Michael Holigan and Korel Home Designs worked together to build a new home for Michael Holigan’s, Your New House television show. The project home is located in Melissa, Texas. Two issues that have to be addressed when designing a home in Texas are fire and hail. The product chosen for the roof needed to have the highest fire and impact resistant ratings possible. DECRA stone coated steel roofing products are made of aluminum-zinc alloy coated steel, have a Class “A” fire rating, and a Class 4 impact resistance rating.

Product performance was the main goal, but cost of the material was also important. Many times, the roofing product is the first material that is value-engineered when the owner needs to cut costs. Holigan states, “Homeowners must realize that if they want a composition shingle, it might be less expensive, but they will need to replace it several times. Stone coated steel can sometimes outlast a homeowner’s lifetime.” Performance and longevity are characteristics of steel, and stone coated steel roofing. DECRA products have a 50-year limited warranty, are trouble-free, and will not crack, break, warp, curl, or split like other products.

In addition to the fire and hail ratings, the product needed to have character and depth - curb appeal. DECRA Shingle Plus in Vintage Slate was chosen for the project. Jerrry Karlovich, a designer for Korel Home Designs was pleased with the decision, “Shingle Plus really added strong aesthetics to the roof.”

The Old World-style custom home has a large roof, and a 14:12 slope. The Shingle Plus product was installed on battens providing a “ladder” for the installers and eliminating the need for roof jacks. The home was completed in April of 2005, and the show aired in May. The concluding remarks of the show sum it all up, “When it came time to design the roof for our project house, we wanted a system that was not only attractive, but durable, low-maintenance, fire resistant, and able to withstand the weather common to the area.”