Metal roofing is becoming more popular among homeowners in Ottawa. If you’ve been driving about and seeing an abundance of bright, clean metal roofs around town, you may be curious as to why. Whether you’re constructing a new house and haven’t yet determined which roof is ideal for your design, or it’s time for a new roof and you want to consider all of your choices before making a decision, we’re here to provide you with an overview of metal roofs. Let’s begin by examining why metal roofs have been so popular recently:
What Is Metal Roofing?
Metal roofing substitutes asphalt shingles, wood shake and other roofing materials. Metal roofing comprises huge, thin, coated metal sheets that are screwed onto your roof. There are several metal roofing choices including:
- Steel: As expected, steel provides metal roofing with strength and temperature resistance.
- Aluminum: Highly recyclable and naturally corrosion-resistant, aluminum is an excellent metal roofing material.
- Zinc: Zinc is often added to steel and other metals to increase their corrosion resistance.
- Copper: Copper is an ancient roofing material that’s well regarded for its durability.
Advantages of Having a Metal Roof
- Maintenance-Free: Assuming the initial installation was performed correctly, metal roofs seldom need maintenance or repairs.
- Longevity: Metal roofs have a lifetime of over 50 years, which is 5 times that of asphalt shingles. This is a tremendous advantage since it implies you may never need to build a new roof again after installing a metal roof.
- Strength: Unlike some other roofing materials, metal can easily withstand impacts such as hail and foot traffic.
- Fire-resistant: Metal roofs will not contribute to the spread of a house fire. In fact, they may also shield your house from errant wildfire embers. Unlike other roofing materials, a lightning strike will not ignite a metal roof.
- UV Reflectant: Metal roofing reflects heat in UV light, while asphalt shingles absorb it. This makes your house cooler in the summer, reducing your A/C bills. Moreover, certain metal roofs are coated with a substance that reflects even more UV radiation.
Key Benefits of Metal Roofing
Metal roofing has a reputation for being exclusive to big industrial and commercial buildings, but this has become a misconception. While it is true that metal is an excellent option for these purposes, metal roofing can also be used on residences, agricultural structures and architectural buildings.
1. Money Savings
Due to its greater resilience to wind and water, metal roofing is often used in commercial applications, especially where hurricanes and other forms of tropical weather are common. Even if the facility is not located in a tropical climate, metal roofing provides company and building owners with the assurance that their roof will survive and not need continuous maintenance.
Homeowners are now beginning to discover that metal roofing will really save them money in the long term. Many homeowners believe their roof is too small to merit a metal roof, but we are here to inform you that roof size is irrelevant. Metal roofing solutions can be used on structures as modest as sheds and mailboxes.
Additionally, the usage of metal as an accent, awning, or section of the roof has increased. Note that before a contractor installs two different roofing materials, it is important to bring this to their attention since they may react.
2. Versatility
Since metal roofing starts as a metal coil or sheet, it can be molded and cut into various forms, sizes and lengths. This variation, together with metal’s resilience, range of hues and eco-friendly properties, offers architects several advantages when designing visually beautiful buildings with metal.
3. Agricultural Buildings
Metal roofing is often used for barns and other agricultural buildings for structural purposes. Agricultural buildings generally use an exposed fastener or lap seam profile, in which the ends of the panels overlap and are held together by sealant or exposed fasteners.
At Merlin’s Roofing, we recognize the significance of selecting the optimal roof for your house or other structure. We are here to answer your questions and assist you with making a decision. Contact us at (819) 969-0920 to talk with our metal roofing experts.
