The online mobile Internet application known as iRoofing is now available from Englert and can be used on mobile devices like the iPad and the iPhone. Contractors and architects can remotely order metal roofing plans or use a sophisticated yet simple-to-use roof visualizer that lets them photograph any structure with their mobile device and in seconds add an Englert metal roof with a wide choice of roofing profiles and colors. In addition the app offers a comprehensive photo gallery that features roofing projects grouped by color and by profile. Brochures and catalogs can easily be accessed within the iRoofing app as well making the app an invaluable resource for design professionals so they can review product brochures and share them with their clients with the swipe of a finger.

Contractors can also use iRoofing to order material or call up technical information including building approval forms or an installation guide.  And iRoofing serves as an effective sales tool, allowing them to prepare information faster for prospects to close deals faster than competitors.  It’s a great way for customers to instantly see what their home or project will look like with a standing seam metal roof.

Best of all, the versatile app includes a host of other building materials that can be accessed to assist in designing, specifying and pricing out a project.

After several years of being at the forefront of integrating solar solutions with our standing seam metal roof systems Englert has become the first metal roofing manufacturer to walk the walk and install a PV system onto our own standing seam metal roof.

The roof-integrated photovoltaic system on our New Jersey field service center in Perth Amboy generates thousands of kilowatt hours of electricity powering the company’s rollforming and slitting operations as well as part of its corporate office complex.

The company has 611 photovoltaic panels on 16,000 square feet of Englert standing seam metal roof adjacent to our corporate office and manufacturing facility in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  The system was installed for two reasons, first, obviously, to save on energy costs and, second,  to underscore to architects, contractors and builders Englert’s commitment to solar energy as a rooftop power source. Our rooftop system generates nearly 186,000 kilowatt hours annually that provide electricity to our manufacturing plant’s rollforming, slitting and stamping operations.Any excess energy not used by the company to power Englert operations is being sold back to the local power company, generating income for Englert.  And our employees everywhere are able to monitor the real-time, day-to-day, photovoltaic productivity of the system via their computers.

Englert metal roofing and photovoltaic products have been used in dozens of solar rooftop installations for nearly a decade now. But Englert is the first manufacturing company in the metal building and gutter industry to plan and install a PV system of this magnitude on its own facility. That says a lot.

It says our plant managers, in-house electricians and manufacturing executives have an intimate understanding and reliance on photovoltaics to run our day-to-day business. It says we know what it takes to help a customer– including architects, builders and roofing contractors—, finance, install and operate a rooftop solar system. And it says we are doing our share to reduce the carbon footprint in manufacturing—something we’re already working hard at with our new paint line that captures 100 percent of solvent fumes from painting drying and curing operations and recovers virtually all of the heat from the burning solvent for return to the process in an ultra-clean system.

It says that Englert talks the talk AND walks the walk. Any Englert-made cool metal roof or gutter you buy today has been manufactured using solar energy. That’s more than cool. That’s commitment.

And those faces—or facades as we also know them–are as interesting and diverse in every particular—color, shape, surface details and size—as your face or mine. In a world where our work and leisure environments increasingly wear the stamp of conformity,  the face of a small commercial structure remains an area where individualism can still express itself.

Look around you. It must be abundantly clear from what you can see here in America that some commercial building owners have still invested substantial care in how their structures look outside.

And why not? Making something happen to the outside of one’s creation brings personal satisfaction but it also makes an impression on the world passing by.

That’s precisely the issue we were struggling with when we invented the RainPro Design Series gutter systems five years ago.  Sure, we wanted a gutter that would be eminently functional. And we made sure that—it’s larger than average capacity moves water away from your building faster than conventional gutters. RainPro’s wider gutter bottom and larger 3 3/8” outlet give you a dramatic increase in water flow capacity compared to a 5” gutter system which only has a 2 3/8” outlet.

But we also wanted to change the look of a gutter.  Conventional gutters serve their purpose but they do nothing for—and in many cases can actually detract from–the look of a building.

So, we stepped back and pondered the face of such structures—a lot of them, in fact. We looked at different home styles and commercial building styles, architectural ornamentation, exterior moldings,  and trim. It became very apparent that conventional gutter styles did nothing to enhance–and often acted as a deterrent to using–exterior ornamentation on the face of a building.

So we created RainPro Design Series gutters with a touch of elegance that would complement the distinctive lines, flourishes and shapes of exterior moldings and other exterior ornamentation that people choose for their homes and commercial buildings.

We designed RainPro to work with every home and light commercial building style where refined architectural qualities were desired. It fit nicely with the most contemporary styles but it also met the aesthetic requirements of buildings with grandiose compositions and classical orders while playing an important role in the water-shedding function of the exterior.

