Which Is Better - Metal, Ondulin Or Corrugated Board, Main Characteristics, User Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Which is better - metal, ondulin or corrugated board?

When it comes to what to build a house from, you don't have to choose especially: if you are primarily concerned with the price, they are built from wood and OSB using frame-panel technology, worried about strength - from aerated concrete blocks or, if there are several floors, from brick. With the roof, everything is much more complicated: many different types of roofing are produced today, and there are dozens of subspecies. But there are those among them that, due to their affordable cost, have gained particular popularity among the people: ondulin, metal tiles and decking.

Content

• 1 How to choose a material for the roof
• 2 Evaluation criteria for roofing materials

• 3 Advantages and disadvantages of ondulin

  • 3.1 Technical characteristics of ondulin
  • 3.2 Video: Ondulin - 8 years on the roof

• 4 Decking: pros and cons

  4.1 Video: do-it-yourself roof installation from corrugated board

• 5 Metal tiles: strengths and weaknesses

  5.1 Video: DIY installation of metal tiles

• 6 Reviews about ondulin, metal tiles and corrugated board

How to choose material for the roof

Choosing a roof covering is not an easy task. There is no absolutely perfect option - each material is somewhat superior to others, but it also has some disadvantages. And there are a lot of parameters between which one has to balance. Characteristics are important, but we must not forget about the aesthetic merits. I would like the coating to be not too expensive, but not to have to deal with repairs too often.

Accordingly, the question arises: which properties should be put at the forefront and which ones should be considered secondary? Through surveys, experts were able to roughly find out the value of a particular criterion in the eyes of homeowners. Let's see what worries most individual developers in the first place.

Evaluation criteria for roofing materials

For clarity, the significance of each of the criteria will be expressed as a percentage. Let's start the rating, as expected, with the most important:

1. Appearance. The “share” of this property in the questionnaires was as much as 30%. There is no need to be surprised: the roof is in plain sight and the impression it makes plays a very important role. Thus, most people prefer materials with interesting texture and rich colors. Particular attention is paid to whether the color coating fade in the sun or shows resistance to its radiation.

   

   Appearance is of decisive importance for most individual developers, and metal tiles are among the leaders here.
2. Technical properties. As expected, this criterion is also recognized as very significant - 20%. Technical properties mean mechanical strength, thermal resistance, resistance to water and biological environment, as well as noise.
3. Durability. The importance of this parameter was estimated at 15%, and it got into the top three for a reason. Indeed, it is very worth paying attention to this characteristic, because the service life of various materials is noticeably different - from 7 years (ordinary roofing felt on a cardboard basis) to 100 years (copper sheets). It is impossible to say unequivocally which option is optimal: someone is building a house that he hopes to pass on to his grandchildren, while someone is quite satisfied with a 25-year service life.
4. Nomenclature. This quality has pulled by 10%. The nomenclature means a variety of "styles", which allows you to build, if not exclusive roofs, then at least not of the same type (remember the same gray roofs made of ordinary asbestos slate).
5. Labor intensity and complexity of installation. Significance - 10%. A criterion affecting the final cost of the roof. It will be lower if the material is easy to install and the homeowner can do it himself. And vice versa: if installation with acceptable quality can only be provided by experienced craftsmen, the developer will have to bear additional costs.

6. The complication of the rafter system. The significance is the same - 10%. The complication, and therefore the rise in the cost of the rafter system, has to be resorted to, for example, with a significant specific gravity of the used roofing material. So, on rafters and lathing for ceramic tiles, 1 m ^{2 of} which weighs 50 kg, wood has to be spent 15-20% more than for lighter metal tiles or corrugated board. Soft materials, such as bituminous shingles, weigh less, but they have their own characteristics: instead of lathing, you have to use a more expensive and time-consuming solid one, knitting it out of boards, chipboard or plywood. In addition, with small roof pitches, it becomes necessary to lay a lining carpet over the lathing, which also increases the cost of the structure.

   

   All other things being equal, a soft roof will be more expensive, because a continuous sheathing is required under it

7. Maintainability. The significance was assessed as minimal - 5%. Such an assessment is quite logical: in the heat of construction work, homeowners are not inclined to think about how difficult and at what cost it will be possible to repair the roof later. Moreover, the probability of damage to the roof is relatively small and it makes sense to worry about this only in regions with extreme weather conditions, for example, with constant strong winds.

Maintainability can be primarily associated with the size of the modules: in one case, it will be necessary to replace a couple of small tiles (tiles), in the other, half the roof (large steel or copper sheets) will need to be rebuilt

The larger the module, the larger the roof area will have to be covered in case of repair

But before thinking about all the listed criteria, the developer will have to decide on a price group that will be affordable for him. There are four such groups:

1. The cheapest materials with rather low quality. This category includes ordinary asbestos slate, as well as roofing felt and other traditional roll materials. Today, they are considered suitable only for use in household buildings, garages or country houses.

