JD Metal Roof contractors offer products to protect against hail and fire

Hailstorms can result in widespread damage to homes, as was evidenced in the 2016 storms we experienced in South Texas. In a major hailstorm, the roof literally takes a beating. Hail can break, split and cause tear-off damage to traditional roofing materials, resulting in big repair or replacement costs. Homeowners looking for eco-friendly solutions have discovered that metal roofs can protect homes from many extreme weather events while reducing their carbon footprint. “Most of the damage to a traditional roof in a hailstorm is caused by water damage to the contents of the house when shingles are fractured,” said Tom Black, Executive Director of the Metal Roofing Alliance. “Once a roof has a crack, water can stream into the home, damaging the structure and its contents. Water damage can lead to mold and serious repair bills.”

Metal roofs are naturally very tough and highly resistant to hail damage. Hail will not penetrate a metal roof. Even a new asphalt shingle roof won’t protect a home from the next hail storm. In fact, many metal roofing products have the highest impact resistance and hail rating granted by Underwriters’ Laboratory (UL), a leading product safety testing and certification organization. The majority of metal roofing earns a UL2218 Class 4 rating, meaning that a sample of the product did not crack when hit twice in the same spot by a 2-inch steel ball, which, in a storm, would translate into a huge hailstone. As a result of metal roofing’s superior performance in hail prone areas, some insurance companies even provide a reduced rate for homes protected by metal roofs.

As an added “green” benefit, most metal roofs contain more than 25 percent recycled materials. At the end of its useful life, metal roofing is also 100 percent recyclable. Traditional roofing products, such as asphalt, contribute 13 billion pounds of waste to U.S. landfills annually. Many metal roofs can be installed over an existing roof, without tear-off and disposal. In addition, metal roofs provide exceptional protection against fires. “Metal roofing is not only a wise choice in the west because of its resiliency to fire,” said Tom Black, Executive Director of the Metal Roofing Alliance. “Metal roofing is more energy efficient than conventional asphalt and aesthetically it comes in many designs ranging from shake to shingle to Spanish tile.”