Better Design, better functionality.  That’s what RainPro gutters deliver. Each component of the RainPro gutter system, from the miters and end caps to the hidden hangers, was designed to achieve a totally refined architectural profile that looks like part of a commercial structure or home, not something added on.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at some of the photos that accompany this article. RainPro gutters naturally and elegantly integrate into home and building exteriors.  You may not even recognize it as a gutter.

Since our specialties are metal roofing and wall panels, we can pretty much ignore interior paint suggestions like Teacup Rose, Peachy Keen and Tangerine Tango and focus on what color metal roofing materials will go with the popular exterior wall colors forecast for this year.

The color experts seem to agree that the purpose in providing an annual color forecast is to ‘help inspire and fuel the imagination of individuals as they take on a home painting project.  Personally, I prefer the bolder color palettewhen it comes to selecting colors for a standing seam metal roof.  Hues like Pacific Blue, Terra Cotta, Burgundy and Metallic Copper always turn me on when I see them on a residential property. But the fact is, the experts tell us the colors for 2013 for home exteriors will reflect the strong influence of nature. Dark earth tones, various hues of green, blue and brown  and neutral  earth tones are predicted to lead the way again this year in exterior colors.
We questioned whether the color gurus could be right. So we decided to see if the metal roof colors homeowners and architects had been choosing from Englert over the past year fell in line with what the color experts were saying for 2013.  We took a look at our paint finish warrantees on 6,000 residential roofing projects our contractors had installed nationwide in a four-month period last year. That snapshot represents a very small number of the total projects done in a year but it was sizeable enough to give us a good idea of what metal roofing colors have been most popular.

The winners?

The color experts seemed largely on target with their prognostications. Here were the color choices of 6,000 people who recently put a metal roof on a new house or re-roofed an existing home.

1.    Charcoal Grey
2.    Forest Green
3.    Dark Bronze
4.    Hartford Green
5.    Matte Black
6.    Slate Grey
7.    Mansard Brown
8.    Bone White
9.    Medium Bronze
10.    Colonial Red

Only Bone White and Colonial Red did not match the color palette the experts said homeowners were choosing.  But colonial red is one of those perennial favorites in our industry every year and who’s going to argue white as a choice?

Of course, the least likely favorite metal  roof colors of homeowners and their designers were MY favorites: Terra Cotta, Champagne, Metallic Copper, Pacific Blue and Everglade Moss. Hey, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him choose a nifty color scheme.

Congress in January extended the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives for Appliances, New Homes and Retrofits to Existing Homes for 2012-2013, including metal roofs that meet or exceed Energy Star program requirements. Incidentally, ALL Englert metal roofing products meet those requirements.

There have been some modifications to eligibility requirements from the old incentive program as well as reductions in the cap to $500 per home, and 10% of installed cost for qualifying equipment.  But these tax credits are retro-active, applying to both materials (you cannot include labor charges) purchased in 2013, as well as previously purchased materials in 2012. This is a pretty good deal since a tax credit is generally more valuable than an equivalent tax deduction because it reduces tax dollar-for-dollar, while a deduction only removes a percentage of the tax that is owed.

For example, If your metal roof material costs are $5,000, when you do your taxes at the end of the year this would reduce your taxes by $500, bringing the actual cost of your total roof investment down to $4,500.

Here are some of the stipulations if you’re going to go for a tax credit for your new metal roof:

• It must be installed on homeowner’s primary residence and cannot be a new home (this must be a re-roof)
• It must be expected to last five years or have at least a two-year warranty
• A Manufacturer’s Certification Statement is required and it is suggested that you save your receipt and the Manufacturer’s Certification Statement for tax purposes
• Use IRS Form 5695 which stipulates a “metal or asphalt roof that meets or exceeds the Energy Star program requirements and has appropriate pigmented coatings or cooling granules which are specifically and primarily designed to reduce the heat gain of your home.

Meanwhile, the federal government notes that “builders of energy-efficient homes also benefit from the extended tax credits. Up to $2,000 is available for contractors that build homes that consume 50% less heating and cooling energy compared to homes built under the specifications of the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).”  This credit, section 45L of the tax code, applies to qualified homes constructed and acquired before December 31, 2013 and of course includes any kind of home that uses a standing seam metal roof as a platform for a  rooftop solar electric photovoltaic system  and an under roof solar thermal heating system.

If you are also curious about other forms of incentive from state and local governments and utilities, go to http://www.dsireusa.org/ for a comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. The database includes an update of all rebates, grants and financial incentives new within the past two months. Currently, 11 states have listed new incentives on the website.

