By Emmanuel Onsomu
There are numerous materials available for home owners to choose from to fit their roofing needs.
However, before deciding on any roofing material, it is important to fully understand the geographic location and position of your house.
This is very important as durability of the roof will greatly depend on the climatic conditions.
New products are always being developed to overcome the shortcomings of older roofing materials, meet the demands of modern building techniques, and conform to increasingly tough building codes.
While choosing a durable roofing material, it is also advisable to take into consideration its initial price, the maintenance cost and the insulating properties.
The most commonly used roofing materials are; metal, concrete and clay. Some innovative, energy-efficient homes are being roofed with sod.
Metal Roofing
Metal Roofing is one of the greenest and most sustainable materials available. Metal Roofing is primarily manufactured from RECYCLED steel or aluminum.It also REFLECTS the UV that strikes rather than absorbing it into the building thus reducing energy costs. Additionally, Metal Roofing will last far longer than any other roofing material.
Corrugated iron sheet roofing structures are lightweight and inexpensive in comparison with other roof structures. They are portable and have simple laying procedures making installation easy and quick.
Typically they weigh less than one-third the weight of asphalt/fiberglass shingles; and are as much as 75% lighter than clay, concrete or slate. Corrugated iron sheet roofing structures are more rigid providing more dimensional stability and structural integrity.
They are available in a wide range of sizes, colors, thicknesses and materials, allowing homeowners and contractors to customize a roof as per their desired needs. Metal roofs are durable, fire retardant and almost maintenance-free. The lowest end metal roofing, thin gauge with acrylic or polyester paints, commonly called AG (agricultural) or Utility panels will last 20 to 30 years. Most metal roofing products today come with warranties from 25 to 50 years.
They are also energy efficient; Coatings with high reflectivity like Kynar with “cool roof” pigments commonly save 20-30% on air-conditioning costs due to reflecting away much of the sun’s heat. This increases the thermal efficiency of buildings in high temperature areas with its cool-roof paints and high emissivity.
Research by the Florida Solar Energy Center in 1985 showed that metal absorbed 34 percent less heat than asphalt shingles, and homeowners switching to metal roofing reported saving up to 20 percent on their energy bills. The coatings and fixings on steel roof sheeting can be designed for different environments including industrial and marine locations.
Due to their high strength to weight ratio, metal roofs are often used to cover large buildings. The roof of the new Wembley Stadium is an example. It consists of approximately 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) steel sheeting. Metal roofing is hail resistant. Painted metal roofs are usually snow-shedding. For this reason, metal roofing is ideal for homes in high latitude or mountain regions.
In fact, many metal roofing products have the highest impact resistance and hail rating granted by the insurance commissions in the hail belt regions of the U.S. Some insurance companies even provide a reduced rate for metal roofs. Metal is readily recyclable. Aluminum and copper roofing products are available with over 95% recycled content. Most metals can be recycled over and over without losing any valuable properties. Metal roof sheets can be used equally well in cladding the sides of buildings.
Metal roofing can be used on residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural buildings.
Concrete Roofing
Concrete roofing material are usually made from a mixture of cement, fine aggregate such as sand, coarse aggregate such as gravel, water, admixtures and air.
A result of this is a Concrete roofing material that requires low maintenance, has a long lifespan, offers good fire protection and are resistant to rot and insects.
In the early days, concrete roofing had problems with the material curling, breaking and changing color. However, technology advancement in concrete roofing has helped solve these shortcomings.
There is a variety of Style and color choices of concrete roofing material. Through mixing of cement with additives, manufacturers are making lighter and lighter products.
The availability of different styles and colors of concrete roofing material helps to enhance any architectural appeal. With the performance and longevity of a concrete roof in addition to its aesthetic qualities, this results in a project getting noticed. Whether you are a production builder looking for ways to differentiate your development or a homeowner who plans to sell your home in the near future, concrete roofing can greatly increase the home’s value. It offers elegant, enduring aesthetics for house designs and improved marketability for the builder.
Concrete roofing provides greater protection to the homeowner, both as a noncombustible finish and for their contribution to thermal performance of the building. Concrete roofing is also rust proof.
