Metal roofing lifetime warranty, never roof again is the claim made by many companies. While that’s never a long time, it would be more accurate to say never re-roof while you’re in your current home or if you don’t do any renovations. Who knows what the state of the roof of his next house will be.
When metal roofing entered the scene in earnest some twenty years ago, the products being sold were not, as it were, “up to par.” Companies trying to take advantage of the angst of asphalt roofing manufacturers put substandard products on the market to make a quick buck. Many of them made it. Most are no longer in business.
The market recognized the need for an alternative roofing product and quickly jumped on board. The market is demanding and quickly weeds out fraudsters. The steel and aluminum roofs received a kind of black eye for the behavior of these people. They overpriced an already expensive product and literally ripped off consumers willing to bite. These people created the circumstances for a much slower increase in the acceptance of steel and aluminum roofing by the general public.
The metal roofing companies that survived were mostly the good ones. These companies were willing to spend money on research and development. Materials in both the steel and aluminum roofs have improved dramatically. Paint and coatings became the main focus, while fasteners and joints followed closely behind.
One of the first consumer questions when considering a permanent roof was the fading factor. Early metal roofs were suspect at best. At that time, the technology did not exist for coatings and paint to last the life of roofs. Today, with the assistance of Nassau, there is the paint necessary to make fifty-year warranty claims.
The next problem was how the roof was supported and whether it could be walked on. Progressive companies developed interlocking shingle and strapping systems that, when installed correctly, made the roof 100% waterproof. Design came into play and the metal tiles that used to rise up and take over the house now hugged the roof, enhancing its lines. With the roof-hugging design, the problem of noise during rain and hail has also been eliminated.
Metal roofing can now honestly claim everything its predecessors couldn’t. The paint would last the life of the roof. If necessary, virtual invisible repairs can be made. The roof would look just as good thirty years after installation as it did when it was new. The energy saving claims were legitimate. Unlike asphalt roofs that absorb heat and retain cold, metal roofs actually reflect heat in the summer and insulate in the winter.
People who made the decision to spend more today and put up a metal roof literally changed the spending dynamics of the house. When the financeable roof was paid off, they now had decades of worry-free time to experiment with their decision, while neighbors struggled to pay thousands of dollars for a new roof every few years.