Or concrete or terracotta tiles - which one to choose for your home?
Well if you ask us the answer is easy, after doing and maintaining all types of roofing over 4 decades we should know which type of roof covering will give you the best service over time.
Corrugated iron or custom orb which is a brand name for corrugated iron, whether it is made from zincalume steel or it is galvanised or it is colorbond, win over roof tiles easy.
Colorbond corrugated roofing iron is the outstanding winner of our choice:- for constant weathering, for lasting the test of time and provided it has been screw fixed correctly with all the appropriate flashings, it will be totally maintenance free. They have got the colorbond coating a lot more weather resistant these days, only by choice would you possibly have to repaint it in 20 years.
However if you do not ventilate the roofspace you will have numerous problems with corrugated roofing. Make sure it is ventilated, read our BLOG – Warning Read Before You Design Your Next Housing Project.
Go ahead used corrugated roofing it is the absolute best roof covering for value with good looks.
Looking at roof tiles:- For a start they will definitely have to be maintained within 10 years, you will have to re-bed and point the ridgecapping this is a granted with concrete or terracotta roof tiles, average cost today around $4,000 in ten years time probably add another $2,000 this is a fact people do not think of when choosing a roof covering.
Concrete roof tiles will lose their gloss very quickly, within 5 years and have very little colour in 15 years. Some of the lighter colours are more colour fast and will last a bit longer than the darker colours however the older they get the stronger they get and most tile companies used to give a 50 year guarantee however between 10 and 15 years you will have a big maintenance bill for the re-bed and pointing of the ridgecapping.
Oh, terracotta roof tiles costing at least 30% more than concrete tiles fully glazed will cost more than unglazed terracottas. You could buy a lot of furniture for the cost difference between concrete and terracotta tiles. We do not think it is worth it. The tile companies selling terracotta tiles today claim that they are a much better product than yesteryear however this is not true, the terracotta tiles of yesteryear were made from clays such as manganese and these clays were the strongest clays you could get, well they are not available any more. If you have a fully glazed roof it is very pretty however these highly glazed tiles are subject to lamination, especially in areas that have big frosts, the unglazed terracottas will grow moss and look dirty, to have them cleaned is a cost in the thousands of dollars, the ridgecapping will need to be done more than likely a lot quicker than the concrete tiles because the bedding and pointing does not bond as well to terracottas as it does to concrete tiles.
The other big problem with roof tiles, terracotta or concrete, in a big wind it only takes a couple of loose ridgecaps to start a domino effect and it is possible to lose the whole roof.
Then there is bushfire areas, anyone that builds a home in the medium BAL areas using roof tiles on the roof is crazy.
So if you believe someone who has 4 decades in the roofing industry next time you build a home the smart thing is to use corrugated roofing, safe in a big storm, safe under ember attack, looks great for 20 years and with a proper roof ventilation system you will have decades of comfortable living.
Check out our ventilators: CALL 02 6201 1779
ANYTHING ELSE IS A COMPROMISE.