Metal
Roofing Proves Its Mettle
By
Jim Quinn of Knight Ridder Newspapers
Most
homeowners probably don't often think about their roof.
Phyllis Philippbar is an exception.
"I
just love my metal roof," said Philippbar, who invested in
new, coated steel shingles when the roof on her home in
North Canton, Ohio, needed replacement five years ago. At
first, she and her husband, Robert, liked the idea of having
a roof they would never need to replace. In 1998, they had
an even better reason for endorsing metal.
"We
got hit by a tornado," she said. "The weather bureau said it
wasn't a tornado, but let me tell you something. It was a
tornado."
Whatever
it was, it was strong enough to knock four trees into the
house, and two of them landed on the roof. The steel
shingles prevented serious damage, proving to the
Philippbars that the extra cost for their roof had been
worth it. "Not one single shingle was removed," she
said.
Metal
roofing has a long history. Copper, tin or galvanized steel
have been on top of buildings a lot longer than asphalt
shingles, which came into common use in the early years of
the 20th century. Over the years, asphalt came to push out
competitors such as wood, slate and tile. Asphalt dominates
the residential roofing market today.
A
coalition of steelmakers, shingle manufacturers and
installers has formed to persuade homeowners to go back to
the future, investing in a new generation of metal roofing
materials designed to compete with asphalt. If they succeed,
there soon will be a lot more families like the
Philippbars.
The
most obvious sign of what's happening is the ongoing
television ad compaign conducted by the Metal Roofing
Alliance, which was organized in 1999 to promote new
materials. Homeowners who saw the commercial broadcast
during home-improvement programs heard a pitch praising
metal roofing, and were told they could obtain a free
informational video by dialing 1-888-METAL-ROOF
(1-800-638-2576).
MRA
President Tom Black said that more than 75,000 people
requested the video when it was broadcast during spring and
summer 1999. "The response continues to grow," Black
said.
Black
said the traditional metal roof used to be "vertical seam"
roofing. This is the material often seen on agricultural
buildings although it's also common on commercial buildings;
it's the basis of the bright red roofs found on Bob Evans
Restaurants.
This
type of roofing is made from thin sheet steel coated with a
protective layer of zinc applied by the electrocoating
method known as galvanization. The zinc, plus any paint,
protects the metal from rust.
Historically,
this style of roofing hasn't appealed to many
homeowners.
"The
key to breaking into the residential market was to develop
products that resemble shake, tile, shingles and slate,"
Black said. "In the last 10 years, that's been done."
These
new products typically feature a thicker layer of zinc
for extra rust protection and sometimes have a coating of
aluminum applied by a new process invented by Bethlehem
Steel. The aluminum layer is to protect against rust as well
as scratches, making the shingles more durable.
The
metal is then given a paint job at the factory, where
baked-on coatings give the material a fade resistant color
finish that's extra smooth and slippery. The stell is
stamped into the desired shape, and sometimes insulating
foam is sprayed on the back. Because it is made from thin
metal sheets, metal roofing is lighter than asphalt, tile or
shake, and can be nailed directly on top of old roofing if
zoning regulations permit.
All
this comes at a price. Black said the cost of a
professionally installed metal roof is, on average, 2 1/2
times as expensive as an asphalt roof.
"But what we like to stress is that the average asphalt roof
in America lasts 17 years, while a metal roof is guaranteed
for 50 years and should last twice that long," he said. "On
a yearly basis, a metal roof is the cheapest roof you can
buy."
As you might expect, advocates of asphalt roofing have a few
things to say about that. Officials with the Asphalt Roofing
Manufacturers Association point out that asphalt has far
more going for it than its main advanatage: price.
The
ARMA says manufacturers have developed improved shingles
that are longer lasting, more fire resistant and easier to
recycle. It says that asphalt shingles are much easier to
install and maintain. Homeowners who like the savings and
satisfaction of doing the job themselves can get
professional looking results with asphalt. Metal roofing
installation is more complicated, and the MRA agrees that
professional roofers should handle the job.
For
example, a do-it-yourselfer can easily trim an asphalt
shingle with a utility knife. You need metal working snips
to trim steel. You can't anchor metal with a hammer and
roofing nails; metal shingles come in interlocking modular
sections that require special skills to assemble.
You
can't walk on metal shingles, either, without denting them,
which makes installation even more complicated.
Still,
manufacturers believe the advantages of metal appeal to a
growing group of homeowners. "People who want any
low-maintenance product -- like vinyl windows, decking or
fencing -- are attracted to the idea of a metal roof," said
Bonnie Cornelius, general manager for the residential
roofing division of Accel Roofing Products in Allentown, PA.
"Older home buyers tend to like metal roofing because they
like the idea of a roof that will never need to be replaced.
Younger buyers tend not to think much about the roof."
Cornelius
said part of the stratagy of promoting steel roofing is
persuading roofing contractors to learn to use the new
materials, and telling them how to market metal roofing.
"We
like for them [contractors] to point out that all
the critical parts of a roof - the valleys and the flashing
around skylights and chimneys - are already made of metal.
If those parts are important enough to use metal, then why
not just use metal for the whole roof?
Black
said the business has gotten a boost in areas where
circumstances have led to endorsements of metal. After an
especially devestating series of hailstorms hit Texas, that
state's insurance companies agreed to offer a 35% discount
in premiums to homeowners with metal roofs.
In
California, some homeowner associations require fireproof
roofing, including metal.
These
days, metal commands only 4 percent of the residential
roofing market, but the MRA projects a 10 percent share by
2003 and a 25 percent share by 2012. To do that, it will
have to overcome one added problem that regularly makes
homeowners question the idea of a metal roof over their
head.
That
problem is the fears of homeowners who worry they won't be
able to stand the sound of rain on a metal roof.
Black
said the fears stem from the experience of people who have
been inside a metal-roofed barn or shed in a rainstorm. The
clattering sound can be delightful the first time you
experience it, but it's not the kind of noise most people
want to hear every time it rains.
"The
reason it's so loud in a barn is that you're probably
hearing sound from metal roofing nailed directly to the
rafters, with no ceiling or insulation between you and the
roof," Black said. It's different in homes, he said, because
the metal shingles are attached to one or more layers of
material over the roof sheathing, and that there are layers
of insulation, drywall, and other materials below that.
"Our
tests show that a metal roof in no louder than a
conventional roof," Black said. "i've got a metal roof. When
it rains, we can hear the rain on the skylight, but not on
the roof.
