Advantages of Metal
Roofing
The idea of protection with metal began centuries ago!
Metal
roofing has a long, successful history worldwide. Its proven track record
spans all types of projects - new construction and remodeling for commercial,
industrial, and residential buildings. With today's heightened interest in
and demand for ecologically sound building materials, metal roofing rises to the
top as the product of choice.
SUSTAINABILITY
Metal roofing's
durability can virtually eliminate the need to use future raw materials to
produce roofing. Metal roofing is unaffected by the hot-cold/wet-dry
weather cycles that break down other materials. Other roofing materials,
however, are heavily affected by weather extremes. In addition, metal
roofing is known for its ability to hold up against other weather forces
including windstorms, hail, ice, and snow. No other roofing material has
greater ability to withstand a wider range of weather conditions than
metal. While some metal roofs are quite lasting and durable, with exposed
metallic surfaces, modern technology also has introduced quality paint systems
that beautify metal roofing. Metal roofs can be repainted for additional
life, if necessary.
RECYCLED
CONTENT
Metal roofing
offers consumers to choose a significant building product on the basis of it's
recycled content. Most metal roofs have recycled content ranging from 25%
to 95%. This is in stark contrast to conventional roofing shingles, which
have much shorter lives and use oil-based products as their primary raw
material.
RECYCLABILITY
While metal
roofing is known for its extremely long life, it does have the added benefit of
being 100% recyclable if it is ever removed in the future, perhaps as part of a
building renovation. The steel, aluminum, and copper used in metal roofing
can be recycled in the entirety, potentially even becoming another metal roof.
LOW WEIGHT
Depending on the
product chosen, metal roofing has a weight that is 1/2 to as little as 1/8 the
weight of conventional roofing shingles! In comparison to heavy tile and
slate roofing, the weight of metal roofing is virtually miniscule. This
low weight serves several valuable purposes. First, it puts less weight
load on a structure. This helps extend the life of buildings and it also
provides invaluable protection against roof cave-in threat in the event of
seismic activity. However, with retrofit applications, many metal roofs
can be installed over the old roofing material. This prevents the need to
remove the old roof and fill up valuable land fill space.
PRODUCT SAFETY
Metal roofing and
the finishes used on it are inert, safe materials that do not pose a health
risk. Furthermore, metal roofing is noncombustible, which provides
additional fire protection for homes. Today's commercially produced metal
roofing systems are carefully tested on an ongoing basis for performance, wind
resistance, fire resistance, and hail resistance.
ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
Metal roofing is
rapidly gaining acceptance as a very energy efficient material. Property
owners have reported energy savings of as high as 20% and even more after
installing metal roofing. Ongoing studies are being conducted to
continually substantiate and quantify the energy efficiency of metal
roofing. Many available metal roofs are being documented to meet Energy
Star requirements. Prepainted metal roofing can display solar reflectance
of at least 65% and thermal emmitance of 80%. Additionally, low thermal
mass of metal roofing means that it dissipates heat very quickly once the sun
goes behind a cloud or sets for the day.
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