Providing Clarity On Metal Roofing Beliefs

Metal roofs are extremely durable, but they have attracted a number of erroneous beliefs over the years. Here are some of the common myths people have about this roofing material:

Metal Roofing Attract Lightning

Some people believe that metal roofs are lightning magnets and having the material on their roof will expose them to many incidences of lightning strikes. Such people reason that this must be the case because metal is an electrical conductor and lightning is basically a bolt of electricity.

Fortunately, such a belief is erroneous. Metal is a good conductor of electricity, but it won't attract lightning. The electrical power of a lightning strike is so high that it doesn't need a good conductor to flow to the ground; it will simply strike or follow the highest point in your house. In fact, a metal roof helps to dissipate the electrical energy in a lightning strike by dispersing it all over the roof.

Metal Roofs Are Noisy

Many people also believe that metal roofs are noisy, especially when it is raining. Fortunately, you have the ability to determine the loudness of your metal roof at the time of its installation. This is because it is not the actual roofing material that determines the loudness of a roof, but rather the underlayment below it. Therefore, if you don't want your metal roof to be loud, you simply give your roofing contractor the information and they install the right underlayment to absorb the sounds on the roof.

Metal Roofs Are Extremely Cold During the Winter

A third common belief people have about metal roofs is that houses with metal roofs must be extra cold during the winter season. The reasoning that this must be the case since metal is a good conductor of heat and will channel all the heat away from the house.

The reality is that if the heat in your house can reach the metal roof, then your house will be cold irrespective of the material on the roof. This is because it is the insulation in the attic that determines whether heat can escape through the roof. If the insulation is intact then heat won't reach the exterior of the roof and your house will be warm. If the insulation is inadequate or damaged, then heat will escape through the roof whether it is metallic or not.

Now you know that using metal as a roofing material is not as bad as others make it seem. Making one of the roofing materials to consider the next time you are installing a roof.

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