With Jobsite Production, Metal Roofing Contractors Gain Control
By Christopher Payne, Sentrigard Metal Roofing Systems
As I look at the metal roofing industry in 2008, I feel compelled to revisit the products and procedures available to us that can improve the quality, speed and efficiency of metal roofing installations. Through the advancement of technology, science and educational programs, I conclude that the metal roofing of the twenty-first century far exceeds the technology and science of even twenty-five years ago.
Improvements include precision machinery that can cut, fold or punch sheet metal—both in the shop environment and on the go at the jobsite. Metal folding machinery and portable roll forming equipment now largely use computer-based technology and software programs that allow the contractor to consistently reproduce customized sheet metal fabrications and to make multiple metal roofing panel profiles and flashing components.
Florida’s Leading Position in Building Codes
The state of Florida continues to lead the balance of the roofing industry in driving our roofing codes to acceptable standards. Through the use of ASCE-7, we may calculate the negative design pressures for virtually any building on our continent. It is our responsibility to test, design, fabricate and install our metal roofing assemblies to withstand these negative pressures. Florida’s product approval and the Miami-Dade County NOA processes streamline a complicated process into a system easily understood and accessible by the common roofing professional. Texas has already adopted Florida’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone process. Additionally, I understand that Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and both Carolinas are adopting these same test protocols in their states.
In conjunction with this trend in building code modifications, I see another trend in the evolution of the metal roofing industry. After the flood of hurricanes in the southeast during 2004 and 2005, the industry has taken a hard look at what roofing systems are continually performing through such harsh conditions. Architectural standing seam metal roofing systems, when properly tested, designed, fabricated and installed to those testing standards, have performed consistently in these environments. Over the past several years these high-performance, aesthetically pleasing architectural standing seam metal roofing systems have become one of the most rapidly growing segments of the roofing industry as a whole.
Roofing Opportunities in this Economy – Becoming a Contractor-Manufacturer
Our economy suffers as the value of the dollar weakens in overseas markets. Fuel costs, insurance, labor, and freight charges are spiraling out of control. Design professionals, manufacturers, wholesale distributers and roofing contractors are continually looking at their business models in an attempt to keep their businesses profitable. One of the creative opportunities for all parties involved includes contractor-manufactured metal roofing systems. By owning the metal forming machinery, the contractor-manufacturer has ultimate control over the roof installation process.
Contractor-manufacturers also gain advantages throughout the supply chain. Metal roofing material suppliers can streamline their material handling costs by warehousing slit coil, flat stock and accessory components, in a variety of colors, thereby maximizing space both on their warehouse floors and trucks. This provides immediate availability of materials to the contractor-manufacturer in order to accommodate tight construction schedules.
Some advantages for the contractor-manufacturer:
• Shorter lead-times for metal panel material fabrication compared to the standard 4-6 week lead times for plant manufacturing and delivery.
• Reduction of outrageous freight and fuel surcharges to haul long metal roofing panels along our highways.
• Elimination of large staging areas on job sites with complicated roof areas, where it might be difficult to locate the appropriate panel length when needed.
• Reduction of disposal fees at landfills for dunnage and panel crating.
• Less installation labor and overhead charges for handling long panel lengths.
The Ultimate Control
Not only does the contractor-manufacturer gain the ultimate control in being able to produce and install metal roofing systems, design professionals and building owners gain ultimate control in creating their building visions with metal roofing systems. Complete programs and systems provide all of the information designers and owners need to create structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing rooftops. Metal roofing systems with the following qualities provide the most comprehensive and flexible programs for designers and contractor-manufacturers alike.
• Tested and proven product approval ratings, with perimeter and corner design enhancements to meet the most rigorous standards recognized in our country
• Minimum requirements of the International Building Code and local regulatory requirements
• Quality assurance programs ensuring product quality control, as well as complete program control to protect the consumer, contractor-manufacturer, material supplier, in a direct chain all the way back to the coater and mill
• CSI format specifications and details in both PDF and AutoCAD formats
• Installation instructions
• Weather-tightness and material warranty programs
• Compatible accessory components, tested and rated with the roofing assembly
• Multiple, interchangeable metal panel profiles and systems to accommodate multiple project types of different complexities
The Truth about Slit Coils
There is a misunderstanding in the industry that slit coil available to contractor-manufacturers is not tension-leveled, and thereby of a lesser quality than slit coil used by metal roofing manufacturers in a controlled factory environment. In reality, all slit coil is tension-leveled and slit from a master coil in a controlled manufacturing environment. As it is slit down from a master coil, it is cut to the proper width to pass through a roll-forming machine designed to make metal panel profiles, regardless of whether the roll-forming machine is stationary on a factory floor, in a contractor-manufacturer’s trim shop, or being used on a job site.
The Future is Here
We, as roofing professionals, must face our changing focus from the past to the proven technology the future represents when making decisions regarding our metal roofing needs. Pre-manufactured metal roofing still has its place in the marketplace, but the consistent migration of pre-manufactured metal roofing toward contractor-manufactured metal roofing is likely to continue well into the future….and for all the right reasons.
Christopher A. Payne, RRC, is Manager of Technical Services – Roofing for Sentrigard Metal Roofing Systems. A registered roof consultant, he has nearly 25 years of experience in the construction industry. He began his professional career working for a sheet metal contracting company in 1984, and in 1997 founded Carolina Roofing Concepts Inc., a firm specializing in the design and specification of roofing systems, roof asset management and evaluation, construction administration, construction dispute resolution, and insurance property loss investigation and reporting. He joined NB Handy in 2005, working first at the company’s Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina branch offices. He has been working in his current capacity since 2007. To contact him, e-mail cpayne@nbhandy.com or call 770-667-0463.