Dang, George Had a Red Roof?! – A Regular Guy’s Ramble Through 200 Years of Shingles
(Grammar police, take the night off. I’m busy roof‑geekin’.)
Alright so I’m sittin’ on the couch scrollin’ the internet, tryin’ not to do the dishes, and I stumble on this story about George Washington’s house sportin’ a bright‑red roof.
Honest‑to‑goodness cherry red.
Turns out back in the 1700‑somethings they slapped hand‑split cypress wood shingles on Mount Vernon, then slathered ’em with oily paint so the rain didn’t chew ’em up. They were blue first (fancy!), but by the 1790s George said “nah, make it red” and boom – that crimson look we all recognize today
Now, here’s the part that made my brain go “…huh.” Those wooden shingles could hang in there 50 years or more if you kept ’em sealed. Folks were basically roofing with trees and paint buckets. No Home Depot, no nail guns, just axes, tar, and a lotta patience
Jefferson Shows Up With a Roof You Can Walk On
Right down the road (shout‑out to Lynchburg), Thomas Jefferson was like, “Nice color, George, but can your roof double as a patio?” Jefferson cooked up this hidden “terras” roof, picture a zig‑zag of little ridges and valleys under a flat deck so he could strut around at sunset with bats and owls for company. He even piped rainwater off those secret valleys into cisterns because Monticello was thirsty. Poplar Forest
Thing was so ahead of its time folks didn’t know what to call it, and most of ’em leaked later on (no TikTok tutorials back then). But credit where due: Jefferson basically invented the American hang‑out‑on‑your‑roof deck 100 years before downtown bars started charging $12 for rooftop lemonades.
Fast‑forward a century and some change.
A dude named Henry Reynolds up in Michigan gets clever in 1903 and chops roll roofing into little pieces. Boom, the first asphalt shingles. By 1911 things are everywhere, and come the 1920s insurance companies are hollerin’ “quit burnin’ down your houses with wood roofs!” so asphalt really takes off. By 1939 they’re crankin’ out 11 million squares a year.
So, picture it:
- 1700s: Fancy presidents rocking cypress planks painted blue‑then‑red.
- 1800s: Same deal, just tryin’ not to leak.
- Early 1900s: Somebody slices asphalt rolls, adds rock sprinkles (granules), and suddenly every neighbor on the block wants the new stuff.
- 1950s onward: They stick glue strips on ’em so the wind don’t yeet ’em into your yard, swap the paper guts for fiberglass, and voilà, the shingle you and me stare at today.
Why’s any of this matter to a normal Joe who ain’t even thinkin’ about a roof? Because history snuck onto your house, that’s why. Next time you’re grillin’ burgers and look up, remember:
- Your asphalt shingles got famous ’cause wood ones kept catchin’ fire.
- They’re basically the great‑great‑grand‑kids of George Washington’s cypress planks.
- Colors ain’t just pretty – old‑school paint kept roofs alive, new‑school granules do the same job.
Kinda wild, right? Go impress your buddies at the next cookout: “Ya know, asphalt shingles only popped up after 1903 – before that even the first President was up there paintin’ wood.” They’ll either think you’re smart or hand you another hotdog. Win‑win.
Bottom line? Roofs evolve sloooowly.
Seriously now..
From Washington’s hand‑painted cypress shingles to Jefferson’s experiment with a rooftop “terras,” it took more than a century before asphalt shingles hit the scene. Asphalt shingles are still the default on most homes today. Sure, we’ve swapped wood for fiberglass mats but the big leaps in roofing tech come once in a generation, not once a week.
Where Cenvar fits in
Cenvar keeps an eye on every legitimate advance: impact‑rated architectural shingles, better attic ventilation, underlayment that breathes, even integrated solar, but we don’t chase gimmicks. What‘s changed far faster than the materials is what homeowners expect from the people installing them:
- Clear communication from first inspection to final nail.
- Clean job sites (no rogue nails in the driveway).
- Fast, honest warranty follow‑through.
- Respect for your time and budget.
That focus on customer satisfaction is why our crews stay booked: neighbors talk, reviews travel, and referrals beat any trend cycle. In other words, Cenvar uses the best‑proven products of today—but it’s the everyday service that keeps roofs (and relationships) rock‑solid for decades to come.
Mount Vernon - 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121
Poplar Forest - 1776 Poplar Forest Pkwy, Lynchburg, VA 24502