Clay tiles Roofing
Clay tiles roofing provides unlimited benefits such as fire safety, as they are non-combustible, and durable. They often have enhanced air circulation compared to other roofing material because ambient air can circulate below as well as above the tile. This enhanced air circulation helps the roof shed solar heat more readily.
They are available in a variety of rich colors, which are fade-free; they are proven to be tough against harsh weather effects and have that historic appeal. They can be used for new roofs or to regenerate old ones. Clay tile materials are highly resistant to chemical agents. They are good thermal insulators. This is due to their nature of production which is burnt clay that has the property of being a good thermal insulator. During summer, the ceramic material provides a pleasant environment while during winter it retains the heat inside for a longer time.
Besides the thermal comfort, the phonic comfort contributes to maintaining a relaxing atmosphere within your home. The roof made out of ceramic tiles is a good sound insulator, offering a pleasant atmosphere unhindered by noise sources.
Clay tile is recognized not only for its insulating properties but also for the aesthetic ones. The elegance that a roof made out of ceramic tiles provides for a home is easily noticeable during a walk through the historic areas of cities, where there are houses or villas covered with ceramic tiles. They preserve the elegant character of the classic tile, yet giving a building a modern touch.
Roof Installation
Roof installation requires special care. Durability of your roof greatly depends on its installation. A roof that is poorly installed will not last long. There is a lot to remember when installing a roof and sometimes it is best to hire a professional roofer to install it for you. Before you install any roofing material, you need to make sure your roof can support the weight of the roofing material.
If your home is already built, you will need to consult with a roofer or engineer to confirm your roof will support the weight. If your home is being built, it is important to let the builder know your plan on using a specific roofing material. It is necessary to take precautionary measures while installing the roofing material. Prior to installing your roof, you will have to do homework and you need to find the most convenient method(s) of installing the material.
Different procedures and tools are also employed in installing different types of roofing materials. The roofing material must be spread on the roof in a proper way. You must follow the rules of the building code of your local governing body/ municipality. You must also install the roofing material according to the instruction of the architect.
Hiring the best and experienced roofing engineer coupled with proper maintenance of your roof may very well last the life of your structure. Any home owner’s desire is a roof that’s not too expensive, requires little or no maintenance, and lasts forever. To achieve this, as a homeowner, you should be careful when selecting a roofing material for your building. If you settle on a material that doesn’t absorb a lot of heat from the sun, you significantly reduce your home’s cooling needs.
The material must be tough against harsh weather effects. It should be a material that can be used for new roofs or to regenerate old ones. Resistant to chemical agents is an added advantage. The material should also be a good thermal insulator.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that most roofs are replaced or at least repaired after a period of time. Roof replacement or repair costs can be significantly reduced through careful selection of your home’s roofing material. This will ensure that; you’ll use less building material, fill up less landfill space with discarded material, and put less demand on our natural resources!
It is of utmost importance to research well and know which roof fits your needs. Roofing information is readily available. You can get such information from various organizations such as; Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC).
As an educational organization, CRRC supports research into energy related radiative properties of roofing surfaces, including durability of those properties, as well as serve as an educational resource for manufacturers, code bodies, architects, contractors, homeowners, etc.
They are named as the Supervisory Entity for radiative properties of roofing materials in California Energy Commission’s Title 24 energy code. The CRRC-1 Standard is referenced by various codes, including the 2012 International Green Construction Code.
The CRRC Product Rating Program is a US nation-wide program, but also includes several ratings for international products. They advice that there are several factors that should be considered when selecting a roof, including energy savings goals, project location and climate, code requirements, aesthetic preferences, etc. Some of the most important factors when choosing a cool roof are the radiative properties of the material, including the solar reflectance, thermal emittance, or SRI.
Drexel Metal Roofing
Drexel Metals engineered metal roofs protect your structure from Mother Nature dangers. Drexel Metals on-site manufacturing business model dramatically reduces packaging waste as well as transportation and re-transportation of materials all backed by Drexel Metals quality assurance program and warranties.
Combine all of those advantages with high efficiency Photovoltaic Solar Film, and you can also dramatically reduce your electric costs in both Commercial and Residential applications. It is very exciting to literally watch your meter spin backwards, building yourself more and more credits with the electric utility!
