Far from the hot tin roofs of shanty towns and fiction, built-up roof and cladding systems have been used successfully for a few decades now. Popular in the UK, these roofs are made of profiled aluminium or steel sheets, typically thin-gauge and light-weight.

You Might Think That Metal Roofs Are A DisasterFor Insulation.

However, modern metal roofs have two or more layers, separated by spacer bars to provide a gap for insulation material. The spacer bars are designed and laid out specially to prevent a phenomenon called “cold bridging”, which is when an object in between two insulating layers transmits heat where it just ain’t wanted. These bars also provide structural integrity to the roof. It’s actually been found that modern metal roofs can save money both on heating in winter and air conditioning in the summer because of the high thermal reflectivity of metal. In the summer, the light and heat is sent straight back into the air, and in the winter, the heat gets bounced back down into the house.

Another common worry about metal roofs is noise. Anyone who’s spent a rainy night under a tin roof will attest to this concern! However, properly fitted and insulated metal roofs don’t transmit any more sound into a building than slate or wooden roofs – remember, you have two layers of metal separated by mineral fibre insulation material, which is a good sound dampener.

A huge advantage that metal roofs have is their resistance to fire, which is an important consideration these days. There’s hardly a month goes by that doesn’t feature news of wildfires in Australia, the US or occasionally in Europe. Metal is just not flammable under normal conditions, and a metal roof will have the highest fire safety rating possible.

Another concern in some parts of the world is tornadoes and high winds. The good news is that most metal roofs can withstand winds of up to 120 miles per hour. A frequent problem in areas where roofs are composed of ceramic or slate tiles is that these tiles are easily dislodged by even moderate storms. These roofs are also very low-maintenance, and most are guaranteed for at least 25 years. Pretty much the only maintenance they’ll need is an annual hose-down and inspection. With steel roofs, you will need to make sure there’s a durable topcoat to protect the metal from the elements. If you get a scratch or a dent, this means the topcoat is damaged and this will enable to rust to take hold and spread. If you see damage like this, the topcoat will need to be reapplied. In cases of severe damage, like holes, you’ll probably need the entire sheet replacing.

You might also be wondering about lightning, after all, you’re sitting in a metal box! Stop worrying about it, because a metal roof doesn’t attract lightning any more than a slate or asphalt one. In the event of a lightning strike, the flat roof disperses the charge evenly and safely.