Common Basic Roof Material Types

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Pros

A Metal roof will hold up very well in all kinds of weather and they are very water proof. These roof do look good and the older ones that are made from thicker steel sheets that have been Zinc coated can easily last for 100 years but the newer ones unfortunately are not made to last longer than the paint job....

Iron roofs are cheap to buy and light, so the structure they are fixed to does not need to have as much timber in it. This could be good or bad depending on your perspective. These roofs are quite air tight and do not get much dust in them from the outside unless it is a old Queenslander with open eaves.

A cheap roofing material that can be fixed to light construction roofs like Exposed beam or Raked roofs. They have superior water proofing at low angles when compared to other materials like tiles. For this reason corrugated iron can be used on very low pitch or even flat roofs.

Cons

All Iron roofs suffer from the effects of age, anywhere the protective coating is removed they will rust in that spot, that means every screw hole or cut in the sheet is the start of a rust hole in the future.

These don't often kink when walked on but it can happen, especially if iron is rolled into a "Bull Nose", these often lack support under them and will kink if walked on.

They will dint in a hail storm and although replacing a sheet is a simple matter, the colour of the new sheet will not match the colour of the old faded sheet and so you roof may need to be repainted anyway.

Rain noise is a very big problem if your iron roof is not well insulated and so I really recommend having good insulation on your ceiling if you have an iron roof. Also iron roofs expand and contract in the heating and cooling of the day, this can make a creaking noise that is quite loud if the temperature changes quickly. Any noise in a iron roof will reflect around inside the roof space a lot more than in a tile roof and so Ceiling insulation is more important when considering this cheaper type of roof.

Condensation will also form on the bottom side of a roof at time but I do not normally see this as causing any trouble as the water will evaporate very quickly as the day heats up.

Iron roofs Get hotter faster and hold the heat longer than tile roofs, I always hated climbing into a iron roof at 3pm in summer because I know that it will be very hot in there even if they have roof vents (The exception to this is old Queenslanders with open eaves but then these roofs are freezing in winter.

If you live close to the sea these roofs do not like the salt air and will not last as long as a tile roof. Especially if they have a join in the sheet from the top of the roof to the bottom. The join will hold moisture and rust the laps of the sheet out from the inside. You will not be able to see this from inside the roof or from outside the roof and then one day it will just start to leak (Especially after someone walks on the joint and cracks the rust loose.

Tips

If you are building with Iron and thinking about insulation (Which is a Must) you should not waste your money on ventilation or anticon blanket. A good insulation installed on the ceiling will do the job very well but roof vents will just cause future roof leaks, make noise and let critters into your roof. Roof vents do not move enough heat to cool these roofs and so don't waste your money.

Anything at all left on the roof will encourage rust to form, if you have one of these roofs check it for leftover nails, screws or rubbish left on the roof anytime you have a tradesman on the roof. Often you will find old screws on a roof like these that have been left there from the original installers and it will be causing a rust hole to form around the screw. This happens because anything laying on a roof holds water around it for longer.

Pros

Tiles have been used for 1000's of years on roofs and they actually make a excellent roof with some fantastic properties that no other roofing material has been able to match. Tiles can be made out of may materials but Clay tiles are by far the best and longest lasting material to make your roof out of. Clay tiles are made from natural clay deposits, that are moulded and baked, it's that simple. They are so environmentally friendly when compared to other materials and they look fantastic with a nice coloured glazing on them (The colour comes from minerals added before baking, not chemical paints added after). A good clay tile will literally last forever.

Tile allow a roof to breath and that helps stop excess heat building up in your roof space, this means you do not need as much insulation as you would with a iron roof.

Tiles also help stop sound as they absorb the sound much more than an iron roof does and tile roofs do not creak and groan as the tile expands and contracts in the changing temperature.

If one of your natural clay (Terracotta Tiles) breaks it is a simple thing to remove the broken tile and replace it with a new one. If you went with the natural clay tile the colour will not have faded and so the new tile will match perfectly (Aside from the fact that the new tile will be a lot cleaner) This is a big advantage over cement tiles that fade and become brittle on your roof over time. Then it just takes one hail storm of a careless tradesman to break a few tiles and you will not be able to match the colour with the new tile, which normally means repainting the roof.

Roof access for trades people doing work is very easy, two tiles can be lifted out in no time allowing easy non destructive access. If a trades person breaks a tile it is normally obvious and can be temporarily fixed with silicon or a replaced with a spare tile.

The Bedding is the weakest part of a tile roof and it will need to be checked after about 30 years but if it has a quality Acrylic coating over it that is flexible, it should last a lot longer. In fact if the pointing is applied to the bedding properly it may need to be repointed but it should never need to be re bedded.

Cons

Cement tiles do not last forever, in fact they are not designed to last much longer than the coating that is put on top of them. Cement tiles will crack without people even walking on them, sometimes the roof tiles just develop a crack which will open up over time and start to leak. I have seen many brand new roof with these cheap crappy cement tiles on them that are already broken.