Drexel Metals Warranty
Warranties are only as strong as the company that stands behind them. From materials to installation, no one offers owners more responsive and reliable warranty protection than Drexel Metals. Their long-standing relationships with their supply chain partners protect customers and owners by ensuring materials of consistently high quality.
As part of their Weathertight Warranty Program, Drexel Metals takes the additional steps to understand each potential application and recognizes the need to educate and support their certified installers. As a result of their attention to detail, Drexel Metals Roof Systems perform optimally in each installed environment.
Paint and Substrate Warranties; Non Prorated 35-year Kynar 500 Warranty, Blank 35 year aluminum and paint,25 Year 6month Drexlume Warranty. Drexel also have a Galvalume warranty applicable in a salt atmosphere or relative to bodies of salt water.
Drexel Metals offers site-specific warranties as well as care and maintenance guidelines for the post-installation care of your metal roof.
They offer Weathertight Warranty Program that truly protect the owner. Inspections during installation are documented with written reports and photos. DrexelWeathertight Warranties offer no dollar limit. They are disciplined yet flexible in working along with the architect, general contractor and roofing contractor to ensure a peace of mind for the owner.
Drexel Certified Installers undergo rigorous reference checks, on-the-roof training and inspections of previous jobs before being allowed to install Drexel Metal Roofing Systems.
Their Weathertight Warranties are available in many different options to fit your budget.
Classic Metal Roofing Systems
Classic Metal Roofing Systems has been a manufacturer of residential metal roofing since 1980. Their products beautify and protect fine homes, churches, and other buildings throughout the United States, Canada, and other countries. Trained and experienced dealers, along with their own Customer Support team, are available to meet your needs.
Their focus is on increasing your home’s value and protection, making your home the worry-free and comfortable investment it should be. With Classic Metal Roofing, you are assured of the world’s most beautiful metal roofs. The beauty and environmental-friendliness of a Classic metal roof is the result of their highly specialized and proprietary manufacturing process.
Their manufacturing process is both precise and unique. The heavily-textured beauty of their metal shingle roofing systems adds strength and prepares them to take whatever Mother Nature dishes out. Their warranty provides specific hail protection including protection against finish damage and leaking due to hail. Additionally, unlike most other roofing materials, metal does not lose impact resistance with age – this is a real bonus over other products which become more susceptible to damage with each passing year.
With their Class IV UL 2218 Impact Resistance Rating, you might even be eligible for a discount on your homeowner’s insurance. In the event of an especially severe storm, if an indentation does occur, it can often be repaired easily and invisibly by capping over the damaged shingle panel with a new panel.
Classic Metal Roofs are completely non-combustible and provides great protection from external fires. Additionally, the extreme low weight of their products minimizes any cave-in threat which might occur with an interior house fire.
Classic Metal Roofing System is a Green Roof – it is made from 95% recycled aluminum and its long life expectancy guarantees sustainability. Add in energy efficiency and the ability to be installed over most existing roofs (avoiding landfill disposal of old materials) and you have what is likely the most environmentally-friendly roof available to homeowners.
Dreadnought Tiles
Dreadnought Tiles manufactures the widest range of clay roof tile colours, and offer solutions for new and self-build projects, re-roofing, matching existing clay roof tiles for roof restoration, extensions and conversions.
Dreadnought Tiles are recognised for their unrivalled true clay colours. Colour is generated exclusively through the delicate control of the kiln atmosphere, without the use of surface pigments, stains or coloured sands. The colour of a Dreadnought Tile is unique, their natural colour has a warmth and subtlety that cannot be matched with artificial colours and will endure for the lifetime of the tile, as the colour is fired into the body rather than applied as a surface coating.
Dreadnought Roof Tiles have been produced on the same site since 1805 and developed by four generations of the same family management. They pride themselves on their high levels of service and the quality of their products.
Their New Dreadnought Classics range is a close match to the original Dreadnought Handmade tiles manufactured until the 1980’s. These tiles have a variation in the surface texture and shape to create a charming, characterful and traditional roof. Dreadnought Classics are available in a range of colours form Staffordshire Blue to Deep Red.
They also offer a heritage service that can create ornamental roof components such as ridges or finials and are able to match existing ornamental components. Dreadnought tiles are sold across the UK but also recently to New Zealand, USA, Japan, Sweden, Belgium. In New Zealand Dreadnought Tiles were used to re-roof Government House in Wellington, the home and office of the Governor General.
