Depending on where you live in the American southwest, that’s the norm. Shingles are weird.
This is in central Saskatchewan. Presumably those southwest roofs are flat - this isn’t.
Low slope, so considered flat for most codes, can’t use shingles. Basically every commercial roof has rocks, but In the last decade they’ve shifted to a vinyl. Lighter, handles more snow load.
They probably could use shingles, there are plenty of surrounding houses with about the same pitch that do.
From one to next they look really similar.

2:12 is low slope iirc. So 3:12 can use shingles, but not 2:12.
You’re right though, could just be a look choice on a higher slope. Could be a “trial” roof or something who knows.
Weird. I would assume that rocks would be problematic for snow and would just encourage snow to stick and add street to the framing.
The only rock roofs I’ve ever come across are in temperate places that don’t get snow.
On metal roofs they actually add grips so the snow can’t slide right off.
A sheet of snow isn’t light, you DO NOT want that sliding off and hitting you, but it’ll also fuck your eavestrough up.
“Eavestrough” is some hardcore Midwest levels of dialect
Canadian, eh?
Michigander, so close enough.
I grew up in Phoenix in the early 80s and I saw many of these.
Saw something similar to this in Tempe last year, but I didn’t see any lawns like this in the area, I don’t think I saw much of any green the 3 weeks or so I was there.
Slate shingle roofs used to be the norm.
Not in this part of the world though.
But slate is flat and can be overlapped. How would this even work?
you see this all over Europe with clay roofs, they put large rocks to weigh down the tiles to prevent winds from lifting them. But, usually just around the edges of the roof.
Ok that makes way more sense.
Doubt it, thatch and wattle and daub are the norm. Slate needs to be mined, it doesn’t just grow near you.
Yes and in some parts of the world it’s really easy and cheap to mine surface slate.
Weird. I a few months ago I stumbled upon two mid century apartments in my town that both had rock roofs.

I wonder OP’s roof didn’t used to be painted.
The Home School of Rock.
We should project this onto the whitehouse.
Hot rocks in your area
happy cat noises
Phar out. I wonder what they use for waterproofing?
I wonder how they get them to stay in place. It’s not a steep slope, but it’s definitely not a flat roof. So far I have resisted the urge to ring the doorbell and ask about the roof.
They must have used some type of resin/ epoxy.
EPDM is the most common material for modern rubber/stone roofs in commercial applications.
Meanwhile, EPMD is an uncommon hip hop duo from Brentwood.
It’s not instead of shingles, that’s a tin roof instead of shingles. This is a design aesthetic.
Souns like I’d go deaf at the thought of rain.
A tin roof sounds absolutely wonderful in the rain. My cottage has one.
neat






