where it's mined.  Slate is quarried all over the world, either by open-pit mining or by tunneling. In the U.S., slate is extracted from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Vermont and Main. This fine grained material was originally composed of clay or volcanic ash in prehistoric ocean beds.  Through millions of years of pressure and extreme heat, known as metamorphism, it turned into what is known as slate. Because of the natural way in which slate can be split along its planer axis and yet still maintain its integrity, slate has been adapted very well to the building industry.

This topic includes information related to asphalt shingles installed during construction. Asphalt shingles are the most common type of roofing material used on residential roofs to keep rain water from entering a structure. Asphalt shingles with either organic or fiberglass material are available as a 3-tab or laminated layer shingle. They are fastened to a roof deck or sheathing and range in durability, depending on a manufacturers warranty, 20 to 50 years.