We’re going to explode those myths right here and give you some solid scientific information that we hope will help you in choosing a standing seam metal roof for your home.

First myth: Will a metal roof increase the likelihood of a lightning strike on your home?

The answer to this question is “absolutely not.”  Lightning will strike a very tall building over a shorter building, regardless of the building materials and roofing used.  It makes no difference if it’s a metal roof, a tile roof or asphalt shingle.  The real probability of lightning strikes has more to do with land topography, location of building and the size and height of a building.

The building materials used in the entire building can affect the chances of being damaged by thunderstorm activity. Builders using construction materials that are electrically conductive can reduce the threat of lightning strikes and damage to a building. Metal roofing is an electrical conductor, so it will actually lessen the chances of lightning strikes and damage. Besides the strike itself, the big concern with a lightning is fire. Metal roofing is also a non-combustible material, so even if hit by lightning it will not burn. Since metal roofing isn’t combustible or flammable, it’s a low risk and desirable roofing option where severe weather is concerned, especially for lightning.

Regardless of what material covers your roof it’s always a good idea to ground the structure and have a lightning rod or a strap connecting the roof to the ground.

Second myth: Is a standing seam metal roof noisy when it rains?

Residential roofs are made of wood, covered by metal, asphalt or tile. The wood absorbs the sound of rain. Modern metal roofing is usually installed over a plywood, solid sheathing or an existing shingle roof. It will make no more noise than a regular asphalt shingle roof. A study by The Acoustic Group at the University of Luleå, Sweden, determined the amount of sound emitted when rain falls on various roofing materials. It found that metal did not register a significantly higher sound level than shingle. In fact, the sound differential between shingle and metal was only 6 decibels and the human ear does not distinguish variations in sound until the sound pressure reaches 8 decibels. Granted, a metal roof installed over open framing will register a louder sound than panels that are installed over a solid roof deck. But virtually all metal roofing systems on the market today are installed with some form of underlayment material that absorbs sound. There is more chance the homeowner will hear rain hitting a window or skylight than a metal roof.

Third myth: Will hail dent my metal roof?

A metal roof can withstand decades of abuse from extreme weather like hail, high winds, and heavy snow. In unusual cases, very large-sized hail has been known to dent metal roofs during extremely heavy storms. That very same hail also causes damage to tiled roofs and even asphalt roofing material by displacing granules and causing premature deterioration and weathering, that eventually results in a hole in the shingle. But, a typical hail storm will not dent your metal roof. Metal roofs are very tough and highly resistant to hail damage… much more so than asphalt/fiberglass shingles. In fact, many metal roofing products have the highest impact resistance and hail rating granted by the insurance commissions in the hail belt regions of the U.S. Some insurance companies even provide a reduced rate for metal roofs.

We hope we’ve given you some insight as to the fallacies regarding metal roofs and we suggest that you focus more on the aesthetics (wide selection of colors), the design elements (different roofing profiles available), and the durability and longevity of a metal roof system.

If you have any questions about weather-related topics and standing seam metal roofing you can contact your local Englert representative or go to the Metal Roofing Alliance website at www.metalroofing.com for more information or you can consult with one of their experts.

On August 28, 2011, when the Williams River rose to historic heights during Tropical Storm Irene, the Bartonsville Covered Bridge, built in 1870, in the village of Bartonsville, in Rockingham, Vermont, lost its battle to the raging waters.  The swollen river eroded the banks on its south side damaging the bridge’s abutments.  When the abutments gave way the bridge separated from the banks and began gliding down the river. Unable to make a turn in the river, the 151-foot-long, lattice truss-style bridge collapsed in a pile on the shore about a half mile down-stream.

It wasn’t the first Bartonsville covered bridge to be victimized by a storm. It was built after the great Vermont flood of 1869 that changed the course of the Williams River, replacing another covered bridge about a quarter of a mile up the road where the river used to flow.

The raging Williams River had done its damage for the second time in 142 years.
Susan Hammond is a longtime Bartonsville resident who was just yards away and witnessed the bridge giving way. Hammond caught the entire event on her digital camera and within days the Bartonsville Bridge became a nationwide symbol for the historic destruction Vermont suffered at the hands of Irene.

The video of the Bartonsville Covered Bridge being carried away by the river became a YouTube spectacle and its destruction, and rebuilding, became powerful symbols for what Vermont has been through since 2011. At the bridge opening on Saturday, January 26 2013, Hammond recognized all of the hard work that went into bringing a covered bridge back to Bartonsville.

