Whether you’re new to the Metal Roofing Learning Center, semi-familiar with our blog, or are a long-time subscriber, we wanted to start out by thanking you for being a part of Sheffield Metals. If you’ve visited the website, read blog articles, watched any of our videos, or downloaded any of our e-books or guides in 2019: Thank you!
A little over two years ago, we created the Metal Roofing Learning Center to answer the questions you’ve asked us about standing seam metal roofing, engineering/technical topics, common problems, installation, and more.
Our goal is to continue sharing knowledge and publishing content that is designed to:
- Assist contractors, manufacturers, fabricators, and wholesalers in selling their metal roofing products and services.
- Provide valuable resources for architects and designers to use when specifying metal roof and wall systems.
- Help to educate home and property owners throughout the buying process.
In 2020, we’ll continue to publish brand new content because we receive great feedback from those who read, watch, and listen. In fact, we’re happy to have welcomed about 300 new blog subscribers in 2019, which has grown our subscriber base to over 500!
If you missed out on some of our articles or still need to subscribe to the blog, we’ve got you covered. This article will catch you up on the seven most popular articles of 2019. Or, you can subscribe to our new monthly newsletter, The Roofing Rewind, to stay on top of the latest industry news, articles, videos, and more.
The 7 Best Metal Roofing Articles from 2019
#1: How to Pick the Best Paint Color for Your Metal Roof or Wall Project
For a property owner, often the most challenging decision tends to be what color to choose for the home or building they’re putting a metal roof or wall on.
It doesn’t help that metal can come in practically any color, as most coil and sheet manufacturers offer custom colors as options.
So, what color should you put on your property? Well, it depends. There are many different factors to keep in mind during your decision process.
At Sheffield Metals, we’ve spent over 20 years supplying the painted and bare coated metal sheets and coil that have been installed on thousands of structures as roof and wall panels, as well as trims. We’ve learned that picking out the right color is one of the most difficult parts of the pre-installation process.
To help you out, we’ll discuss the following topics in this article:
- Factors that can help you choose the right metal roof or wall color
- Different types of paint and coatings available
- Popular colors selected by Sheffield Metals customers
- Steps to take that will help you narrow down color choices
#2: Metal Roofing Weathertight Warranties: Uses, Types, & Definitions
How would you feel if you spent thousands of dollars on a new, long-lasting metal roof and it started leaking just a few years after the installation?
You probably wouldn’t be happy, right?
Whether you’re a commercial property owner, a commercial roofing contractor, or beyond, one thing is for sure: You want to go to extreme lengths to protect your investment. That’s why weathertight warranties exist and why it’s so important to purchase them for commercial metal roofing projects.
So, what exactly is a weathertight warranty?
At Sheffield Metals, one of our main priorities is ensuring the roofs installed using Sheffield Metals sheet and coil are structurally sound and last as long as the property owner expects it to. That’s why we’ve expanded our weathertight warranty offerings and continue to recommend them whenever possible.
In this article, expect to learn:
- What a weathertight warranty is
- The types of warranties offered by Sheffield Metals
- Why weathertight warranties are important
- Who can use or purchase these warranties
#3: What is Cool Metal Roofing? Reflectance, Emissivity, SRI, & Cost Savings
As the emphasis on conservation and sustainability dramatically increased over the past 15 to 20 years, so has demand for cool metal roofing products.
You might be asking yourself several questions, such as:
- What exactly is cool metal roofing?
- What is used to measure the “coolness” of a roof or wall panel?
- How does it help reduce energy consumption?
These are all valid questions that deserve a thorough explanation.
Here at Sheffield Metals, the bulk of our metal coils and sheets consist of our energy-efficient metal roofing metal brand, COOLR®, which is a metal roof and wall product engineered to meet the compliance standards set forth by ENERGY STAR® and LEED.
In other words, we know how important it is to have sustainable roofing products for architects to specify, contractors to install, and property owners to benefit from. Let’s discuss cool roofing further and dive deeper into how its heat tendencies are measured.
