So, you’ve finally decided to take the leap and have a steel roof installed on your home or business. Steel roofs are one of the most beneficial types of roofs for Kiwis, something we’ll get into later, but they come with their own unique set of questions that need answering. One common question that many customers and readers ask us is this: Why is it so important to have insulation for your steel roof? The question crops up most commonly because many people don’t realise that you NEED to insulate steel roofs. Let’s take the question step by step in order to help get you on the right path.
Insulation for Steel Roofing
There are so many benefits of opting to go for steel roofing with your new-construction or recent renovation. Steel roofing tends to be lighter, longer lasting, and more durable than conventional options on the market. This is particularly important when the weather turns and debris, heavy rain, and hail becomes an issue. With that being said, steel roofing still isn’t perfect. You are going to need to add insulation at some point with an ideal time being during the initial installation phase. Now, why is this important?
Despite the many benefits that steel roofing provides, there are some pretty serious flaws. The biggest flaw that metal roofing has is this: you are going to realise pretty quickly that this style of roof is a poor insulator. Both heat and cold will penetrate the roof which will, in turn, make your experience in the building rather uncomfortable. Go walk through a steel-roofed warehouse during winter, one that lacks insulation, in order to see what we mean. You don’t want to feel like you are on fire during the summer and freezing during the winter and that is where insulation comes into play.
Choosing Insulation for Metal Roofing
Now that you’ve decided to add insulation to your steel roofing you are ready to make some choices. What choice do you need to make? Well, you need to decide what style of insulation to install. Let us look at the two most common options.
1) Fibreglass Insulation – With fibreglass insulation, you are going to also want to add something called an ‘insulation batt’ in between the roof and your insulation. This batt operates as a vapour barrier which helps to catch the sweat that comes off of your roof when it gets hot.
2) Polyurethane Spray Foam – A quicker, and less pretty, solution involves using the special polyurethane spray foam. You can apply this to your roof with a thick layer, thus helping to keep out both cold and hot air. The thicker you spray the chemical, the better the insulation will be.
If you are still unsure as to how to proceed with your metal roofing insulation, reach out today and we can guide you through the process.