Metal Shingles and Shakes

Metal shingles divide a roof into small, overlapping or locking units rather than long panels. They are pressed or stamped from coated steel, aluminium, copper, stainless steel or zinc, and many are embossed to imitate slate, cedar shakes, clay tile or asphalt shingles. Stone-coated steel shingles are a related group with a granular surface.

History

Metal shingles are not new. The Arch Street Meetinghouse in Philadelphia (1804) had tin shingles laid in a herringbone pattern, and embossed tin shingles were popular across the United States in the late nineteenth century. Pressed metal shingles and tiles were also made in Britain, Australia and elsewhere.

Construction

• Units typically lock together on all four sides, or on top and side edges, so water is shed and wind uplift is resisted.
• Fasteners are generally concealed in the locking joint or covered by the next course.
• Some systems are fixed to battens, others directly to a solid deck over underlayment.
• Ridge, hip, valley and edge trims are supplied to match.

Advantages and trade-offs

• Small units suit complex roofs with many hips, valleys and dormers, and steep slopes.
• The broken surface makes oil canning invisible and hides minor dents.
• Light weight allows installation over some existing roofs where codes permit.
• More joints mean more reliance on correct locking and flashing than a long standing seam panel.
• Allowance for thermal movement is distributed across many small joints.

Naming

In North America, slate-look, shake-look and shingle-look metal products are often grouped under "metal shingles". In Australia, New Zealand and the UK, locking pressed steel units shaped like tile are more often called metal tiles or pressed metal tiles.