Replacing a roof is one of the larger investments most homeowners will make, but choosing a new roof involves more than picking a shingle color and comparing warranties. In Sacramento, our long, hot summers make the materials underneath and on top of the roof especially important.
The shingles, their color and solar reflectance, the underlayment, attic ventilation, insulation and even the roof decking can all affect how a home handles Sacramento heat.
At American Home Energy Savers, we approach roofing as part of the home’s overall energy-efficiency system. Here’s what Sacramento homeowners should understand before choosing a new roof.
What Are the Different Types of Residential Roofing?
Sacramento homes use several roofing materials, including asphalt composition shingles, concrete and clay tile, metal roofing and low-slope roofing systems.
For many pitched residential roofs, architectural composition shingles offer a practical combination of cost, appearance, durability and repairability. Modern architectural shingles are substantially different from the basic three-tab shingles commonly installed on older homes.
However, not every composition shingle performs the same way—and Sacramento’s climate makes solar performance particularly worth considering.
What Is a Cool Roof?
A “cool roof” isn’t necessarily white, and it isn’t a different type of roof.
Cool roofing products are designed to reflect more of the sun’s energy and efficiently release absorbed heat. The Cool Roof Rating Council evaluates roofing products using measurements including solar reflectance, thermal emittance and Solar Reflectance Index (SRI).
That’s particularly relevant in the Sacramento region, where a roof can receive intense direct sunlight for hours during summer.
When a conventional dark roof absorbs solar energy, its surface temperature rises. Some of that heat can eventually make its way through the roof assembly and into the attic, increasing the heat the insulation and air-conditioning system have to manage.
A more reflective roofing surface reduces that heat gain at the first line of defense: the roof itself.
California’s Energy Code recognizes this benefit. Cool-roof requirements apply to many roofing projects depending on climate zone, roof slope and the specifics of the project, although there are several compliance alternatives and exceptions.
Why AHES Uses Malarkey Cool Roof Shingles
One product we recommend for many Sacramento-area projects is Malarkey’s solar-reflective architectural roofing shingles, including the Vista® Cool and Highlander® Cool product lines.
Malarkey takes an interesting approach to cool roofing because homeowners don’t necessarily have to choose a very light-colored roof to achieve better solar performance.
Malarkey Vista Cool and Highlander Cool shingles use 3M™ Cool Roofing Granules with a reflective coating designed to increase solar reflectance. According to Malarkey, these granules can allow certain darker shingles to reflect approximately 20–25% of incoming solar energy, compared with roughly 3–12% for traditional black roofing granules.
That means homeowners can have choices such as grey, wood-tone and even dark-colored roofs while still selecting qualifying solar-reflective products.
Malarkey also uses its NEX® polymer-modified, or “rubberized,” asphalt technology. Vista Cool shingles carry a Class 4 impact rating, while Highlander Cool carries a Class 3 rating.
For us, the combination of solar performance, durability and appearance makes these products particularly well suited to Sacramento homes.
Does Shingle Color Really Make a Difference?
Yes—but color alone doesn’t tell the whole story anymore.
Traditionally, lighter shingles reflected more sunlight while black and dark-brown shingles absorbed substantially more solar energy. That basic physics hasn’t changed.
What has changed is roofing technology.
Reflective granules can give darker shingles considerably better solar performance than their appearance suggests. That’s why we recommend comparing the actual CRRC-rated performance of a roofing product instead of simply assuming “light is efficient and dark is inefficient.”
Two grey roofs that look almost identical from the street can have very different solar-reflectance characteristics.
This gives Sacramento homeowners considerably more design freedom. A cool roof doesn’t have to make your house look like a commercial building.
What’s Under the Shingles Matters Too
Homeowners understandably spend most of their time choosing the visible roofing material. But a roof is a system, and shingles are only its outer layer.
Directly beneath the shingles is the roof underlayment.
Older roofs commonly used asphalt-saturated felt, often referred to as tar paper. Felt has protected roofs successfully for generations and can still be appropriate in some applications.
Modern synthetic underlayments, however, can offer advantages including greater tear resistance, lighter weight, improved durability during installation and better resistance to wrinkling when exposed to moisture.
There are also self-adhered waterproof membranes, commonly called ice-and-water barriers. These are typically used strategically in vulnerable areas rather than necessarily covering an entire Sacramento roof. Valleys, penetrations, transitions and other areas where water is more likely to collect deserve additional attention.
The correct underlayment depends on roof design, slope, roofing material, manufacturer specifications and project conditions. The important point is that homeowners shouldn’t evaluate a roofing proposal based solely on the brand of shingle.
Ask what’s going underneath it.
When Roof Decking Needs to Be Replaced
Under the underlayment is the structural roof deck. On newer Sacramento homes, this is typically plywood or oriented strand board (OSB). But when we tear off roofs on older homes, we frequently find something very different: skip sheathing or common-board decking.
