Metal Roofing is an Increasingly Popular Option

By Lauren White.

Standing seam metal roofs reduce waste, are cost-effective, and give homes a modern look.

What’s trending in modern homeownership?  Standing seam metal roofs. They are visually appealing, cost-effective, low-maintenance, and environmentally friendly.  Typically seen on commercial and agricultural buildings, more and more homeowners are choosing this option for their roofs.  

Standing seam roofs have a lot of variety.  According to an article written in Forbes by Sheri Koones, “...Colors, materials, widths, shapes, thicknesses, and connection types” can all be customized.  A locking system is used to connect panels together, which is hidden and protected against the elements. This ensures moisture and wind cannot infiltrate.  “Standing-seam panels run vertically, from the roof ridge to the eaves, and are interlocked with raised, overlapping seams or ‘legs’ raised above the flat surfaces,” as explained in the Forbes article.  Roof panels can be cut either on-site or pre-formed in the factory.

Common materials used for standing metal roofs are steel, aluminum, copper, and zinc.  Steel is the most cost-efficient material. Aluminum is ideal for coastal areas since it has a lesser chance of rusting or corroding from the high salt concentration in the atmosphere.  Copper and zinc can last hundreds of years, but are much more expensive.  

Asphalt is also a popular roofing material, but it typically goes to the landfill and isn’t recyclable.  Sheri writes in the Forbes article, “Metal is one of the most environmentally friendly materials used for roofing.  A significant proportion of the raw materials have recycled content, varying from 35% to 95%.” Metal roofs can last for over 50 years and surprisingly “weigh less than half as much as asphalt shingles…” as mentioned in the Forbes article.  Metal is more protective against snow, wind, ice, fire, and hail, and won’t crack, warp, or rot due to excessive exposure to these elements.

Standing seam roofs can be installed over existing roofing, thus reducing the amount of debris going into landfills.  These roofs can “resist corrosion and last nearly indefinitely” if coated properly with a zinc-aluminum alloy, according to the Forbes article.

In addition to decreasing roofing waste, metal roofs can help decrease the temperature inside a home.  Factory-applied, highly reflective paints, “reflect sunlight and [reduce] heat transmission into the house…,” as noted in the Forbes article.  These coatings reflect radiant heat away from the home, thus keeping attics cooler and diminishing the need for air conditioning in the living space. 

There are multiple benefits to a standing seam metal roof.  And the Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA) has been educating people on these benefits since its inception in 1998.  The main objective of the MRA is to increase awareness of the beauty, durability, and money-saving advantages of quality metal roofs among homeowners, which are hard to ignore.  With an increasing concern for the environment and a desire to reduce home maintenance, metal roofs are a logical investment for homeowners.

Thanks go to MRA member, McElroy Metal, for the beautiful photo.

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