Dreadnought Roof Tiles are a true testimony of how a traditional product can be used in contemporary design and the options available for mixing tiles to create a distinctive appearance on the roof.
Reynolux®
Reynolux® from Alcoa Architectural Products is a prepainted aluminium sheet or coil manufactured through the coil-coating process. Unlike powder coating, this process allows for the application of one or more layers of coating, all in uniform quality and with no colour deviation between different delivery batches. Reynolux® is a tremendously versatile product. It is suitable for roofs, facade cladding and many other interior and exterior applications. Reynolux® can be used in new construction as well as for refurbishment.
Reynolux® opens up creative possibilities in a market segment that far too often moves no further than the standard options. The outstanding physical and chemical characteristics of the coatings give Reynolux® an extraordinary resistance to UV rays and good weather protection.
The flexibility and formability of Reynolux® mean that you can use it to create curves and 3-D elements, which are difficult to do with other materials. It can be fabricated without problems using standard machine processes like cutting, profiling, folding, bending, pressing, drilling and sawing. Joining can also be accomplished through standard means like screws, rivets, glue and folding. Reynolux® is primarily shaped in the workshop.
Reynolux® with EcoClean™ is the first coil-coated architectural wall panel that helps clean itself and the air around it. Alcoa scientists developed a proprietary process that applies TOTO’s HYDROTECT™ technology as a titanium dioxide coating, called EcoClean, to the pre-painted aluminum surface of Reynobond® or Reynolux®.
The result is a product that, when combined with sunlight, acts as a catalyst to break down organic pollutants on its surface and in the air around it, like smog, into harmless matter which is then washed away by rainwater. With its high bending stiffness and flatness and its little expansion Reynolux® is easy to process, simple to fix, lightweight, highly resistant to weathering and warping and very durable: in short, it is an ideal roofing material.
Its aesthetic and appearance similar to the tiles respect perfectly the harmony of the building. Alcoa Architectural Products provides up to 20-year-guarantees in the roofing field.
The combination of Reynobond® and Reynolux® gives architectural projects a completely new dimension, since the two products complement each other perfectly. Manufactured at the same coil-coating plant, their colours are always certain to be identical. This allows you to achieve a standard exterior using two materials, which, in turn, provides cost benefits in terms of purchasing and maintenance.
Alcoa Architectural Products offers the largest selection of coating systems on the market. Exclusively available is the DURAGLOSS® paint system, a high-performance coating based on polymer resin. It offers serious resistance to wear and tear, salt, moisture, and UV rays. All DURAGLOSS® coatings are, in accordance with current needs, available as special solutions for specific usages as Anti-Graffiti or Anti-Scratch.
The wide range of surfaces from Reynobond® and Reynolux® is made up of the Standard, Wood Design, Natural Finish, Metals, Aluminium Brushed and Effects design lines. Besides the more than 80 colours of our colour charts, Reynobond® and Reynolux® can be acquired with myriad potential colours. All standard colours in the RAL- and NCS-colour charts can be supplied, as well as custom colours. Many colours are also available with surfaces in a powder-coated look.
Through exceptionally short lead times, even for small quantities and advice, the company’s commitment to meeting delivery deadlines as well as its quick reactions allows to forego large stocks. Their locations distribute throughout Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Australia. From their base in Merxheim, they provide customer services in almost any European language.
The main export markets for Reynobond® are Europe, Asia and Middle East. The main export markets for Reynolux® are Europe, especially France, Germany, Austria, Pologne, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Suisse, and Russia.
Alcoa Architectural Products says three factors are crucial for architectural applications: aesthetics, durability, and processing. Reynolux® fulfils all these requirements in grand style.
Given the rapid progress in 3D technology, Alcoa Architectural Products is set to encourage further development and use of 3D applications as a modern presentation form. With the online configurator Reynobond® ColorLab Alcoa Architectural Products is the first company on the market to offer such an extensive download service on top of 3D representation.
Reynobond®|Reynolux® with EcoClean™ represents an important step forward in sustainable building design. It is an economically viable self-cleaning technology that reduces maintenance costs and helps with the decomposition of smog and other pollutants, from dirt to diesel fumes, which cling to building surfaces.
