Homeowners’ Association Restrictions

​Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs); we love them, we hate them.  We love them when it prevents our neighbors from doing something stupid that impacts me.  We hate them when they prevent me from doing something I want to do, it is my house after all and why should they care.  Love them or hate them, when we buy into those neighborhoods we commit to living within the HOA restrictions.
 
So what does this have to do with your replacement roof?  Believe it or not, most HOAs will have restrictions based on what roofing materials you can use.  Here in the Kansas City area, historically many HOAs required Cedar Roofs.  And Cedar Roofs look great!!!  Granted that is when new, but Cedar Roofs are also expensive, labor intensive, maintenance intensive, fire risk (and associated insurance cost), and they harbor insects and creepy-crawly critters.  Thankfully, mostly due to fire risk and influence from insurance companies, most of these Cedar Roof HOA restrictions have been removed.  However this doesn’t mean you can install the cheapest 3-tab shingle either.
 
For example, I recently prepared a bid to replace a Cedar Roof.  The homeowner asked for “Timberline” shingles.  While “Timberline” is specified in many HOA restrictions, Timberline is actually a trade name for GAF; what HOAs are requiring are called “Architectural Grade” shingles (I just put a Band-Aid on my finger, Timberline is a trade name that has become a generic term).  Within “Architectural Grade” there are several grades.  I know that some of the roofing contractors prepared a bid based on the Base 30-year Architectural Shingles; however my experience in this neighborhood is that the HOA restrictions do not allow for a 30-year Architectural Roof, they actually require a thicker roof.  Depending on the manufacturer, they may rate Architectural Grade shingles such as 30-40-50, or they may put some terms such as 30-plus-premium or 30-plus-lifetime.  Anyway, I knew that this particular HOA required 50-year Architectural Shingles (premium, lifetime, 50, depending on how the manufacturer names them) and adjusted my bid price accordingly (a 50-year Architectural Grade shingle isn’t going to be as cheap as a base 30-year Architectural Grade Shingle).  While other roofing contractors bid the job (for a fair bit less) based on materials not allowed by the Homeowners’ Association.  Thankfully I had an opportunity to educate the homeowner before he made a decision he would come to regret, as putting unapproved roofing materials on your house would have likely been met with some punitive actions by the Homeowners Association.

---