July 31, 2013 | Filed under: Roofing Issues
Since our inception here in Louisville, our main focus has been and remains residential metal roofing. Our roofs are ideal for homeowners who want to improve the looks of their home while ending their roofing worries forever. But we’ve found that this combination is also very important to churches, and at this point we’ve reroofed three of them, each with a very different story. I’ll detail each one in the near future, but for now I wanted to just give an overview of the types of issues that churches might consider when reroofing comes up.
The factors that a church might look at when reroofing comes due really seem to focus around what type of roof they have already.
Churches with an asphalt shingle roof might want to end the ongoing cycle of regular roof maintenance and replacement. Regardless of what they are marketed as, asphalt shingle roofs tend to last about 15 years on average, these days. This is because shingles today are made with substantially less petroleum content than they used to be. The other unfortunate factor is that, with inflation, those asphalt shingle roofs tend to double in cost each time one is needed. Over the years this can compound to an extreme outlay of cash. Another factor in switching from asphalt shingles is that the appearance of the church can be greatly improved by installing a beautiful Classic Metal Roof.
Many older churches were built with clay tile roofing, possibly 75-100 years ago. Tile roofs are extremely beautiful and durable, but also extremely expensive and heavy. Tile roofs, too, are usually reliant on their underlayment for weathertightness. The tiles themselves may or may not be cracked or missing in places, but the roof might have developed leaks because of failures in the underlayment. A Classic Metal Roof can replicate the deep, textured beauty of the former tile roof at a tiny fraction of the weight, and less cost than replacing the tiles (or removing the tiles and replacing the underlayment, usually!)
A benefit for both asphalt shingle and tile-roofed churches is a huge improvement in energy efficiency. Most of the products we offer are aluminum, and are extremely energy efficient. Asphalt shingles, especially in dark colors, absorb the heat of the sun and pass it through. Tile roofs absorb and hold heat extremely well, continuing to radiate that heat into the structure long after the sun has set. But a Classic Metal Roof reflects most of the heat of the sun, keeping the church much cooler and reducing utility bills substantially.
Churches with existing metal roofs may or may not be looking to replace the roof with metal again. One church we reroofed had metal shingles that were 80+ years old. They had been painted multiple times but had otherwise weathered extremely well. On the other hand I have quoted some church roofs where they had previously installed cheap “barn metal” roofing with exposed fasteners. They were having problems with leaks at the exposed fasteners. A Classic Metal Roof employs only hidden fasteners and can never rust (in our aluminum product lines) and thereby eliminates these worries.
Finally, some older churches (including one we have re-roofed) might have asbestos shingle roofing. This can present an environmental and health risk in removing, and also potentially very high costs in terms of disposal. Usually a Classic Metal Roof can be installed over the asbestos without removing or disturbing it, thereby encapsulating it and keeping the harmful fibers from becoming airborne.
Regardless of the current roofing issues, a Classic Metal Roof can add beauty and dependable weather-resistance to any church roof. And when lifecycle costs are analyzed, a Classic Metal Roof can be among the lowest cost options for this and future generations of parishioners to benefit from.
