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Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

When it comes to choosing a garage roof material, many people don’t know where to start. However, this is a crucial decision, especially for people living in Ireland. That is, it’s vital to choose a roofing material that will withstand our intense weather.

Like having any other work done on your home, you should think of a new garage roof as an investment. It’s important to get it right the first time, in order to prevent wasted time and money down the line.

Additionally, many of us store our most prized possessions, like cars, bicycles, tools, gym equipment and even family heirlooms in our garages. You want to make sure you’re doing all you can to keep these things safe.

But with so many different garage roof materials out there, how is an ordinary person supposed to know what’s best for them?

Today, we’re going to look at some of the most commonly used materials for garage roofs. We’ll also discuss why, years of experience, we think a fibreglass garage roof is one of the soundest investments you can make.

Let’s dive right in.

Felt Roofs

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

Felt roofs are incredibly common for one main reason. They’re cheap. When it comes to purchasing a new garage roof, many people want the cheapest solution which will get the job done in the short term.

Generally, large felt roofs are installed by torching a roll of material onto the structure of your garage. This is then sealed at the edges, in order to prevent water from getting in. This makes them cheap and simple to install.

However, felt roofs have a number of major disadvantages, particularly for garages in Ireland.

For one thing, they are prone to nicks and tears. When exposed to the wind and rain, these can quickly develop into major damage, and provide poor water resistance. Because of this, felt roofs in Ireland might last as little as five years before needing major repairs or replacement.

Corrugated Roofing Sheets

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

A number of popular garage roof materials come in the form of corrugated sheets. The most common of these are galvanised steel and bitumen. The corrugated channels are designed to add strength, and encourage rain water to run off.

However, corrugated roofing offers notoriously poor weather resistance. This is because there is so much which can go wrong, including poorly driven screws, missing sealants, or damaged flashing.

Additionally, corrugated roofs have a known problem with moss and dirt build-up inside the channels themselves. These blockages can easily result in damage to the roof itself, meaning that the level of maintenance required to keep a corrugated roof sound is very high.

Finally, corrugated sheets can only be used on pitched roofs, making them entirely unsuitable for many garages.

Slate, Tile or Shingle Roofs

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

There’s no denying that tile or slate roofs are some of the most aesthetically pleasing options out there. In fact, one of the primary selling points of these garage roof materials is the fact that you can match them to the rest of your property. Obviously though, they can also only be installed on pitched roofs.

But how do tile or slate roofs perform from a technical standpoint?

Proponents of slate roofs often talk about how easy they are to repair. After all, all you need to do is identify the broken or damaged slate, remove it, and replace it with a new one.

However, these people miss an important point. Although slate roofs are easy to repair, the downside is that they require frequent repairs and maintenance to keep the elements out. Over the life of your garage roof, this can turn into a massive hidden cost.

As you can see, each garage roof material has its pros and cons. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at why fibreglass is the best choice out of them all.

Why Fibreglass is the Perfect Garage Roof Material

Understanding the Different Types of Garage Roof Material and Why Fibreglass is King

At Nationwide, we provide fibreglass roofing systems because we genuinely believe that they’re the ideal solution to modern commercial and domestic building needs. Installing the right garage roof is one of the best investments you can make for your home or other property.

When choosing a garage roof material, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind. These include cost, performance, upkeep, longevity, aesthetics and strength. For garage roofs in Ireland, fibreglass offers the best balance of these.

Let’s take a look at how.

Water Resistance

Long term and reliable water resistance is the top priority when selecting a garage roof material, especially given the condition in Ireland. As we said, one element of this is keeping your valuables safe from the elements.

However, selecting a roof with reliable weather resistance is also important for preventing structural damage to the building itself. In fact, investing in the right roofing solution can prevent the need for costly repair work to your garage.

Fibreglass roof systems offer unparalleled weather proofing, and are resistant against common roofing problems like leaks and water ingress.

Affordability

The important thing to consider when choosing a garage roof material is not just the initial cost of materials and installation. Rather, it’s vitally important to calculate the cost to install and maintain a roof over the lifetime of the building.

This includes factoring in things like the service life of the roof itself, maintenance and repairs. This might seem a little bit counterintuitive, so let’s take an example.

Say you’re choosing between two different options for your roof. Option A costs half as much as option B. However, option B will last three times longer. As such, when you factor in the service life of your roofing system, option A will actually cost you one and a half times as much in the long term.

For a real-world example, let’s say you’re considering whether to invest in a felt or fibreglass roofing system. Felt roofs can last as little as five years, while fibreglass systems generally last well over twenty. As such, fibreglass roofs are often much more affordable over their lifetime.

This is without even factoring in service costs, like repairs and maintenance.

As such, due to their long service lives, fibreglass roofs often work out as the most affordable options in the longer term. Besides this, improvements in fibreglass technology have significantly reduced the initial cost of fibreglass roofing over the last number of years.

Durability and Low Maintenance

Finally, one of the major selling points of fibreglass roofs is that, once they are installed, they require very little maintenance. This is because, when installed by a professional, problems with fibreglass roofs are very rare, due to their strength and durability.

On the rare occasion that a well-installed fibreglass does develop a problem, like a crack or leak, repairs are often very simple, as affected sections can generally be treated, without the need to remove or replace them.

For example, RES-TEC systems can be repaired without the need to even sand down the affected area.

This can be contrasted with the regular repairs and maintenance which are needs for other common garage roof material options.

Nationwide Fibreglass have over twelve years of delivering high-quality fibreglass roofing solutions for a range of commercial and domestic clients. Speak to our expert fibreglass roofing specialists to discuss the needs of your project.

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