2. Materials of average quality and relatively low price. These include ondulin, popular today, galvanized steel sheets, etc. They can be used to cover the roof of a capital house, but as a budget option.

   

   Ondulin gives the roof a pretty nice look and belongs to budget materials

3. Materials of acceptable quality and affordable cost. This class includes metal tiles, corrugated board, cement-sand tiles, etc. Such a coating is considered optimal. In terms of cost, these materials exceed the previous category, but not by much, so that the vast majority of developers can easily afford them.
4. Elite materials. Very expensive, but also the most durable, having a very effective look. These include ceramic tiles, as well as flexible tiles with various spraying (for example, with copper plating), copper sheets (sold in rolls), etc. For a house with an average area (about 150 m ²), the cost of such a roof will be at least 10 thousand dollars …

One cannot fail to note such an important factor as the complexity of the roof structure.

The more complex the roof configuration, the more roofing material you will have to buy.

Obviously, in the presence of a large number of kinks, the circle of applicants will have to be significantly narrowed, considering only soft roofing materials (hard ones will go to waste for the most part)

Advantages and disadvantages of ondulin

This material inherited the name "ondulin" from the French company that first began to produce it. It is also called euro-slate or asbestos-free slate, and specialists call it bitumen-fibrous sheets. Today, not only the company of the same name from France is engaged in the production of ondulin, but also many others. In our country, the products of the Gutta Werke company from Switzerland are well represented.

Ondulin or, as it is called in another way, Euro-slate is available in a wide range of colors

The basis of the material is cellulosic or synthetic fibers, which are pressed into corrugated sheets at a temperature of about 120 ^° C. Then they are painted and impregnated with a bitumen-polymer mixture.

Euroslate has a number of attractive qualities:

1. Low cost. 1 m ^{2 of} material costs only 190 rubles.
2. Various colors, and you can choose a color for every taste.
3. Light weight. 1 m ^{2 of} cover weighs only about 3 kg. For comparison: the specific gravity of ordinary slate is 12 kg / m ².
4. Ease of delivery and installation. This advantage stems from the previous one: the lifting of sheets on the roof and their laying, even with relatively large sizes (2x0.96 m), can be carried out by one person, and no special transport is required to deliver the material.
5. Ease of processing. Euroslate is easily cut with a hacksaw on wood (the canvas must be oiled), holes are punched with a nail.

6. Flexibility. The material can be bent along the wave. Due to this property, ondulin is well suited for covering roofs with complex geometry.

   

   Ondulin can be bent, so it is well suited for covering complex roofs

7. Silence. The roof covered with euro-slate, in contrast to metal, does not emit drum rolls during rain and does not buzz in strong winds. Birds also move silently along it.

And here's what you have to pay for the low cost:

1. Short service life. Manufacturers claim that the material has an expected life of 40-50 years. But at the same time, the guarantee that the material remains waterproof is given for only 15 years. From the reviews, it is known that the euro slate often has to be changed even earlier.

2. Low strength. Of course, ondulin can withstand snow loads, even significant ones. The maximum permissible specific gravity of the snow cover with a roof slope of more than 15 degrees, a lathing step of no more than 60 cm and fastening each sheet with 20 nails is 960 kg / m ². But in regions with extreme weather conditions, this material will not last long. After heavy hail or heavy objects falling on the roof during a hurricane, much of the coverage will likely need to be repaired. It is also not recommended to walk on the surface, especially in the heat, when the material softens.

   

   Ondulin is a very soft material, therefore, even with small mechanical stress, it can collapse

3. Weak resistance to the effects of the biological environment. Despite the assurances of the producers in absolute biostability, as practice has shown, fungus or moss begins to develop on the euro-slate in just 2-3 years. In this sense, Ondulin is not far from its prototype - asbestos slate. Shaded areas usually turn green first.
4. Flammability. Because of this drawback, the scope of ondulin is somewhat limited. In particular, it must not be installed on the roofs of children's and medical institutions.
5. Relatively fast fading of dyes. Here it should be noted that there are analogs of ondulin, which can generally fade in almost one season. The original version is more persistent, but it also fades over time.

In hot weather, the coating can give off a characteristic bituminous odor

Technical characteristics of ondulin

Here are the technical characteristics of the euro slate:

1. Standard sheet weight: 6.5 kg.
2. Fire safety class: KM5 (highest), the ignition temperature is 230-300 degrees.
3. Maximum permissible distributed load: 0.96 t / m ².
4. Resistance to chemically active substances: high. Ondulin is not afraid of alkalis and acids, as well as petroleum products. Thus, it will not be destroyed even in those regions where the atmosphere is saturated with industrial emissions.
5. The presence in the composition of substances that emit harmful fumes: there are no such substances, the material is completely environmentally friendly. This is confirmed by the hygiene certificate.