She was among 100 people including Gov. Peter Shumlin and Congressman Peter Welch, who showed up on a very cold morning to recognize the work that had gone into replacing the original, historic bridge.

Welch said the rest of America noticed how quickly and efficiently Vermont was able to rebound from the storm. He pointed out that his Congressional colleagues now refer to “The Vermont way” as an example of how communities should come together to address devastation and reconstruction following natural disasters.

“It is emblematic of how Vermonters came together,” Welch told the crowd of fellow Vermonters.  ‘We had a job to do,’ and then worked together to get the job done.”

The town worked with the Vermont League if Cities and Towns to secure the insurance money to replace the bridge and with FEMA which helped with mitigation funding.

Engineers at Clough Harbour & Associates, construction crews from Cold River Bridges and Englert metal roofing contractor, David Paige of Iron Horse Roofing in Londonderry, Vermont, who installed the bridge’s Forest Green Series 1300 metal roof, worked through bitter winter weather to make sure Bartonsville would once again have its covered bridge. Everyone acknowledged that the January 26 dedication would not have been possible without everyone working together.

“Our slogan was ‘We can rebuild history,’” Hammond told the gathered crowd.   “The people of Bartonsville insisted that we rebuild the bridge.” And it was the sheer spirit and determination of people like Hammond that made it happen. She led a fundraising campaign that brought in about $60,000, which she said came from all over the world.

Sitting here in New Jersey where Hurricane Sandy took its toll so recently, we can only admire the spirit of the people of Rockingham, Vermont.  And we can fully understand why they needed to rebuild. Our hats are off to all those who played a part in this wonderful story and we hope their  new bridge and the Englert metal roof covering  it will last for another 140 years.

But our trade imbalance with China has gone the other way when it comes to professional services. Professional services, including architecture, constitute roughly a third of America’s exports, according to Architect Magazine, which notes many major American architecture firms now have offices in the largest Chinese cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as second-tier cities like Tianjin.

However, if you’re one of those design firms and you’re specifying metal roofs in Asia, beware! The quality of metal roofing coil and the roll forming machines made there are often greatly inferior to coil and machines made in the U.S. and in Western Europe.

Our in-house machine expert, Mike Gorski, has had the opportunity to visit other continents and see the different roll forming equipment made in places like China, the Middle East and Africa.  Mike’s take?  Most of these machines are poorly made and have a life expectancy of only a few years. And Mike emphasizes there is little or no training for operators and no machine service support in these markets to fix a faltering machine. Consequently, the result often is a poorly made panel on a faulty machine.
So if you’re specifying a certain metal roofing profile for a building in China, insist that the general contractor pay special attention to whether the roofer is forming panels on a well-made Western roll former  run by a trained crew of roofers. Otherwise, in a few short years, your building’s owner may have issues with leakage, rust, cinching and a host of other problems associated with poorly made machines turning out inferior metal roofing panels.

Ironically, this very problem has driven our company and other Western manufacturers to start servicing international roofing and gutter machine customers who have stopped purchasing  equipment in their home countries.  Good metal roofing contractors who have made the mistake of buying cheap, poorly made local machines are soon back in the market replacing them with more expensive, more sophisticated systems built here.  They’ve learned the hard way that they can’t afford the loss of time and profitability because of a poorly performing machine.

First, a little bit of background. Galvalume® was invented by Bethlehem Steel in 1972. It is a trademarked name, but many people use it as a generic term to describe a metal roofing product consisting of  steel coil coated with a metal alloy. That alloy is 45% zinc and 55% aluminum and looks similar to galvanized steel, but the visible crystals are smaller and close together, giving it a smoother appearance.  Galvalume has a cousin, Galvalume Plus. The only difference is Plus has a thin, clear acrylic coating. Because Galvalume Plus can be roll-formed dry without vanishing oil, it is very easy to form and install safely.

The combination of zinc and aluminum in Galvalume enhances both the positive and negative effects of aluminum.  Galvalume has barrier corrosion resistance and heat resistance similar to aluminized material and good bare edge galvanic protection and forming qualities like galvanized material. Consequently, Galvalume  and Galvalume Plus will resist rust, the elements and fire while providing a sturdy and protective covering.

