Roofing and Building Center

The Many Strengths of Metal Roofs

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Samuel Cheeseman ----- Advertisement

Metal Roofing

If you plan on installing a roof on a new home or replacing the roof on an existing one then you should give serious consideration to the various kinds of metal roofing now available. Whatever type of property you own there will be many types of materials and metal roof colors available for you to choose from. The best choice for you will depend on your individual home but you should try to find some more information on the various materials and options available such as sheet metal roofing and corrugated metal roofing. Many property owners may also want to consider a standing seam metal roof for their buildings.

Benefits

A metal roof has many advantages over the other popular types of roofing currently on the market. One of the great benefits you will enjoy is the impressive life expectancy and durability a metal roof will offer you. Sheet metals such as copper, zinc, stainless steel and aluminium are naturally very durable and can react with oxygen in the air to form protective layers which will resist many forms of corrosion. Many modern metal roofing materials use cheaper metal such as steel sheets which are then coated with the more expensive and durable metals so that the same long lifetimes can be achieve while keeping your metal roofing cost much lower. With some warranties currently offered lasting up to fifty years or even a lifetime this could well be the last roof you ever need to purchase. Even when the roof approaches that kind of age the maintenance and repair costs will be minimal in comparison with other types of roof.

When compared with other kinds of roofing materials metal roof panels are perhaps the most suited to resisting the elements such as rain, wind and hail over extended periods of time. When they have been painted these roofs are very effective at shedding snow. When the temperature begins to rise by even a little the snow will fall from the roof very quickly. A metal roof will also provide high levels of safety and security as they will be difficult to break into and will have the highest levels of fire resistance currently available.

Metal roofing also has many other strengths. It is extremely lightweight relative to other forms of roofing which will greatly reduce the levels of stress put upon your property. This means that the chances of your home requiring any further structural work in order to safely support the weight of a new roof are minimal. Metal roofing can sometimes be installed on top of the roof already in place on your property, especially if your roof is currently shingled. This can save a great deal of time and expense that would otherwise be spent removing the old or damaged roof from a building.

Cutting Energy Costs

Metal roofing systems can dramatically cut your energy consumption. They will act to keep heat inside your property in colder weather and also reflect sunlight during the summer, keeping your home cool. This is achieved with the use of coatings which contain modern ‘cool roof’ pigments which will give the roof surfaces their high levels of solar reflectivity. If you are currently living in the US then these points should be of particular interest to you. The government has realised that many kinds of metal roofing materials are extremely environmentally friendly due to their reflectivity. Therefore incentives have been offered to owners of qualifying metal roofs by way of substantial tax benefits. If your metal roofing is ‘Energy Star approved’ under the Government programme then you will be entitled to some financial benefit depending on your specific situation which could help to offset the initial metal roofing price. Metal is easily recyclable and it is common for 80% or more of a roof to be produced from recycled products. They can also be recycled again after use and will not lose any of their valuable properties. This means that substantial energy savings can be made by the metal roofing manufacturers during the production of the roofing before it is even installed in your building. Further energy efficiency can be achieved if you insulate metal roofing. This is commonly done by insulating the attic floor or by installing rigid insulation boards in the roof itself.

Usage of Metal Roofs

The huge range of metal roofing products now available along with the advanced processes in place for producing precision custom roofing sheets allow these materials to be used in most kinds of buildings. Industrial, agricultural, commercial and residential properties are all commonly fitted with a metal roof. Because of the advances made in producing these materials they can be designed for almost any roofing project and then cut exactly to size meaning that any waste in minimized and on the job fabrication is rarely necessary.

Variety of Materials Available

Many types of metal are currently used to produce roofing sheets for different purchases and to suit different budgets. One of the most frequently seen materials is steel which has been galvanized using a zinc coating and then corrugated using the roll forming technique. This produces strong, lightweight and long lasting corrugated metal roofing sheets which are especially well suited to large industrial and agricultural roofing projects. Stainless steel is also used and is effective in more extreme conditions where greater levels of durability are required. This can be produced in the form of shingles or standing seam metal roofing sheets. Copper roofing is very expensive but can sometimes be used for small detailed areas such as entrances or bays. It is also used for flashing. Copper would always be recycled if it is no longer going to be used as part of a roof as it is valuable and has many applications outside of roof construction. Aluminium is another expensive metal roofing material that has many benefits. It is lightweight, very long lasting, corrosion resistant and provides high levels of solar reflectivity and natural emissivity. These last points mean that it will increase the energy efficiency of a building considerably. Many other kinds of less common metal roofing supplies are also available including various blends of zinc, aluminium and steel or steel which is stone coated.

Maintenance, Repairs and Coatings

High quality roofs will require little maintenance or repair work unless some errors have been made during the metal roof installation. Most maintenance will entail reapplying layers of paint or roof coating to ensure that the roof remains resistant to corrosion. Kynar is a particularly effective paint for use on metal roofing and will protect the roof as long as the paint remains intact. It is one of the longest lasting roof paints and is also easy to obtain. The lack of maintenance or repair work needed for most metal roofs is one reason why these materials are so popular. A metal roof can initially cost more than some other roofing options with metal roofing prices at around $150-600 per square which is 100 square feet. This cost is most often offset by the long lifetime you can expect from your roof as many will have the potential to remain effective for over a century.