Further Reading

It's official. Once the province of boring-looking industrial complexes, metal roofing materials have become the staple of the modern architectural era. Simple and elegant in their looks, they've also proven to be the most environmentally friendly and safe residential roofing solution.

Indeed, aside from reflecting heat off of homes and lowering their reliance on watt-hungry air-conditioning systems, metal roofing is also much more easily recycled than any other type of roofing material. And, for the penny pincher, it'll be good to know that due to the fire, hail and wind resistance properties of residential metal roofs, the average insurance company will discount a policy on your home by as much as 25%.

Residential metal roofing materials have, without question, come a long way in terms of their design aesthetics - that was something achieved by the frenetic, minimalist nineties, when steel and glass were the height of construction attempting to embody the philosophy of 'dynamic tension'. Indeed, roof paneling has been developed so as to more closely resemble cedar shakes or Tuscan clay roof tiling than the raw, exposed materials that avant garde architects prefer.

But if you're keen to go for what has become to be the modern era definition of architectural definition of beauty, then you'll be well pleased at the range of metal roofing panels, which can be found in shiny aluminum, the ever-robust stainless steel, and even copper, well known for the way it weathers to a beautiful and quaint-looking green patina.

The most modern, and some would say aesthetically pleasing, metal roofing material is that of standing-seam roofing panels, which are both easily installed and virtually immune to wind, ice, snow and hail damage. If you'd like to go even stronger you can find these in Galvalume, galvanized sheet steel coated in a Zinc-Aluminum alloy that possesses the most impressive corrosion resistance of any roofing material, meaning that it will last a very long time.

Just how long it'll last is really the clincher. Most manufacturers of metal roofing materials offer a forty or fifty year warranty on their stuff. This is void if the panels are improperly installed, but if you fork out the necessary cash for a good contractor, you're pretty much looking at having a roof over your head that will last as long as the walls can hold it up.

For more interesting articles on Metal Roofing Materials check out www.DurableMetalRoofs.com.