A house has more than one crucial element without which it cannot serve its purpose of providing a safe space for the people living inside and acting a home where they can feel on their own. If we take a step back and look at an average house, it is the walls that actually make up the rooms and protect the people and the things inside, while the doors and windows give the access and the ability to enter and leave the premise. However, if the house lacks a proper roof over it all, it is literally useless. Form the weather and the elements to the quality of life of everyone inside, a house is not a house unless it has a proper, quality roof to give protection, shape, meaning, and comfort.
About Roofs
Roofs have been an integral part of people’s homes for thousands of years and as technology advanced the preferred materials for the roofs changed. We have seen it all, from wood and tiles, to concrete and new artificial materials. However, one of the best materials to use for this part of your home is metal, and despite being overlooked and forgotten it is making a comeback.
If there are any new roofs that are currently going on in your neighborhood or city this spring or summer, you might notice more and more of them are made of metal. To everyone’s surprise, metal roofing is the second most popular type after asphalt for new construction and roof replacements in cities. Asphalt is another surprise material we do not always think about as a roof unless we are talking about modern house types or residential buildings. Metal on the other hand can go on anything and do more than a good job.
The benefits of metal roofing range from durability to sustainability but in order to cover them all we have to dive deeper. With that being said, let us now take a quick look at what makes this material one of the best roofing options you can choose for your home.
1. Durability and Longevity
At the top of the list of reasons homeowners are turning to metal for their roofs is the long lifespan of this material combined with its ability to withstand all the usual problems for decades. A properly installed residential metal roof can last as long as 40 to 70 years and come with a 30 to 50-year warranty most of the time. For most people, this means a metal roof is the last one they will ever have to install atop their home.
Unlike asphalt or wood, a metal roof is unaffected by a great variety of problems that most roofing has to deal with including moss, mold, mildew, or fungus growth. All of those can damage and destroy other materials without ongoing maintenance and cleaning, but metal has no problem with either of these.
2. Safety
The second major benefit metal roofs offer is the increased overall safety. For one, metal roofing naturally resists fire and the flying embers and sparks that cause it. Most come with a Class A fire resistance rating, which is a boon for homeowners who live in areas prone to sudden and uncontrollable wildfires. Wood is known to go up in flames quickly while asphalt and other materials tend to melt much more easily.
Considering metal’s ability to sustain damage and provide safety, a commercial metal roof can provide the same sort of protection for your business, something that can greatly benefit you when the time to renew your insurance finally arrives.
Metal roofs also protect your home against all kinds of extreme weather, including hail, heavy rains, and high winds. In fact, many high-end metal roofs meet or exceed some of the strictest building codes in the United States, including hurricane-prone Florida and the whole of East Coast.
3. Looks and Appeal
If you feared that installing a metal roof means your home would look like a corrugated tin barn, know that metal roofs now come in a wide array of colors, finishes, and shapes to give your home some great curb appeal as well as value. The two most common metals used are steel and aluminum, both of which hold paint finishes very well, which contributes to the more than 100 colors on offer.
The majority of homeowners choose to go with a traditional standing seam construction. Make sure to check here if you would like to know more about that form. However, there are lots of other styles and profiles to choose from if you need something more specific to fit well with your existing home design. Metal can mimic nearly any look you like including wood shakes and clay tiles.
4. Sustainability
Most metal roofing includes up to 35 percent recyclable materials and can be 100 percent recycled at the end of their long lifespans. Steel panels can be recycled multiple times without losing strength so if you are environmentally friendly and want to use green and renewable materials, go with steel.
They also create an ideal platform for eco-friendly initiatives, including solar panels and rainwater harvesters that are easily mountable. Unlike asphalt, metal roofing lasts longer than your solar panels, so you do not have to remove the panels to replace the roof after a while.
Take Advantage of the Benefits of Metal Roofing
As you now know, the benefits of metal roofs are more than enough to persuade an average homeowner to make a switch from some other materials they could have perhaps had in mind. When it comes to roofing, you can hardly beat roofing materials that last a long time, look fabulous, and are energy efficient at the same time. Despite the added cost when compared to other, more orthodox and common types of roofs, the benefits of metal roofing make it worth considering when you plan re-roof your home, even more so if you are just not choosing the roof for the first home you are building.
Have you enjoyed this guide to metal roofing benefits? Check out our other home improvement articles before you tackle your next remodeling or DIY home project.
