Paint is a great finish due to its affordability and value it provides in terms of aesthetics and protection that it provides for materials. Since sheds are such a common part of a backyard, the question now is if you can paint the roof of your shed.
Yes, you can paint your shed roof. Painting a shed roof is a simple DIY project that will improve your shed’s general look, durability, and usefulness. Painting your shed roof provides benefits such as acting as a sealant, reflecting UV rays, improving insulation, and increasing the durability of the roofing materials it’s on.
Read on as we’ll be going more into shed roofs, roof paint, the benefits that paint provides, and how you can paint your shed roof.
Shed roofs: Brief Overview
The main difference between shed roofs and house roofs is their size. Shed roofs don’t carry as much water, receive as much sunlight, are significantly lighter. They’re generally very close to the rest of the structure (unlike houses that usually have ceilings).
This distinct difference means that you’ll have to approach shed roofs in an entirely different manner. Since sheds are so small and the roof is directly connected underneath, the roofing will play a bigger part in contributing to the environment inside the shed.
The design of shed roofs is much more simplistic compared to house roofs. Shed roofs usually only go in one direction, usually sloped at a low-angle but not flat, to make construction easier and cheaper.
Roof Paint: A brief Overview
Yes, there’s a difference between regular wall paint and roof paint. Since roofs are the most exposed part of your house towards the elements (rain, snow, sunlight, wind, etc.), roof paint is designed to withstand and respond to these conditions.
Below is a list of how roof paint is different from regular exterior paint.
- Roof Paint is more reflective.
Roofs are constantly exposed to UV Rays. As such, they’ll need to reflect those UV rays away from the house to help regulate the temperature of the home. This property of roof paint is seen more in tropical countries since it prevents heat from building up on the roof’s material.
- Roof paint is thicker.
Since roofs are constantly exposed to water build-up and snow, it’s no surprise that roof paint will need to be thicker than regular paint to act as a better sealant.
- Roof paint provides more insulation
Since roof paint is thicker and usually uses water-based coatings, roof paint helps prevent heat/cold from escaping through the material.
Since roofs, in terms of area, are bigger than the houses that they are on. Roof paint can provide a considerable amount of insulation to the house as a whole.
- Roof paint lasts longer.
Ideally, homeowners shouldn’t have to retouch/repair their roofs often. These types of repairs should only be done every 5-10 years. Properties such as elasticity help roof paint adjust to temperatures and the environment, increasing its durability.
- Roof paint is more expensive.
With all these benefits, roof paint is more expensive than regular paint by a considerable amount. It’s important to note that roof painting is solely designed to be placed on roofs, so attempting to place it on your walls and ceilings is not recommended.
Roofing materials
It’s important to go into and understand the materials that your shed roof is made out of to choose the correct type of paint/finish for it. To simply this article, we’ll be going into the 5 most common types of roofing materials used by the industry.
- Metal
Easily the cheapest, lightest, and easiest roofing type to work with. Metal roofs are considered one of the most durable in terms of longevity, and they also have a high fire-resistance rating. They are also great for reducing loads since rain and snow easily slide off metal roofs due to their smooth surface, which is great for sheds!
- Wood
Easiest roof type to repair and one of the most environmentally-friendly, wooden roofs is a good choice for those looking to have an eye-catching roof. This is a great choice for a shed roof since a shed roof is easily seen, making a good-looking roof important. However, note that wooden roofs don’t offer as much protection as the other types.
- Ceramic
Ceramic roofs are great for any climate. They also last for quite a long time and provide quite a considerable amount of insulation. Take note, however, that ceramic is quite heavy, and your shed might not be designed to carry that much load.
- Asphalt
Asphalt roofs are versatile in terms of coloring. It can also be made and formed into different shapes and sizes, giving you even more choices when deciding how you want your shed roof to turn out.
The material itself is also considered a great sound dampener, which is great if you live in a place that experiences a lot of rain.
- Slate
Slate is probably the longest-lasting compared to the other types of roofing materials on this list. It can last almost up to 200 years if taken care of properly. Slate roofs are expensive but need almost no maintenance at all since the material itself is made out of a rock that is almost immune to chips, scratches, and cracks.
Unfortunately, for our purposes, it’s not recommended to get a slate roof because of its weight unless you know for certain that your shed can handle it.
The benefit of paint for shed roofs
We’ll now be going into the benefits that you can get from painting your shed roof.
- Aesthetics
This is especially true for shed roofs that don’t use a matching material with a shed. Painting your shed roof with a complimenting color with the shed will improve its general look and design.
- Longevity
Paint helps maintain the condition of the roofing material, which delays deterioration. Paint does this by preventing the forces (sunlight, rain, snow, etc.) from directly reaching the material.
- Protection
Paint protects the material that it’s on depending on what type of paint you use. Using epoxy waterproof paint is one way to increase the protection of not just your roof but also your shed as a whole.
- Energy-Efficiency
Paint provides a considerable amount of insulation for a structure. This is good to prevent humidity and moisture from building up from within the shed by help the shed maintain a good temperature.
How to paint a shed roof
For the purposes of this article, we’ll be assuming that your roof has no paint yet. In this section, we’ll be going into how you can paint your shed’s roof.
These are the general steps to painting a shed roof:
- Inspection
First, assess the condition of your roof. Make sure that everything is in place and that nothing is broken. Do the necessary repairs first before anything else.
- Clean
Clean your roof using any cleaning solution, preferably one that’s anti-mold. This is to make sure that your paint sticks well onto the roofing material and helps the paint from chipping off.
- Preparation
Prepare everything that you’ll need for this paint job. Ensure that you have all the tools you need (paintbrush, air-spray, roller, etc.), all the materials you’ll need (paint, primer, etc.), and that all safety precautions have been prepared.
- Painting
Since a shed roof is quite small, painting it is quite easy and simple compared to a house roof.
Firstly, apply a primer to make sure that the paint sticks well onto the material. Primers also act as a sealant that helps prevent water from getting in between the paint and the material.
After that, you can now finally begin painting your shed roof! A good rule of thumb is to wait around 2 and a half hours to three hours for the paint to fully dry before adding another coating. Generally, you only need to apply two coatings of paint.
- Finishing touches
After the main face of the roof has been painted, you can then begin painting its sides and crevices. The same process applies. Feel free to also reapply paint in case you missed any spots from your initial coatings.
The amount of work you’ll have to do will mostly depend on the design of your shed roof and the type of materials it’s made out of, as some materials are harder to paint than others.
Conclusion
Shed roofs should be treated and finished just like any other regular roof. There is much more leeway for shed roofs since they aren’t as complex and don’t need care. It’s a good practice to make sure that your shed’s (and house’s) finishes preventing problems down the road.
Different types of paint are used for different purposes, depending on what you need and what you want. Although they provide many different benefits, they shouldn’t be used as replacements for finishes like sealants, insulators, and the like.
