Form and function: Why curb appeal matters for your home

By Dani Sheehan. 

In this exciting episode of the AskARoofer podcast, take a deep dive into the aesthetics of your roof and why beauty might matter more than you think. 

In the most recent episode of the AskARoofer podcast, Megan Ellsworth and Lauren White sit down with Jack Gottesman of IKO Industries and Chad Roland with RTM Roofing in Nashville, Tennessee to discuss the definition and importance of curb appeal. From car analogies to purple shingles, you won’t want to miss this discussion to learn how you can improve the beauty of your home. 

Jack oversees marketing for North America in his position at IKO, but he especially loves overseeing the Roof Pro loyalty program because he has the opportunity to travel the country and meet roofers in the program. He defines curb appeal, saying, “I think curb appeal is in the eye of the beholder and as a manufacturer, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we are manufacturing and making roofing materials, especially our shingles, in a wide color palette... What is going to make your house look perfect? How could that roof complement the entirety of the house so that it would really bring everything together?” 

However, curb appeal is more than just ensuring you have the nicest looking house on the block. Jack continues, “[Homeowners] want to make sure that the roof is going to protect them from the elements, that that roof is going to keep them and their family and their belongings, the people they care about, the things that they care about, safe...it’s going to keep them dry.” The perfect roof is about both form and function to achieve the aesthetic they want while also protecting them.  

Chad agrees that curb appeal encompasses the entire structure. As he points out, you can’t have a mortgage without a roof on your house, and at the end of the day, everyone likes something that’s new rather than old and run down. He gives us an analogy, saying, “Anything brand new looks good. The curb appeal comes when you've still got that 1998 Nissan Maxima that you've never painted. It's still running, but it's faded. It's dull. So, some would say, ‘Oh, that's not bad,’ but then you pop a new coat of paint on it, or get a new roof, and suddenly, there's curb appeal.” 

At the end of the day, curb appeal can be preserved with a little maintenance. Chad returns to his car analogy, “Unless you change the oil, rotate your tires, do basic maintenance, it’s not going to function properly. And it’s the same with your roof, you just never look up until it’s dripping on you.” 

Listen to the full episode to hear the car analogy continue and to learn about the IKO products that enhance your home’s curb appeal, current color trends in the industry and how sustainability plays a role.