Selecting the right material is important.
What’s the better choice?
It’s a question thousands of Australian builders and renovators ask themselves every year. It’s a significant decision to make, so here we reveal the simple truths:
| Standard Metal | Tile | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour Performance | Standard COLORBOND® Steel tested in lab conditions simulating natural weather shows colour change |
Monier concrete tiles tested in lab conditions simulating natural weather exposure shows better colour performance than standard COLORBOND® Steel 4 Lifetime colour performance on terracotta tiles |
| Rust | Metal may rust and may corrode to perforation(holes) | Concrete and terracotta tiles don't rust |
| Strength Durability and Longevity | Tested for 50 years | Concrete and terracotta tiles are a proven roofing material which have been in use for over 100 years |
| Warranty | Up to 36 years warranty on standard COLORBOND® Steel, which may be reduced if your roof:
|
50 year performance warranty on concrete roof tiles. 50 year performance and colour warranty on terracotta roof tiles |
| Storm Endurance | Lightweight and more susceptible to wind lift and upheaval in extreme weather events5 | Performs better than sheet metal in extreme wind conditions as wind uplift forces are significantly lower in tiled roofs5. |
| Denting / cracking | May dent when walking across it | A concrete or terracotta tile roof will not dent or warp. It will not crack if walked on in the correct place |
| Embodied Energy* | Metal roofing has a higher embodied energy6, which means more energy is consumed in all processes involved in manufacturing a metal roof* | Concrete and terracotta have lower embodied energy6, which means less energy is consumed in all processes involved in manufacturing a tiled roof. |
- Standard Metal
- Colour Performance
- Standard COLORBOND® Steel tested in lab conditions simulating natural weather shows colour change
- Rust
- Metal may rust and may corrode to perforation(holes)
- Strength Durability and Longevity
- Tested for 50 years
- Warranty
- Up to 36 years warranty on standard COLORBOND® Steel, which may be reduced if your roof:
- rusts where sheets overlap
- corrodes due to contact with sunscreen
- corrodes due to contact with soil
- Storm Endurance
- Lightweight and more susceptible to wind lift and upheaval in extreme weather events
5 - Denting / cracking
- May dent when walking across it
- Embodied Energy*
- Metal roofing has a higher embodied energy6, which means more energy is consumed in all processes involved in manufacturing a metal roof*
- Tile
- Colour Performance
- Monier concrete tiles tested in lab conditions simulating natural weather exposure shows better colour performance than standard COLORBOND® Steel 4 Lifetime colour performance on terracotta tiles
- Rust
- Concrete and terracotta tiles don't rust
- Strength Durability and Longevity
- Concrete and terracotta tiles are a proven roofing material which have been in use for over 100 years
- Warranty
- 50 year performance warranty on concrete roof tiles 50 year performance and colour warranty on terracotta roof tiles
- Storm Endurance
- Performs better than sheet metal in extreme wind conditions as wind uplift forces are significantly lower in tiled roofs5.
- Denting / cracking
- A concrete or terracotta tile roof will not dent or warp. It will not crack if walked on in the correct place
- Embodied Energy*
- Concrete and terracotta have lower embodied energy6, which means less energy is consumed in all processes involved in manufacturing a tiled roof.
4AWTA product testing completed July 2016. Testing ran for 2,000 hours with cycles of 8 hours UV and 4 hours condensation exposure.
5Boughton, G, Shoalwater and Roleystone WA tornadoes – Wind damage to buildings (2008).
6Lawson, B, Building materials, energy and the environment: towards ecologically sustainable development (1996)
* Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery
