Metal roofing is basically a building material that is used to protect the building from wind, moisture and various other exterior-elements. The roofs can either be used on commercial or residential structures and they’re usually available in a wide-variety of finishes and materials. Metal roofing is usually chosen because of its’ attractive appearance, long lifespan and durability.
Metal roofing is actually one of the fastest-growing segments when it comes to home improvement. It has more than quadrupled its’ market share-over the past-decade. The advantages offered by metal roofs allow the home owners to upgrade homes with roofs that give a long lasting value. Metal roofing provides the following benefits:
- A proven performance-expectation of 50 years & more.
- Beautiful and attractive styles that match your home or the neighborhood.
- Interlocking panels-for maximum wind resistance.
- They offer fire resistance.
- They are energy efficient since they keep your home cool.
- Low weight which helps in preserving the structural integrity & life.
According to LA-Metal-Roofs, metal roofing will greatly increase your home’s comfort by deflecting away most of the solar-heat thus reducing the cooling bills.
Types of Metal Roofing
Metal roofs are generally made from tin, copper, steel or aluminum. Steel is more common and can be coated using zinc so as to reduce rust and maintenance. It’s typically painted-on site or at times sold with a baked on finish. Aluminum is a bit expensive but it tends to hold-up much better in the coastal areas given its’ anti corrosive properties. Copper is often chosen for its rich-coloring, though it may tend to be quite expensive. Tin is lightweight and is commonly used on sheds and barns.
- Tin. A corrugated tin roof is quite weather resistant if it’s properly-installed. Steel is super heated and dipped-in molten tin so as to create this type of roofing material. The steel and the tin are bonded forever through this process. Painting a tin-roof is quite necessary so as to protect the roof from the exterior elements.
- Galvanized Steel. This metal roofing type is steel-coated using zinc to serve as protection against corroding and oxidizing. This material can be installed in different forms like standing seam units, shingles or a single metal-roof. A standing seam-unit is galvanized steel that is formed in long-sheets, and it is durable and will not degrade if lightly-scratched.
- Galvalume. This is created by coating-steel with a mixture of zinc & aluminum. It’s a popular metal-product for most homes that are close to salty waters. It can fix some-scratch damages on its own-by floating a small portion of coating-over the areas which have been affected. This makes it a great standing seam-product since installers will be able to relax a little bit when they are handling the long-panels.
- Aluminum. The rust proof qualities of aluminum metal make this type of roofing the top-choice for all metal roofs in the wet climatic areas. Aluminum needs to be made a-higher-gauge than that of steel so as to compensate for its’ lack of strength. It is however, more durability than steel.
- Copper. Beautiful stamped-copper roofing is eye catching. When coated using lead it will retain its’ metallic shimmer, and if left bare it can develop a wonderful-patina because of oxidation. It is not a widely-used because it is rather expensive. It will also require a very skilled-craftsman to tool in the panels into the proper positions.
Forms
Metal roofing is readily available in different forms which may be used to complement-various architectural decors and styles. It’s often sold-in form of panels, that can be embossed or flat. Steel is usually installed using a standing seam-system made from inter-locking panels. Most metal roofing materials are specifically designed to resemble tiles or shingles and can be styled to resemble-traditional wood or ceramic roofing-materials.
Installation
Metal roofing is basically installed over-plywood or OSB roof-sheathing. The sheathing can be covered using a moisture barrier so as to prevent any leaks from occurring or covered with a foam-insulation so as to help in reducing thermal transfer via the roof. On a flat-roof, metal panels can be nailed directly-to the moisture barrier or sheathing. When it comes to sloped roofs, the metal panels are usually installed into a system-of metal lathes so as to help in reducing the noise and the rattling caused by wind and other weather related elements.
Benefits
Metal roofs are usually lightweight when compared to the slate or ceramic tiles. They basically require little maintenance and they can easily last up to 50 years or more. Most metal roofing-materials aren’t affected by wind, snow, rain or hail and are naturally fire-resistant.