Fastener Facts and Tool Topics

The Environmental Benefits of Metal Roofing

Written by Brett McCutcheon | Dec 16, 2023 2:00:00 PM

Builders and homeowners alike are growing more interested in environmentally friendly building materials—and metal roofing stands out as a fantastic choice for a variety of reasons.

What makes metal roofing eco-friendly? We’ll explore the answers to that question here—and we’re also going to show you all about the SCRAIL® ROOFLOC® Metal Roofing system, developed by BECK, which was made specifically to help roofers install metal roofing quickly and easily.

1. Metal Roofs are Cooler

One of the best reasons to choose metal roofing is the fact that cool metal roofs can dramatically lower cooling costs (and thus, energy consumption) within a home. That’s because metal roofing is reflective. Rather than absorbing heat from the sun’s rays, as asphalt shingle would, metal reflects excess heat away, which helps keep the home cooler. While metal in any color will help keep the home cooler, you can maximize the benefits with lighter shades, which absorb less heat than darker colors.

2. Metal Roofing has a Long Lifespan

Keeping waste out of landfills is part of what it means to be eco-friendly—and metal roofing tops other types of roofing on this front because it lasts much longer than most other types of roofing. Compare metal roofing to asphalt shingles, for example. Shingles should be replaced every 15 to 30 years, depending on their manufacturing specifications and the wear and tear they’ve seen. Metal roofing lasts more than double that time—between 40 and 70 years. That means a lot less waste is produced over the lifespan of the home.

3. Metal Roofing is Recyclable

Continuing from the point above, metal roofing has another huge advantage in terms of environmental friendliness and the waste cycle. Asphalt shingles and other types of roofing may not be recyclable, but metal roofing is. So not only do shingles need to be replaced more than twice as often, but they are also a material that will end up in landfills. Metal roofing, when it does need to be replaced, won’t end up in a landfill because it is a valuable recyclable material.

4. Metal Roofing is More Sustainable

Recyclability is key to creating a sustainable product—and metal roofing is both more sustainable than other types of roofing, and it has a smaller carbon footprint. Other types of roofing produce more carbon and are less sustainable because manufacturers always need to harvest new resources to produce these products. For example, asphalt shingles need a constant supply of petroleum products in their manufacture, and options like clay tiles rely on mining processes in their production. For that reason, neither is a sustainable choice—and both produce a lot of carbon in their manufacture.

Metal roofing can be produced without mining by recycling steel to create new roofing—and at the end of its lifespan, it can be recycled again to create the metal roofs of the future.

Build Eco-Conscious Roofing Systems with the SCRAIL® ROOFLOC® System.

Looking to maximize time savings on the job while cutting both labor and energy costs? The SCRAIL® ROOFLOC® System can help. This system offers the efficiency of a pneumatic nailer—and it drives SCRAIL® ROOFLOC® nail screw fasteners, which are specialized fasteners that offer the holding power of a screw combined with the ease of installation that you’d expect from nails.

Even better, these fasteners can be unscrewed when needed for repair work—and they’re recyclable, too, which makes them a sustainable fastener choice. Because they’re designed with metal roofing in mind, these fasteners feature UV-resistant EPDM washers to make them leak-proof, which is crucial to extending the lifespan of metal roofing even further.

To learn more about this fastener system and its advantages, be sure to watch the video below👇.