Cement Tiles really are cheap for a reason, normally they are put on the roof still green (Not properly cured) and they will break and leak at some point in the life of your home, this could cause a lot of damage particularly if the leak runs down a wall cavity and rots out the wall timber frame before you notice it is leaking. I have seen that happen a 100 times. Save yourself the problems and just pay the extra for Natural Clay or Terracotta tiles when you buy your new home. In 30 years of doing roof work I can not even remember the last time I broke a terracotta tile or even saw one broken on a roof. They are that good.

Tips

Every new house normally gets a few spare tiles with it from new But you will need to make sure you get at least 30 spares in my opinion. This gives you a good margin if a tradesman breaks a few tiles. If you have Terracotta tiles you most likely will not need any spares but all the same a few could not hurt.

If you are getting your cement tile roof restored, don't get suckered into replacing "tile clips" on your roof. I have seen people being told by scamming roof companies that their roof is leaking because of old tile clips and being quote $5000 for the repair. The lady called me and I found one broken tile and a blocked valley witch I fixed for free when I installed her roof insulation that only cost $2000. Tile clips are a common scam by doggy roofing companies and so please send me a message if you have any doubt before you pay to have them repaired or replaced.

If you buy cement tiles or have your roof painted, it is a good idea to leave your spare tiles in a place where at least a few of them will weather the same as the ones on the roof do. That way if a trades person breaks one it will have about the same faded colour to when you get it replaced. Saving you seeing the new tiles standing out like a saw thumb every time you drive in the driveway.

If a trades person gets on your roof, get up and check your tiles over as soon as you can, most trades will break tiles because they do not know how to walk on a tile roof properly. Often then just silicon them up or put the broken tile in the eave area. Pretending that they did not break it and then when your eave rots out they can say that the work they did was nowhere near that broken tile. So check before they go. Of course if you have terracotta tiles, it is really unlikely they will break one in my experience.

If you have "valleys" in your tile roof Keep them clean because leaf litter will build up in them and rust the valley iron out. If you have lots of trees around invest in a quality gutter protection that is made of aluminium (don't use the plastic crap, it does not work 1/2 as well)

Pros

Their is no benefit to having one of these roofs on your house over any other product and so the only benefit is that it keeps the water out of your home. While it is doing that, you are doing well, if the sheets ever break of you want to paint it, save your money up and replace the roof.

Cons

Asbestos is a banned product in Australia and can no longer be used because the fibres get into your lungs and cause cancer. If you have it on your roof now do not collect water from your roof for drinking and make sure you do not get exposed to loose fibres from it.

These roofs are very hot in summer and we can lift sheet to insulate under them with pump in cellulose fibre roof insulation. Even if it does not have a manhole we can still insulate under them by lifting a sheet. The sheets are very brittle and can not be replaced, so I would not recommend anyone to move them unless they have done 1000's of them before like I have.

The fibro sheets are very heavy and should be handled by two people if they need to be moved. The cost of asbestos disposal in Australia is very high and so you might want to sell the house if you think the sheets need replacing.

Definitely do not sand, grind or cut these sheet. That mean you can not put a roof vent in the top because you would have to cut a hole and this would expose the person doing it to dangerous asbestos fibres.

Tips

If you have a leak in one of these roofs it will most commonly be the ridge caps that are cracked or the screws in the sheet have started to leak. Originally the screws have a tar put on them to seal them but it dryes out and cracks over time. You can repair it with silicon but it is actually better to use more tar because the tar is soft and in the heat rebinds to the asbestos every day but silicon will just come off with the top layer of fibres.

If you have a Crack in your super 6 fibro roof like this one does, the best thing to use is some tar backed aluminium foil tape.

Pros

They are made from light weight aluminium and nailed to the batten with 4 nails in the front edge of them. This makes them quite waterproof and good in storms. The stone covering is not just for show but also helps to deaden the noise of rain on the roof, that is a real problem with metal roofs.

Cons

These tiles do not wear out but the stone covering often washes off or turns a dark brown or black colour as they age and get covered in mould. Often this will expose the shinny aluminium and leave the stones build up in the guttering.

Tips

These tiles are made from aluminium and are good until someone walks on your roof who does not know how to walk on metal tiles because most people will walk in the middle of the tile and kink them. When they kink, they often open up little tears that will leak.

If you need to walk on your roof you should always walk on the front edge of the tile and have all your weight on that 50mm wide strip that is supported by the batten underneath. If you have kinked metal tiles watch this video about how to fix them, it is from the manufacturer and they make it look easy but I can tell you it is not that easy and once they are kinked once they will kink in that same place again more easily. Also this video does not show the little tears that can form with a bad kink but I often see them on the inside or the tile.

If you want to paint them you need to pressure clean the loose stones off first and then apply the new paint and additional chips where they are worn off.

I do not recommend you letting any tradesman on your roof it you have a roof like this, most trades will tell you they know all about it but in the end if your roof does not leak now and you let people on your roof, it will most likely start leaking.

Roof Construction Type

Things that Matter to the insulation quote

If your professional is not taking notice of these things when insulating your home, he just might be putting your families lives in danger. Make sure that all these things are properly taken care of when you get insulation put in your home.