Choosing a roof covering for your home is a tricky business. Previously, everything was simpler, because there was only slate, and there were no problems with the choice, but there were those with the material itself. Now everything is different: the materials have become better, but the torment of choice has appeared. Today we will consider this issue in more detail. Let's talk about metal tiles and reviews about it, as well as take a closer look at the competitors of this type of coating.
Production technology
The raw material for the production of metal tiles is sheet steel obtained by cold-rolled hot-dip galvanized method. The thickness of the workpiece varies from 0.35 mm to 0.7 mm; a thin metal tile is one that is made of sheets with a thickness of 0.35-0.45 mm. The best metal roof tiles, according to customer reviews, are thick, with a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 mm.
Usually, thin steel is made in China. Extras in the production processmetal tiles can have a special polymer coating, which is an auxiliary protection against corrosion. If such a coating is present, then the final price of the material increases.
Sequentially, the stages of production can be shown as follows:
- primary rolled galvanized steel sheet;
- passivation (application on the primary protection sheet);
- applying a polymer layer to the sheet (if provided);
- sheet profiling on a special machine;
- sheet cutting and packing.
Pros of metal tiles
What benefits does it have?
- If the metal tile is laid according to technology, then this is a sealed roofing that requires a minimum of maintenance (it will be enough to check the reliability of the self-tapping screws once a year).
- The roof of this material is characterized by a relatively low weight, this to some extent reduces the basic requirements for the truss system of your building. And that's saving money.
- Sheets of metal tiles have a large area, which means that the installation of such a roof is simple and fast. It turns out to achieve a minimum number of seams on the roof of your building.
Material imperfections
The material is good, but we found a few controversial points in it:
- Relatively thin material, sheets have little rigidity, which creates some problems during installation.
- This is noisy stuff. You will always hear, for example, that the street has gonerain. This is evidenced by customer reviews of metal tiles.
- The protective coating layer is relatively thin, there is a risk of damaging it during installation.
- Scratched sheet surfaces can quickly corrode if not treated with protective compounds.
Material features
The material is sheet, which means that you should consider that if your roof is complex and "broken", then you will have a lot of scraps of material. Sometimes the amount of trimming is a third of the area covered by the roof.
Also keep in mind that the price of a metal tile is not the final cost of your roof. Add here the cost of waterproofing, lumber for the crate, and more. Before buying, it is recommended to calculate everything well, so as not to get into trouble later.
If your building's roof pitch isn't too steep, you may have problems with snow melting. Snow will cling to the ledges of the tiles, some will remain on the roof and gradually accumulate. In this case, sometimes you will need to manually clear snow from the roof to avoid failure due to overload. With all these features of the material, this material is praised in reviews of metal roofing. Sometimes they even call it uncontested.
Ondulin or metal tile: reviews
The best way to make a choice is to read the reviews and weigh them. Let's start with a review of the metal tile as a very practical material. Ondulin dimensions are fixed (2 meters by 96 centimeters and nooptions). The dimensions of a sheet of metal tiles have some flexible dimensions (the length of the sheet is from 35 centimeters to 8 meters; the width of the sheet is from 116 cm to 118 centimeters).
In terms of installation, according to reviews, ondulin is easier. It is soft, the sheets are small, you can roof with this material alone. In addition, the material is soft, it "forgives" some shortcomings if your roof has small irregularities in the truss system. But these advantages come with disadvantages. Reviews of a metal roof say that it is stronger, there is no arguing, because it is metal. There are fewer joints on the roof of metal tiles, due to the ability to choose larger sheets.
You need to walk on an ondulin roof with more care than on a metal roof. In general, it must be admitted that when ondulin was developed, it was positioned as a temporary roof. The service life of such a coating is unlikely to reach 20-30 years. Metal tiles are capital construction a priori. The warranty period of such material can reach 50 years, and what can we say then about the service life. Ondulin begins to fade from the first year, after 10 years it will no longer look very attractive. The metal tile has no tendency to fading at all. What is better - ondulin or metal tile? Reviews on the side of the metal coating. But this is not the correct comparison, because the materials are of different categories.
Metal tile or corrugated board
In this comparison, metal tiles will be the leader. It looks more advantageous in terms of aesthetics. And in terms of operationalmaterials are similar in quality. Yes, you can take a very high-quality corrugated board, in fact, it will be more reliable, because it will be made of thicker steel. But then the corrugated board will be more expensive. In the course of performance, metal tiles have a sufficient margin of safety with their standard thickness. The most common use of corrugated board is structures made of this roofing material for outbuildings and structures made of fence material.
