Steel roofing - Brief Article

Home Channel News, July 17, 2000

Custom-Bilt Metals, a painted metal manufacturer based in El Monte, Calif., has developed a steel roof that has the appearance of tile and the durability to withstand severe storms.

The new steel Armor Tile roof is reputed to be lighter and easier to install than tile roofs. The product's fluoropolymer coating resists corrosion, chalking and fading.

The roof is designed to control earthquake damage, withstanding 130 mile-per-hour winds and hailstones up to two inches in diameter. The roof is backed by a lifetime warranty.

In promoting the product, Custom-Bilt sold its roofing system to D.E. Holman Distributing, which was converting a 1907 two-story building into office space. The building was a former house, then currently in disrepair. Don and Jo Holman, the company's owners, made several renovations, including the installation of the steel roof. Hi Tech Systems of Sand Springs, Okla., installed the 4,300-square-foot roof using Armor Tile -- at a cost of $6,000, including fasteners -- which matches the appearance of the original tiled roof. "We chose this roof because it looked like the old photographs of the building," Jo Holman said.

The most common form of installing the 10- by 10-foot Armor rile metal sheets on homes is to overlay them in a "standing seam" process. (Contractors who install metal roofing must be certified, since the process is different from that involving standard roofs.) The product is available in tile and wood shake styles that can be cut on site to reduce waste.

"It is more difficult than installing plywood and not just anybody can do it," said Tern Mays, a spokeswoman for Custom-Bilt.

The roof is sold to contractors through Custom-Bilt's 12 distribution centers located throughout the South from New Orleans to Honolulu.