Good Day! Nathan Allen your metal specialist here with the March Mid-Monthly Metal. In this installment we will be going over Standing Seam options, how to choose those options, and the benefits of each.
You have an exhaustive amount of options to choose from when you’re looking at a new roof for your home. Even if you slim down your choices to metal, you still have to pick between a standing seam and rib panel roof. Each style of panels has a different set of advantages and disadvantages. My goal in this blog is to help educate you on standing seam metal roofing. I want you to make the best decision possible for your new metal roof.
Snap Lock Standing Seam
Usually installed by fastening the blind lap side of the panel and exposed fastener trim.
Clip Lock Standing Seam
Fastened by clips screwed down to the substrate, not the panel itself. This allows for greater thermal expansion with less oil canning. Usually all trim has no visible screws.
Standing Seam Panels Are More Weather-Tight
There are two basic types of fastening systems that are available when you go to purchase a metal roof, concealed fastener or exposed fastener. Standing seam panels are considered a concealed fastener system. This is the most weather-tight roofing system. Knowing the difference between these two systems is the first step in helping you come up with which type of metal panel is best for your new roof.
Concealed Fastener Vs Exposed Fastener
The biggest benefit of a standing seam panel is the fastening system. Standing seam is a concealed fastener roofing panel. This means that the panels are attached to the substrate using concealed clips and screws. The screws do not penetrate the metal roofing panel.
This is important because unlike an exposed fastener system you will not have screw holes scattered through out the panel. A standing seam system gets rid of all the potential leak points that screws cause.
Because the fasteners are concealed in standing seam panels, they aren't exposed to the weather. This means that there aren’t any washers on the screws that will break down and need to be replaced. Concealed fasteners are the main reason that standing seam requires less maintenance than other types of metal roofing panels.
Expansion and contraction is not an issue with a standing seam roof. Therefore, you won’t have the headache of climbing on your roof periodically, checking to make sure the fasteners have not backed out, and then re-tightening them.
All roofs require regular maintenance. It’s recommended to do maintenance at least once a year. This can either be performed by the property owner, contractor, or a roof maintenance service. The goal of the maintenance is to find potential problem spots early so that they don’t become a much bigger problem.
Standing Seam Details
The vertical seams are the weakest point on the seam panel and the most likely place where water can penetrate the metal roofing. Our standing seam panels have a panel seam that is 1.5” in height. Having the seam located 1.5” above the height of the panels drastically reduces the likelihood of leaks.
In addition, you can use longer sheets and avoid panel overlaps. Standing seam panels using the clip method are designed to allow for expansion and contraction. As the temperature changes from hot to cold the panels are designed to allow for thermal expansion. This gives you the possibility to have sheet lengths longer than forty feet.
Standing Seam Lifespan
Standing seam roofing is often said to be a “Lifetime Roof”, meaning you should only need to buy one roof in your life for your home. It’s a long term investment that lasts while you own your home up to 70 years.
This form of metal roofing is also able to withstand drastic change in temperatures and even winds up to 140 mph. It will not collapse under its own weight during a snowstorm or torrential rain.
Curb Appeal
Standing seam roofing transforms the look of your home and makes instant curb appeal. Looks are in the eye of the beholder, but standing seam is generally considered to be the best looking metal roof panel. It’s a clean cut and modern panel with sleek, straight lines. Again since the fasteners are concealed you will not have a bunch of visible screw heads like pimples on your roof.
Standing Seam Roof Panels Are Fire/Hail Resistant
Have you seen the pictures of a neighborhood that has been through a wildfire and one home remains untouched? That home is more than likely the one that has a metal roof. A metal roof is your first line of defense to protect against your home burning to the ground. Standing seam metal roofing panels are an excellent investment to make for your home to survive a wildfire.
Metal roofing isn’t combustible and when installed correctly, standing seam will have a Class A Fire Rating. Class A is the highest fire-resistance rating for roofing as per ASTM E-108. This means that roofing is able to withstand severe exposure to fire originating from sources outside the building.
Our products that have been classified as Class 4 have met the strongest level of resistance that UL has deemed appropriate. So purchasing our panels that are Class 4 rated means you will have a smaller likelihood of damage to your roof after a hail or a storm where debris has impacted your roof. If the hail/debris causes a leak, additional damage is likely to occur inside the building. With Class 4 rated systems, your roof is more likely to remain watertight even after storm damage.
In addition, roofs that have a Class A fire rating and a Class 4 hail rating often cost less to insure. The same way that a brick or stone home costs less to insure, a metal roof is less expensive when compared to shingles. Having a metal roof reduces the risk to insure the property, and those savings are usually passed back to the homeowner.
Standing Seam Metal Roof Color Choices
Standing seam metal roofing colors are available in our Kynar 500 finish. Kynar 500 is the best paint system that’s available for use on our metal roofing panels. You are buying the best and most cost effective metal roofing system. Standing seam panels will last for the lifetime of your roof. You need a paint system that matches the performance of the roofing panel. Color fades at a slower rate with a Kynar finish. This is why when you see bright and vibrant colors they are Kynar paint. A lower quality paint like an SMP paint system usually allows for a handful of color options. In contrast, a Kynar painted standing seam metal roof has many more color options to choose from.
Energy Savings
Our standing seam panels are considered a Cool Metal Roof. The Kynar 500 Ultra-Clad with COOL technology has cool pigments, which increases solar reflectance and decreases the surface temperature of your metal roof. Heat absorption is prevented by reflecting the sun's heat and then emitting its radiation back away from the roof. Statistics show that energy savings will range from 7%-15% of total cooling costs.
When you have this style of roof it can be 40 to 50 degrees cooler than asphalt shingles. This will lessen the load of your AC unit and save you money on your electric bill.
Standing Seam Vs Shingles Resale Value
Roofs installed with standing seam metal roof helps make it possible to recoup 85% to 95% of the cost of the roof itself. Compare that to the gains in resale value that amount to 1% to 6% over homes roofed with asphalt shingles.
If you are building an upscale home in an upscale neighborhood, you need a roof that matches the house and adds value to you both now and later.
Please ask if you have any other questions that are not answered here about Standing Seam that you may have. Let me know how I may help!