Will wooden roofs soon become a theme of our past? When it comes to upkeep and repair, steel roofs clearly outshine their wooden counterpart. During high winds and heavy rain, steel roofs significantly outperform over wooden shingles and beams. Thanks to innovative design teams, steel roofs can add balance and symmetry to your building of choice.

If your building is a steel structure, choosing the proper roof can be complex and confusing if you are not guided by the right team of experts. The steel roofs in the 21st Century have a longer life expectancy if carefully designed, constructed and maintained. In the proper pitch, a steel roof even in the wettest climate stands firm. Low profile or steeper pitched roofs are readily available and easily installed as are the optional amenities of parapets or mansards.

The primary factor to consider with any steel roof is the slope or pitch. Low profile or even flat roof design are at the low end of the spectrum of steel roof design. 6:12 (six inches of rise for every foot of run) or “ski slope” pitches are the other end of the spectrum. Most people find a suitable roof pitch solution somewhere in-between. Steel roofing pitch can also affect the interior volume of the building. If your building requires the need of 100 feet in width and rise to a gable in the center, the roof pitch will be critical. A 1:12 roof pitch will have the roof rise four feet, two inches from the eave to the gable. Employing a 4:12 pitch to the same dimensioned roof has the roof rising just short of seventeen feet at the gable from the eave. If your interior space is requiring a ten foot ceiling, this rise in the roof will increase the interior volume substantially. This added interior volume needs to be heated or cooled which will add to your long-term energy costs.

Steel roofing is proven to be heads above wooden roofs. Exterior environmental conditions have an impact on any type of roofing system. In cold climates, the dangers of ice dams or water back-up can be very damaging to any shingled roof. The use of a standing seam steel roof system can help to alleviate any complications of water ponding. The roof will not blow off, as all steel roofs approved for high-wind areas meet or exceed the wind loads established by local building codes.

Steel roofs are lighter, wind and rain resistant, fire-proof and less expensive to maintain in the long-term. Steel roofs are environmentally friendly, and add additional value to the structures they are protecting. Steel roofs are the smart choice.