#4: Designing Standing Seam Metal Roofing: Top 5 Considerations to Remember
Whether you’re an architect, designer, builder, spec writer, or otherwise, there are always key considerations you should keep in mind when designing a project and specifying certain products.
This idea holds true with nearly every product, but specifically exterior building materials, as they are subject to harsher conditions such as water, wind, and other potentially damaging weather events.
One aspect that comes with its own set of critically important considerations is standing seam metal roofing and walls. If the design considerations we’re going to discuss in this article are not adhered to, the entire system could fail, leaving you with added costs and an unhappy client.
At Sheffield Metals, we’ve put an emphasis on our programs and educational initiatives for the architectural and design communities so they can be the most successful when specifying our metal products. Plus, we have an entire department of seasoned architectural professionals dedicated to providing project and design support.
Let’s discuss the core standing seam metal roofing design considerations to remember.
#5: Metal Roof Project: The Rajan Center at Boys Hope Girls Hope of NE Ohio
In the close-knit Northeast Ohio community, many organizations are working to support local kids who find themselves in complex or challenging home situations.
One such organization is Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH) of Northeastern Ohio, which hosts a variety of educational and empowerment programs for children scholars from under-resourced communities. BHGH provides long-term support and partnership that is focused on preparing each scholar for lifelong success.
With a consistently rising number of scholars in the academy, the converted garage and small community room at the Campus of Hope were no longer big enough to hold the activities and available programs. That’s how the idea for the Rajan Center came to be.
The BHGH administration wanted a long-lasting, low-maintenance standing seam metal roof to protect the Rajan Center but considered it out of their price range as a small, privately-funded non-profit. That’s when Bill Beargie, an independent donor/volunteer at BHGH and former owner of Sheffield Metals International (SMI), approached the Sheffield Metals team with an opportunity.
#6: Galvalume® vs Galvanized Metal: What are the Differences, Pros, & Cons?
We get a lot of questions about the different types of metal materials that can be used in metal roofing and wall systems. There is one question that comes up more often than others:
“What is the difference between Galvalume® and galvanized metal?”
These two metals, which are technically coatings applied to a steel core, aren’t all that different from one another by definition. However, the benefits and drawbacks of Galvalume and galvanized metal significantly differ, including how long each one lasts, the expectations of how each one will perform, and more.
While our main product focus at Sheffield Metals is painted or bare 24-gauge Galvalume coils and sheets used in the architecturally-driven metal roof and wall industry, we sell galvanized metal products as well. In essence, we believe it’s important that you know the different attributes of these two materials so you can make the best choice for your project.
In this article, expect to learn:
- What is Galvalume?
- The pros and cons of Galvalume
- What is galvanized?
- The pros and cons of galvanized
#7: Metal Roofing & Hail: How Hail is Tested & Insurance Damage Waivers
It’s a common myth that metal roofing will be dented or compromised by almost any hail event that it comes in contact with. This is completely untrue.
In fact, the majority of hailstorms don’t produce hailstones large enough to affect a metal roof at all. That being said, there are regions where hail damage on a metal roof is more of a threat, which is where questions regarding home/property owner’s insurance often come into play.
That’s why here at Sheffield Metals, we have an entire Technical Department dedicated to testing our metal so it withstands significant hail and debris impact. On top of that, the technical representatives are skilled in dealing with insurance companies, cosmetic hail damage waivers, and potential claims.
That’s why we think it’s critical to discuss some of the common questions and concerns associated with hail events. In the article, we’ll cover:
- How hail can affect a metal roof
- The testing standard for hail impact
- An explanation of hail damage waivers from insurance companies
- Should you sign the cosmetic damage waiver or not?
Final Thoughts
Again, thank you to everyone who has consumed any piece of content that we’ve published. Another thank you to everyone who liked, shared, or commented on any article, video, or download that we’ve posted on any of our social channels, including:
Plus, don’t forget to subscribe to The Roofing Rewind — an email newsletter that recaps all of the best articles, videos, industry news, and downloads from the previous month!
From all of us at Sheffield Metals, we want to wish you a happy holiday season, a happy new year, and a prosperous 2020!