Metal tile or soft roof?
Metal tiles are laid on the crate, and flexible roofing (shingles) - on a solid base. But if you wish, you can deliver the shingles yourself in your own car, placing the boxes with the material in the trunk and interior of your car. With a metal tile, this will not work. You always need at least category "C" transport to deliver the material to the construction site.
Shingles are easier to install and leave less waste. But a soft roof can be twice as heavy. In terms of service life, the materials are similar. It is the soft roof that looks more advantageous. In terms of protection from extraneous noise, shingles are ahead again. If we talk about prices, then shingles are about twice as expensive as metal tiles. Comparing these materials is not entirely fair. They are very different.
Metal vs cement-sand tiles
It must be said that cement-sand tiles are the progenitor of the modern variation of metal tiles. This is rare today, but it exists. now thisexclusive roofing material. It is expensive and very heavy. If you cover the roof with metal tiles, then everything is extremely simple, if you choose cement-sand tiles, then the foundation, walls and rafter system of your house should be ready for a very solid load.
Cement-sand tiles are almost eternal, over the years it does not lose its properties and does not fade. The metal tile still has its resource, limited to about half a century, maybe a little more. In addition, polymer paint will still fade over time, no matter how high quality it is, sometimes it happens in 5 years, sometimes a slight loss of color is noticed after 50 years, depending on the manufacturer.
The main brands of metal tiles in our market
About the Grand Line metal tile, the reviews are not bad, so you should focus on it. The company has been present on the building materials market since 2008. The manufacturer is Russian, according to him, only the best rolled steel is used as a raw material. Judging by the reviews, we can conclude that the manufacturer is not disingenuous. The products are of really good quality, but sometimes there is a defect. Is it possible to return the marriage? Reviews give conflicting information. It all depends on the place where you purchased this material, so try to take it from reliable places with a reputation. The Grand Line metal tile, according to reviews, is a good roofing material that deserves a solid four on a five-point scale.
Reviews of the Monterrey metal tile also make us talk abouther. This brand came to us from Europe, where this manufacturer is number one in the roofing market. Now the company is actively developing the Russian market. Of the obvious advantages that distinguish "Monterrey" from competitors, this is a wide choice of color schemes. In terms of the performance of the roofing material, it does not have any comments. It is possible that in our market "Monterrey" is the undisputed leader. At least, such a conclusion can be drawn, judging by the reviews of the metal tiles of this brand.
Other material manufacturers
PELTI from neighboring Finland has registered a special brand Takotta, it is under this brand that their metal tiles are produced. Of the advantages of this material, it is worth noting that it is made of high-quality galvanized steel with a thickness of at least 0.5 mm, and zinc protection is at least 275 g / m², which is a very good indicator. The galvanized layer is additionally covered with a layer of a special protective polymer.
Another manufacturer is the Swedish company MeraSystem, metal-roll is produced under the brand of the same name, tiles are made of high-quality galvanized steel by the hot method. Additionally, metal tiles are covered with plastisol or polyester for protection. Buyers leave positive feedback about the metal tile of this manufacturer.
Another player in the roofing market is Poimukate (Finland). The company has the strictest quality control of its products, steel fromthe world's best suppliers. This brand is extremely popular in Europe, the company came to Russia relatively recently.
Additional elements
This point is also worth paying attention to when buying. Sometimes manufacturers set not quite democratic prices for additional elements for metal tiles of their production. Dobori are required for the design of the roof ridge, as well as the edges of the overhangs, the sides of the slopes and much more.
It is important to understand that the more complex your roof, the more additional elements it will require. For the simplest gable roof, you will need ridge elements, special plugs, as well as additional cornice and gable trims. Sometimes the choice of the manufacturer is based on the prices of additional elements. Although a good metal tile, according to reviews, has adequate prices for the entire range of dobor. It makes no sense for honest manufacturers to mislead the buyer.
Result
Which metal tile is better? Reviews say expensive. We agree with this opinion. To summarize, this roofing material bypasses all its competitors, which are cheaper, but lose to those that are more expensive.
To some extent - this is the golden mean in the case when "the miser will not pay twice", but the construction will come out without too much frills. This is an option for the average house in Russia. The price matches the quality. The presence of strong competition in the market of manufacturers createsdemocratic pricing, despite the difficult times for the entire global economy.
Of the main strengths of the material, it is worth highlighting its ease of installation, durability, wide choice of colors and relatively low cost. The main disadvantage is the noise, which you will definitely remember when it rains, but over time you will get used to this nuance and will not notice it at all.
