When you're installing standing seam metal roofing, you're utilizing 'state of the art' roofing. This type of roofing is much more durable, very easily sustainable, and economically friendly. They can provide you with excellent service for up to three to four decades. But a word of warning is called for - if you plan on mounting rooftop equipment, or any type of ancillary mechanical equipment, then you have to be careful not to compromise the strength supplied by the standing seam roofing.
If you ask an expert, they'll tell you, attach as few things as you can to your roof. It can really save a lot of future headaches and money. But let's face it, sometimes you can't avoid a situation where you really do have to attach something to the roof. But a few tricks are available for the installers that can help them to do this work without compromising your roof integrity. You may need to attach fall protection equipment, or HVAC equipment, or maybe even solar panels. But there's a way to do all these properly.
The success of your roofing job is going to be realized in the way you deal with the membrane. Some installers seem to not be aware of this, and see the metal as a good place to fasten and secure things. The roof integrity or thermal-cycling traits never enter their minds. So it's a good idea, if you plan to have one of these roofs put on, to check with the crew and make sure that they know about protecting it when they attach things to it.
This is what makes standing seam metal roofing so great. They've created a seam-clamping hardware to grip the seam without putting a puncture into the membrane. The seam acts like a 'beam' in order to provide a solid and convenient way to anchor things like solar panels or walkways without compromising the integrity of the roof. These clamps allow you to secure objects to the seam and maintain roof integrity, as well as the thermal-cycling factors. And they do it with excellent strength.
Like we've said, there are times when you just can't get around penetrating the membrane. This could be in a case where you want to attach some HVAC equipment or some plumbing vents. There's just no way to mount them and not puncture the roof. So with these, you need to focus on installing a waterproof seal that will assist in keeping the thermal-cycling traits intact.
The information above was for dealing with regular mounting. But there are times when you need to mount something that's a bit heavier than that. This calls for mounting to a galvanized steel frame. This structure will have legs made from round pipe, that penetrated the roof and attach to supporting structure below the roof. This mounting will be stationary. There may be, depending on the structure's weight, ways to still attach the support frame to seam clamps and do away with the pipes all together.
Any time you are attaching things that are round shaped, you need to use flashing. EPDM rubber pipe flashings work the best, with the black color being the most resistant to UV rays. The rubber gets stretched over the pipe, and then a stainless steel metal clamp is used to secure it. It's just like putting on a radiator hose on a car. The flashing should only be anchored to the roof panel, and not onto the main building structure.
This is just a little insight into standing seam metal roofing and a few of the things that need to be considered during installation. This type of roofing is a really good invention, and has really helped out in the ability to maintain roof integrity. You can find out plenty more by going online and using your favorite search engine. You'll find that they all agree, that this type of roofing is known for durability and strength, and good protection against roof integrity.
Want to find out more about standing seam metal roofing, then visit Jack Hanley's site on how to choose the best metal roofing for your needs.
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