Historic Metal Roof Types

Steel three variations.

Historic metal roof types. Significance of the roof. All other types of metal roofing are painted to resist corrosion. Aluminum long lasting resistant to salt water corrosion. Galvanized is limited though says lardas because the metal is not readily formed into more complicated shapes so you see it more in brake formed work in making cornices.

In the 1860 s the options for metal roofs were copper lead tin coated iron and terne coated steel. Sheet lead and copper have been soldered into flat seam roofs for centuries long before thomas jefferson s 1740s roof at monticello but the more common metal roof type is the standing seam. Zinc extremely long lasting resistant to corrosion and lowest melting point. 3 the first gives a roof a.

For ornamental work such as dormers and cornices the metals are either copper or a mix of sheet zinc and galvanized steel. Copper is the most expensive of the three most popular roofing metals steel aluminum copper in increasing order of expense. Copper extremely long lasting very soft with low melting temperature. The two primary shapes of roofs on historic buildings in washington are.

Copper and terne rolled roofs were very popular during that vintage terne more so because it was less expensive. Awareness of these and other traditions of roofing materials and their detailing will contribute to more sensitive preservation treatments. Manmade materials only came into general use in the 20th century particularly the broad mixes of asphalt felt and asbestos as well as modern metal formulations like stainless steel and aluminum. Roofing for historic buildings.

Copper and lead roofs date back to the classic past of rome and greece with iron tin and zinc added in the 19th century. Zincstarted to be used in roofs in the 1700s and remains popular today as an alternative to copper. Tin coated malleable iron was disappearing at the time. Copperhas always been a popular choice of metal for roofing because of its ease of handling and the beautiful way it ages.

Historic roofing materials in america. Many roofs of asbestos aluminum stainless steel galvanized steel and lead coated copper may soon have historic values as well. Here long panels of metal 24 or so wide are first bent up about 1 along both edges. By the 1400s flat copper sheeting began to be used in europe particularly on churches.

Rarely used over an entire residential roof copper is mainly used for accents over bay windows dormers or other areas where a touch of elegance is desired. The two types of joints commonly found are flat seam and raised seam.