Maintaining Metal Roofing: Best Maintenance Practices

The proper maintenance plan for metal roofing includes regular inspections of the panels and fasteners to look for distress conditions, which can include: movement distress of the panels and fasteners, sealant failures, fastener gaskets, snow, ice, and hail damage, failures of surface coatings, debris clogging drains and gutters, and debris clogging drains and gutters.

According to the manufacturer, fastener gaskets should be replaced when they have reached the end of their expected service life. Repair or replacement of sealants at penetrations and perimeters should also be performed on a regular basis. However, some butyl sealants will retain their bond and elasticity for much longer periods of time than the majority of sealants, which can last up to 50 years.

According to the manufacturer, sheet metal roof panels should not be bent or dished by accident if maintenance technicians walk directly over joists and purlins while performing routine maintenance. In addition, they should restrict foot traffic on sheet metal roofs because scratches can expose the steel sheet beneath the sheet metal, increasing the likelihood of corrosion occurring. If technicians are walking on a sheet metal roof or cleaning debris off of it, they should exercise caution to avoid scratching the surface.

Metal roofing systems can be a cost-effective and viable option for both new construction and roof replacement, depending on the application and the environment. The process of selecting, designing, and installing should be done with care to ensure that the final product is both visually appealing and low-maintenance.

What distinguishes metal shingles from other types of shingles is their metallic appearance.

Residential interlocking metal shingles roofing with interlocking metal shingles is the second most popular type of residential metal roofing after standing seam metal roofing. There is an enormous variety of different metal shingle styles to choose from, all of which are produced by a variety of different manufacturers.

While there are a few different types of copper and zinc shingles available, G-90 galvanized steel and aluminum are the metals and alloys that are most commonly used in the production of metal shingles and tiles.

Interlocking metal shingles are manufactured with the help of stamping presses. It is necessary to feed the metal coil through the press several times before a die is used to stamp the shingle in two or three steps. Before anything else, the profile of the shingle, as well as the lock flanges, are manually stamped out of steel. When this is completed in steps 2 and/or 3, then the locks are made and the shingle is pulled from the press and placed into the box.

What if I revealed something to you that you already knew? To ensure long-term performance, the majority of metal shingles are painted with Kynar 500 or an equivalent premium paint, with a total of seven layers of paint and primer baked onto the metal coil to ensure long-term performance.

Roofing styles: Metal shingles are distinguished from other types of roofing materials by their low profile and interlocking design, which is four-way interlocking.

When metal shingles have a low profile, they can be walked on easily (during installation) without damaging the shingles, and a simplified roof flashing system (which is easier to install and therefore costs less than standing seam) can be used instead of standing seam.

Among the many different styles of metal shingles available are those that look like cedar shingles and those that have a natural slate impression. Metal shingles that are designed to closely resemble both types of premium roofing materials can be installed at a cost that is either the same as (as in the case of cedar shingles) or significantly less than (as in the case of slate impression  shingles) the cost of the premium roofing materials themselves. Aside from that, metal shingles will outlast cedar shingles by a considerable amount of time.

An additional popular type of metal shingles is a simple flat tile impression, which is fundamentally a smooth surface metal shingle with stiffening ribs in the middle that, when viewed from different angles, gives the appearance of separate tiles. The stiffening ribs that are used in all other types of metal shingles are the same as those that are used in this particular type.

Depending on the manufacturer, metal shingle and tile roofs are available in a wide variety of colors, with the most common being 7 to 15 standard colors, with the most common being 7 to 15 standard colors.

All metal tile roofing systems are coated with a high-quality protective paint finish, such as Kynar 500 or Hylar 5000, in order to meet the requirements of residential applications.

When compared to standing seam roofing, where custom colors are abundant and diverse, most metal shingles, shakes, and tiles are pre-stamped and shipped in boxes to a job site or to a supplier for pick-up, making it difficult to achieve 100% custom colors on the job. However, some metal shingle manufacturers, including PermaLock and FutureRoof, may be able to offer premium colors in addition to the standard colors on larger orders of  tiles and shakes, if the order is for a sufficient quantity of metal tiles and shakes.

In order to find an energy-efficient metal shingle roof, look for CoolRoof colors that have been certified by the Canadian Residential and Commercial Reroofing Council. According to a general rule of thumb, the higher the SRI score for a specific shingle color, the greater the potential for energy savings.

Generally speaking, the majority of metal shingle systems are installed from the eaves of the roof upwards; however, there are some exceptions.

Pre-installed drip edge / starter trim is secured with a lock or hook before the first course of shingles is installed. The drip edge / starter trim is attached to the properly prepared roof deck with nails or screws.

shingles are attached to the roof with nails (which are made of the same material as the shingles to prevent corrosion) and, depending on the manufacturer, either special built-in hems or clips that are integrated into the shingles.