Skip sheathing consists of individual wood boards installed with spaces between them. It was commonly used under older wood shake and wood shingle roofs because those roofing systems were designed differently from today’s composition shingles. Other homes have solid or nearly solid decks constructed from individual dimensional boards rather than modern sheet OSB or plywood.
These older decking systems aren’t automatically defective. Depending on their condition, spacing, the roofing system being installed and applicable code requirements, an existing board deck may sometimes remain in place and still receive permit and inspection approval.
But “it can pass inspection” and “this is how we would build the roof today” aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Why AHES Recommends Considering a New Continuous Roof Deck
When we’re already removing the roofing down to older skip sheathing or questionable common boards, AHES generally recommends discussing installation of a new continuous plywood or OSB deck rather than simply covering everything back up.
There are several reasons.
First, a continuous deck provides a uniform fastening surface for modern composition shingles. Instead of shingle fasteners depending on where individual old boards happen to fall, the roofer has a consistent structural surface across the roof.
Second, old dimensional lumber has had decades to dry, split, warp, loosen and accumulate previous nail holes. Some boards may remain remarkably strong, while others may not. A complete tear-off gives us a rare opportunity to see those conditions and address them before another roofing system is installed for decades.
Third, continuous decking provides a much better substrate for modern synthetic underlayments, flashing details and other components of today’s roofing assemblies.
And finally, a roof replacement is one of the few times when installing new decking is relatively practical. Once the new shingles are installed, upgrading the deck later means removing a perfectly good roof to get back to it.
Passing Code vs. Building for the Next Roof
We understand why some contractors and homeowners choose to retain existing board decking. Adding plywood or OSB increases both material and labor costs, and replacing decking that is structurally serviceable isn’t always required simply because it’s old.
That’s a legitimate consideration.
Our philosophy is to show homeowners what is actually underneath their roof and explain the choices. If we’re expecting a new composition roof to protect the house for decades, we think it’s worth asking whether a 50-, 70- or even 100-year-old board deck is the foundation we want beneath that investment. And if new decking makes sense, that’s also the ideal time to consider radiant-barrier OSB. Instead of paying for standard sheathing and trying to improve attic radiant performance later, the homeowner can incorporate the radiant barrier directly into the new roof deck while the roof is already open. For Sacramento’s long, hot summers, that’s an upgrade we believe deserves serious consideration.
Why Radiant-Barrier OSB Can Be Worth the Upgrade
Radiant-barrier OSB looks similar to conventional roof sheathing from above, but the attic-facing side incorporates a reflective foil surface. That surface reduces radiant heat transfer from the hot roof deck toward the attic. Think of the roof assembly as layers of defense. A solar-reflective shingle reduces how much solar energy the roof absorbs in the first place. The roof deck sits underneath it. A radiant barrier on the underside of that deck reduces radiant heat transfer into the attic below. It does not replace attic insulation, and it doesn’t eliminate the need for proper ventilation or air sealing. Those systems perform different jobs. But in a hot, sunny climate—particularly when HVAC equipment or ductwork is located in the attic—reducing attic heat exposure can be valuable. California’s Energy Code itself recognizes attic radiant barriers as one of the measures that can affect roof-energy compliance pathways.
Why We Don’t Automatically Recommend Re-Decking Every Roof
If your existing roof decking is structurally sound, tearing all of it off simply to install radiant-barrier OSB usually isn’t the first efficiency investment we’d recommend. But if the decking already needs replacement, the calculation changes. You’re already paying for removal, labor and new sheathing. At that point, upgrading the replacement material to radiant-barrier OSB can be a relatively modest incremental investment compared with trying to add the same feature later. That’s when we think it’s particularly worth considering.
The Best Roof Is a Complete System
There isn’t one perfect roofing specification for every Sacramento home. A house with a vented attic, R-44 insulation and no ductwork in the attic has different needs than a house with older insulation and an HVAC system sitting above the ceiling. A roof’s first job is keeping water out of your home. But when you’re replacing thousands of square feet of material sitting directly between your home and the Sacramento sun, it makes sense to think about energy performance too.
That’s why AHES looks beyond the shingles.
When we’re evaluating a roof, we also look at:
- Existing roof decking and signs of deterioration
- Attic insulation
- Attic ventilation
- HVAC equipment and ductwork in the attic
- Roof penetrations, valleys and flashing
- Appropriate underlayment
- Solar-reflective roofing options
- Opportunities for radiant-barrier decking when re-decking is necessary
Planning a Roof Replacement in Sacramento?
If your roof is approaching the end of its useful life, has been damaged, or you’re already considering replacement, American Home Energy Savers can evaluate the complete roofing system and explain your options. We’ll help you compare roofing materials, cool-roof colors, underlayment and decking options based on the actual condition of your home—not simply sell you the most expensive roof available.
California Energy Code requirements vary by project, roof configuration, climate zone and available exceptions. AHES evaluates applicable requirements as part of the individual roofing project.