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TOPIC: Insulation Concerns

Insulating value of metal roofs

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I am seriously considering re-roofing my house with a metal roof. Being in Canada, of course we are subject to low temperatures and our heating costs are a big concern. The one thing I do not know about is the insulating value of a metal roof. Your website touts the cooling value in hot climates but does not address the heating value in colder climes.
Guest User

8/31/2004
Nice to see a fellow Canadian interested in metal roofing. A properly designed and installed metal roof system on battens with ventilation will help turn your roof assebly into what we refer to as a cold roof. What this does is stop certain cycles of temperature change reducing condensation and will tend to keep snow on the roof which acts as an excellant insulation. While you do not want too much, a nice few inch l;ayer does wonders and helps break the heat loss from the wind.
Allan Reid
Dura-Loc Roofing Systems, Inc.

8/31/2004
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Other homeowners who have metal roofs and who I have talked to mention a drawback is that the snow does NOT stay on the roof. I think they mention this as a drawback in the sense that they have more snow to shovel as it comes avalanching down. You mention that the snow should somehow be made to stay on and act as an insulator. Given the fact that the snow tends to slide off, what is the insulating factor of the remaining exposed metal roof? I am in sunny Alberta.
Guest User

8/31/2004
The only effective way to provide winter efficiency in typical residential construction is with insulation on top of the ceilings. Above that, you want a well ventilated attic which will stay fairly cold. This helps to avoid the problems of ice damming which can occur if "hot spots" develop in the attic, causing the snowload to melt. This melted snow then hits the cold overhangs where it freezes and forms ice dams.
Guest User

9/1/2004