A Guide to (Permanent) Metal Roofing for your Home!

In today’s building industry, the importance of properly roofing a home has become a major topic regarding home improvement. This is especially true in areas that have suffered from tornadoes and other extreme weather conditions. That is what makes choosing the right roofing materials for your home extremely important.

Metal Roofing Shingles

Today’s building industry has found the use of metal shingles to be an excellent choice for a home. They have a number of outstanding features such as:

• Can be adapted to any shape of roof
• Are easily applied
• Can be installed over the current roof
• Eliminates water vapour problems
• Have a good warranty
• Are energy efficient
• Available in aluminum, steel, zinc and copper

Using Metal in Residential Roofing

Residential roofing metal is an effective choice for those who wish to have an efficient but different-looking roof. Now available in regular type shingles such as metal slate, metal shake, metal cedar shingle and metal tile, it allows you to choose the exact type of shingle that will match the design of your home.

One brand that has proven especially effective is the Permashake Metal Roof Shingles by Atlas International. This company offers the Advanta Shingle, which looks like a regular shingle, the Castle Top which is diamond-shaped, the Rumba Shake and the Standing Seam Shingle. Each of these types is adaptable to the specific architectural type of the building involved.

Metal Roof Contractor

When choosing a metal roof contractor it is important to look at their record and be sure they have the experience and a good reputation in the home improvement area. They will be able to present you with a home improvement guide as well as a metal roofing guide.

These guides will provide an outline of what would best suit your particular roofing situation. This is important if you wish to install the best metal roofing possible.

For example, the metal roofing guide will provide you with information regarding the type of metal roof, proper care and benefits of the various types of metal shingles. The home improvement guide will inform you regarding the advantages of the roof in the area of energy savings, roofing guarantees, shingle types and the specific shingle that will fit your architectural design.

Benefits of Metal Roofing Shingles

Because of the efficiency of residential metal roofing products, there are now Energy Efficiency Federal Tax Credits available for up to $500. These tax credits are issued according to brand name, model number, initial solar reflectance, solar reflectance after 3 years and initial emissivity.

colour plays a large part in this Energy Star rating. For example:

• Shake

Alunar Brand Royal Blue has an Initial Solar Reflectance of 29,00 with 25,00 Solar Reflectance after 3 years.

Alunar Brand Weathered Grey has 37,00 Initial Solar Reflectance of 37,00 with 35,00 Solar Reflectance after 3 Years.

• Tile

Alunar Brand Royal Blue has 29,00 Initial Solar Reflectance with 25,00 Solar Reflectance after 3 years.

Alunar Brand Red Tile has 26,00 Initial Solar Reflectance with 25,00 Solar Reflectance after 3 years.

This indicates the importance of discussing the Energy Star rating of the brand you are choosing for your metal roof if you are to receive the most benefits.

Metal Roof Warranty

One of the most important things, when purchasing a metal shingle roof, is to understand the terms of the roof warranty. A good roof product warranty will specify that the product is free of manufacturing defects that can result in cracking, rusting, rotting, splitting and suffering from hailstone impact. They will also indicate that the shingles will resist wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour.

Our Warranties for Permashake Metal Roof Shingles” by ATAS International include:

• 20-Year Limited Product Warranty

• 2-Year Insulated Metal Panel Craftsmanship Warranty

• 30-Year Limited Paint Finish Warranty

• 20-Year Platinum Plus Limited Weather Tightness Warranty

An installation warranty will be provided by the contractor who installs the roof and covers things such as installation errors. Always check all warranties out carefully prior to installation.

Metal vs Asphalt Shingles

Time has shown that asphalt and many other conventional roofing materials start to fail when they are first exposed to the weather. Because of asphalt granule loss, this usually results in the need to replace the roof within 12 to 20 years. A warranty on these types of materials, as a rule, is filled with many exclusions or pro-rating.

When asphalt shingles are installed it often requires tearing off the underlying roof. However, unless the asphalt roof is in complete disrepair, it is possible to put an underlay (a 30 lb. felt or synthetic sheet) on the roof deck and then apply the residential metal roofing shingles.

Installing Residential Shingles

When a contractor is contracted to install a new roof, the first thing he will do is check out the structural integrity of the building as well as the current roofing materials in use. When this is found to be in good shape installation of the new metal roof will begin.

All products used in this type of construction must pass a UL-2218 Impact Resistance rating which measures the impact resistance of the roofing material to be used. Homeowners are particularly interested in this rating as it can provide discount ratings on the homeowner’s insurance coverage.

Certification by the Metal Construction Association (MCA) Certification Program assures that metal products used will pass a variety of quality levels and standards for residential roofing applications.

The building contractor will then place an underlay of felt or synthetic over the entire roof and proceed to install the shingles, flashing and other materials to ensure snug and waterproof construction.

In Chatham Ontario and surrounding areas, at Country Towne Metal Roofing, are pleased to offer a variety of steel roofing options using the highest quality residential metal roofing materials. If you think you may need a new roof, give us a call today at 1-888-674-6570 and talk to one of our roofing experts regarding what we can do for you.