Galvalume® is more corrosion-resistant than galvanized steel, but because aluminum provides barrier protection instead of galvanic protection, scratches and cut edges are less protected.  Galvalume is offered in both bare and pre-coated versions. Most Galvalume®–like galvanized steel– is coated. But Galvalume has an excellent performance life in bare exposures as well.  Both galvanized steel and Galvalume® weigh 100 to 150 pounds per 100 square feet and contain about 35% recycled materials. The cost of Galvalume and Galvalume Plus are about the same as that of galvanized steel.The coating used on  Galvalume is very important because it is critical to the length and conditions of the entire warranty of the panel product. Coated metal roof panels have progressed from a single coat straight polyester paint system in the early years to Poly vinyl idene fluoride(PVDF)  acknowledged as the premium resin for coil coatings.  It is a kind of fluoride, a family that includes such well known products as Teflon and Halar.  PVDF resin has superior chalk resistance and gloss retention as well as stain and chemical resistance.  It is softer than polyester, making it highly formable without risk of cracking. Current pretreatments and primers along with superior paint coating have increased product warranties dramatically.

However, some people only ask if there is a warranty not how many years the warranty lasts, and most people do not check to make sure that they are not getting the inferior straight polyester system. Straight polyester should really not be used for metal roofing and wall panel in today’s market. If you see there is a dramatic difference in the price of two painted Galvalume panels you are specifying, then the less expensive, less effective  kind of  coating should be suspected.

Galvalume should not be used on, in, or around concrete or mortar. Concrete and mortar are highly alkaline environments. Bare Galvalume and painted Galvalume sheets suffer rapid corrosion when in contact with mortar and concrete. Bare Galvanized and painted Galvanized perform better in this type of environment.

Neither Galvalume or galvanized substrate is warranted to be used, in or around animal confinement or agriculture. Bare Galvalume and coated Galvalume panels will very rapidly deteriorate when exposed to the corrosive agents of animal confinement.  But bare Galvalume and coated Galvalume panels have an outstanding corrosion resistance in a wide variety of general environments, including industrial, marine and even severe marine environments.  And Galvalume offers exceptional heat reflectivity, resulting in lower energy load on buildings and improved interior comfort.

That pretty much summarizes the key features of Galvalume versus Galvanized.  In a nutshell, Galvalume is a proven metal roofing material because of its strength, outdoor corrosion resistance and longevity. If you have any other questions about Galvalume, contact an Englert architectural sales representative near you.

But very rarely do you hear anyone talk about a third key element in the manufacture of a quality metal roofing or wall product—the paint line on which it is made. Virtually every aspect of a paint line plays a critical role in the final quality of the product. Following is a quick visit to a modern paint line with a look at why a state of the art manufacturing operation is critical to the production of a superior product and to the economies of cost in producing it.

Paint line systems built within the past few years are environmentally superior. They capture 100 percent of solvent fumes from painting, drying and curing operations and recover virtually all of the heat from the burning solvent for return to the process in an ultra-clean system.

Newer paint lines have systems  that can heat their ovens and metal cleaning and pretreatment operations with no cost, saving  a substantial amount of energy which otherwise would have to be built into the cost of the product. Their environmental systems burners destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and solvents in their incinerator. The heat from there is passed through for heating ovens and the boiler which creates steam heat for the cleaner and rinse tanks. Then fresh air from the coater rooms is passed through the heat exchanger and into the incinerator to be burned to complete the loop. Any excess heat is then pumped out through the stack.

Modern paint lines have an oven and incinerator with one burner along the entire line, producing the highest grade of painted metal possible. Oven heat in these modern systems is better balanced internally to give a better product with color that is uniform across the entire roll. Samples of whites produced in older, multiple-burner manufacturing systems can have a yellow cast across the width of the strip because the heat is stronger on one side of the burner than the other. The new systems set the highest standard in the industry for quality, color and consistency.Load cells on the application rollers in newer systems allow paint to be applied with more consistent measurability, making the process more controllable and providing a smoother application of paint.

Most modern paint lines feature data acquisition archives and laser printers to print the company logo and a tracking code on each roll of coil. This allows the manufacturer and the customer to pinpoint when and how each coil is produced. A laser ink jet on the paint line provides production records on 100% of coated roofing product, providing an archive for warrantee and production records and a recipe builder for the system to record and retrieve requirements that go into future jobs for the same customer. Today’s paint line systems select the best components for the job, eliminating any potential for manual mistakes resulting from unfamiliarity with the specific task.  This results in time efficiency, accuracy and “closer-to-perfection” automation.

One final factor, perhaps the most critical of all, defines a good paint line system: a team of coatings specialists that can tap years of experience to get the most from an advanced paint system.  Each coating line has a life of its own and experienced professionals have seen and run every kind of product imaginable. They are experts in orchestrating the speeds and the temperatures necessary to produce a superior product in an integrated process where quality metal must be painted, slit and prepared for the customer’s use.

Author: Brian Patrick is director of operations at Englert.