The old days of settling self-storage facilities with corrugated tin are over, the current competitive mini storage industry requires the facilities to be built with materials that can tackle the effect of changing climate and make the facilities energy-efficient, secure, and good to look at.
At present, metal roofing is the best available option for self-storage roofing for its long-lasting and versatile nature.
Metal roofing comes with various designs, it can be customized to make the right fit to the facility.
The roofing is designed to make the facility lucrative and to convey a sense of protection and confidence to the users. Initially, it may seem to be a high-cost investment but in the long term, it’s cost-effective as the roofing requires very low maintenance.
What to look for in a Metal Roof Design?
A number of roofing panels are available to be chosen from, you have to go for one considering the size of the panel along with insulation, slopes, fastening techniques, finishes, and coating.
Size & Thickness: Typically the metal roofing panels come with 24 and 26 gauge thickness, To choose one from, you need to consider the waving effect. The 26 gauge panels can’t be set too long, on the other hand, 24 gauge panels are usable in longer lengths that minimize the waving effect and number of horizontal panels needed.
Insulation: There is something in metal roofing not to be loved, its high thermal conductivity. Insulation is the solution, you need to choose a good solution from a large number of options that will not only stop heat transfer but minimize the noise in times of rain, hail, and extreme wind.
Slopes: The use of metal roofing improves the appearance of a self-storage facility. You can make the roof noticeable from the ground using more slopes. There are panels with various seam types in panels like striated, corrugated, flat, or ribbed, you can have a mixture of them, place them changing the width of the seams between the panels, and use various seam types to get a different look.
Elements Used in the Panel: Metal panel comes with various materials, the most durable and long-lasting panels are made of stainless steel and copper. Other than these, you can find panels out of aluminum, galvanized steel, and galvalume. When you are to choose a metal roofing panel, consider the finish warranty.
The Most Used Metal Roof Systems:
There are a number of metal roofing systems or designs, out of them, we are going to discuss the most common three metal roofing systems popular worldwide. Every system comes with its own benefits.
Exposed-fastener metal roofing: This one is easy to find because of its wide availability, installation is also easy. The exposed-fastener roofing is the most common worldwide, it forms with metal panels fastened by screws with the structure. This roofing lasts long, brings an aesthetic look to your roof, and is definitely cost-effective. That’s what made it the most used roofing option everywhere.
This roofing costs less as a wider and thinner panel can be used, it also requires less labor than other roofing as its installation is relatively easy in nature.
This type of roofing requires creating a lot of holes in the roof that can bring problems like water penetration.
Apart from this drawback, it doesn’t allow expansion or contraction to the roofing, leakage is inevitable as there needs the use of fastener in the frequent distance.
This roofing also requires a time to time inspection to check if there is any fastener needed to be changed, regular maintenance should be going on.
Another disadvantage of this roofing is low slopes are not possible which prevents rainwater from being shed smoothly.
Concealed-clip, standing-seam roofing: It comes with clips attached to the purlin so you don’t need to use any exposed fastener. It’s very easy to set up, you can slide the panels onto the clips. This allows you an easy expansion and contraction of the roofing panel. This option is relatively expensive to install but comes with the benefit of a longer, watertight life.
Your roofing fasteners are safe from ultraviolet rays of the sun, moisture, wind, and other elements of the environment that allow them to last longer in this roofing system.
Snap Seam Metal Roofing: The seam position is locked by the leg of the roof panels and clips are used to attach the panels with a roof. This roofing is really easy to install, as you can simply snap the panels together it creates the installation process much faster therefore less labor cost. With a smaller budget, it will be tough to accommodate structural standing roofs but you can manage this versatile and creative roofing design at an affordable cost. However, the snap seam metal roofing is less weathertight and not much good fit for the low-sloped roofs.
Metal roofing is not limited to only these three designs, you can find different hybrid metal roofs that offer a unique appearance of your roof with metal shingles or tiles, no worries about durability, it’s almost the same as metal roofing discussed above. No matter the option you will choose for your roof, they offer some common advantages as durability, weather resistance, and environment-friendliness, etc.
