Thinking of a zinc roofing for your Holiday Home
When you are looking for the right roofing material for your home, many people do not make Zinc roofing their preferred choice because of the high price. But you will be surprised to find a high number of residential building roofs in Europe use Zinc. Indeed, the popularity of Zinc is increasing in many countries, including the UK and Spain, for roofing and wall panels. A zinc roof requires less maintenance than a slate roof and may be a good solution for your Spanish holiday home. protect your overseas investment with holiday home insurance for Spanish properties or other European countries,
Owing to their amazing appearance, zinc panels can stay durable for almost a century. But while it may last longer than other alternatives, it is also significantly more expensive. If you are planning to go for zinc roofing, this article will answer your concerns and questions - so let’s start.
Pros of Zinc Roofing
There are a lot of good reasons to install a zinc roof; it especially offers good value for residential consumers, as they get good value for money in terms of quality and durability. Zinc is a strong and long-lasting material that doesn't require much effort during assembly.
Zinc roof life span
One of the best qualities of Zinc roofing is its long time span. It can last for more than 90 years in roofing and even longer if used as wall panels. There is no other material that can last this long except copper.
Moreover, it is fire, insect and fungi resistant - which makes it even longer-lasting and useful for roofing. Zinc prohibits the layers of mould and fungus from forming on the surface, unlike other materials.
While most estimates say that zinc roof will last for about roughly 70 years when used in roofing, you will be surprised to find out that some European buildings that have used zinc roofing have lasted for even more than 120 years.
Patina
Patina is an oxidation process from which Zinc goes through prior to its use in roofing. This helps to form a protective surface layer on the material from fungus, rust and other weather conditions.
Since Spain and the UK’s weather is not suitable for materials that corrode or lose their lustre after a season of rain, Zinc is an ideal solution. In addition, the patina has the quality of reforming itself if the surface gets scratched to remove any blemishes.
Appearance
Zinc is one of the most popular roofing materials all over the globe. It looks exceptionally attractive; this is partly due to the patinating process, in which the roof actually changes colour. Zinc starts out with a dark gray, almost black look and eventually turns light grey or blue as the patination process progresses.
Low Maintenance
After installing a zinc roof or wall panels, there is little to no need to maintain the appearance. Since the patina is constantly updated by itself, there is no need for cosmetic repairs. If zinc panels are installed efficiently, it requires very little or no maintenance.
Environment friendly
If you are concerned about your environmental footprint, then, in this case, Zinc is a perfect fit. Zinc is the most eco-friendly material for roofing, as it is completely recyclable. It can be used many times.
At the end of the service life, almost all the Zinc used in roofing can be recycled and rebuilt for use in electroplating. Moreover, it requires less fuel to be ready for installation, comparatively unlike other alternative materials; for instance, if you use steel or aluminium, they take up twice as much energy during the production process.
What's even better is that if you use Zinc for roofing, you can use water that runs off from the roof, as Zinc doesn’t render the water unusable. You won’t get this advantage with many of the other metal roofing options.
Cons of Zinc roofing
Cost
If you are already familiar with the price of one of the most widely used materials for roofing, such as bitumen shingles, you need to prepare yourself for some surprise here. If you opt for Zinc roofing, then the price can range anywhere between £15 and £20 for every square meter only for the materials used. When you add labour and other installation costs, the figure will rise even further.
The only roofing material that costs more than Zinc is copper. Zinc is, however, much cheaper than aluminium and some other materials. When it comes to installing metal roofing, soldering is usually one of the cheapest materials in the metallurgical industry.
Patina variables
Zinc is mostly preferred because of its patina appearance. But there is no specific time on which a patina will form, it can be a year or more than 10 years. It highly depends on the weather conditions and a number of other varying factors.
Also, there is not a considerable degree of certainty as to which colour it will become after changing. Patination occurs vastly in a humid climate. Also, there might be colour variations throughout the process, so if you want to achieve a particular look, then you may need to have some discussions before reaching a decision.
In case of poor installation
Poor installation of zinc roofs is an invitation for disaster and heaps of future troubles. If the back of the panels is exposed to water, corrosion may occur in repeated cases. Moisture can get trapped between the roof and the roof floor, as the installation process uses an impermeable synthetic under layer.
This eventually leads to mould and leaks, so proper installation is a key to a long life of zinc roofs. It is always recommended to hire a professional, experienced and professional to avoid any potential installation errors.
Conclusion
It is important for zinc roofs to be installed professionally if you want to reap all the benefits. By paying attention to the details like panel fasteners and the patination process, performance can be enhanced considerably.
Zinc roofing is expensive, but we are telling you that it is totally worth it in the long run because of its durability.