Virtually all roofing systems the industry has to offer present certain advantages of use, benefits and drawbacks. Metal roofing is not an exception, and just like any other roofing system it offers benefits, and drawbacks. For instance, the initial cost of metal roofing is often sited as a major drawback. However, it all depends on the perspective you take. We will come back to the initial cost of metal roofing investment in a bit, and analyze it in greater detail, but for now let’s focus our attention on the benefits of metal roofs.
Longevity of Metal Roofs
One of the dimensions for measuring any given roofing system’s attractiveness is its longevity, which can be well over fifty years in metal roofing. Fifty years! Imagine, that’s half a century, but you can only get such a long lasting roof, when it is installed by a well trained metal roofing installer. It means that the installer not only follows the metal roofing manufacturer’s installation requirements, but also takes into account the overall condition and functioning of the roof in question, and make any and all, necessary improvements, changes and adjustments with regard to roof ventilation, insulation, roof deck condition, and other factors that comprise a fine working roof.
With regard to the longevity of a metal roofing system, it is important to keep in mind that not all metal roofing systems are created equal. For instance, I once had the displeasure of working with a fine looking metal shake roofing system by Atas manufacturing, that was poorly designed, did not have a good wind uplift, lacked in terms of metal shake lock design, which compromised its reliability, and required a roofing pitch of at least 7 to 12, which indicated that the system was prone to leaking. This system was called Rumba Shakes, and I had no choice but to install it because it was specified by the client, who ordered that metal roofing system. Well, we did the best we could with it, and that roof still functions fine today, but we were quite worried about the small locks of the metal shakes during the installation. Continue reading