Geometric parameters of a standard sheet:

• dimensions: 2x0.96 m;
• thickness: 3 mm;
• wave height: 36 mm;
• area: 1.92 m ².

The difference in price compared to asbestos slate (euro slate costs about 30% more) is fully justified by such advantages as a variety of colors, flexibility and the absence of harmful substances in the composition.

Video: Ondulin - 8 years on the roof

Decking: pros and cons

The corrugated board is a galvanized steel sheet, which was given a wavy shape by cold rolling. In most cases, a colored polymer protective layer is applied to the product. Many companies are engaged in production, among domestic ones, for example, the Kireevsky light metalwork plant and the Electroshield plant in Samara have proven themselves.

The color of the roofing sheeting is given by a protective polymer film

The advantages of this material are as follows:

1. High strength. Steel sheet easily withstands any load and the most "strong" weather factors. High strength coupled with plasticity allows the production of sheets of very long lengths (up to 12 m), due to which the number of joints on the roof can be minimized.
2. Durable and completely waterproof. The guaranteed service life is 25-30 years, but usually the material remains usable much longer. The main thing is to take good care of the protective coating made of zinc and polymer during installation and operation. At the same time, steel, even being affected by corrosion, remains absolutely waterproof for a long time.
3. Light weight. 1 m ^{2 of} material weighs up to 7 kg.
4. Various colors.
5. Affordable cost. The price of corrugated board can reach 500 rubles / m ², but fairly high-quality roofing sheets (there is also wall corrugated board) can be purchased for 230-350 rubles / m ². Thus, in terms of price, the material is not very different from ondulin, but at the same time it significantly surpasses it in strength and durability.
6. Non-flammability.

There are also unwanted features to consider:

1. The sheets are not designed for bending (the protective coating is damaged), therefore it is better to cover roofs with a relatively simple structure with corrugated board. With a large number of fractures, a significant proportion of the material will go to waste.

   

   If the roof has a lot of kinks, corrugated boarding will be quite expensive due to the large amount of waste

2. Even with a polymer coating, steel sheets remain very sonorous: the sounds made by the claws of birds, as well as the noise from rain and wind, are quite noticeable. Effective soundproofing is required.
3. Steel, in contrast to the bitumen-fibrous sheet, has a high thermal conductivity. That is, in winter, a metal roof gives off heat very easily, and in summer it heats up so that it becomes unbearably hot in the under-roof space. Therefore, a roof covered with corrugated board is extremely necessary to insulate.
4. If the protective coating is damaged, the sheet will begin to rust.

The characteristics of the corrugated board are as follows:

• weight: 5.5–7 kg / m ²;
• fire hazard class: KM0 (non-flammable).

Geometric parameters of a standard sheet:

• length: from 2 to 12 m;
• width: from 1.1 to 1.25 m;
• thickness: 0.6–0.8 mm;
• profile height: from 20 to 75 mm.

Video: do-it-yourself roof installation from corrugated board

Metal tile: strengths and weaknesses

The metal tile is also made of galvanized sheet. With the help of punching, it is given the same shape as ceramic tiles. Compared to cold rolling (the method of manufacturing corrugated board), this operation is more complicated, therefore:

• metal tiles are made of thinner steel (0.4–0.5 mm);

• its cost turns out to be higher: high-quality material with a 30-year guarantee - from 370 to 570 rubles / m ².

  

  It is very difficult to distinguish metal tiles from a distance from their ceramic counterparts.

The list of advantages and disadvantages of a metal tile is the same as that of a corrugated board, only it looks much more impressive. In addition, due to the small thickness of the metal, restrictions appear:

• the roof cannot have a slope less than 15 ^o;
• the metal roofing must not be stepped on.

The durability of this material depends on the thickness of the metal, as well as on what the protective coating is made of. Galvanizing can be performed both with pure zinc and zinc-aluminum - the second option is more reliable. In this case, it is necessary to clarify the quality of galvanizing:

• 275 g / m ²: the most durable metal;
• 200 g / m ²: satisfactory quality;
• 120 g / m ²: very poor quality, the service life of such a material is several years.

The polymer coating can be of several types:

1. Polyester. It was actively used before, today it is almost never used.
2. Plastisol. Polymer composition based on PVC. It is extremely unstable to temperature extremes and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, therefore it retains its integrity for only a few years.

3. Pural. Coating based on polyurethane. It is applied in a layer of 50 microns, has increased resistance to negative weather factors and mechanical stress (more difficult to scratch). It retains its integrity for 20 - 30 years, while the color of the coating remains bright for a long time. There is a matte variety. Pural can be recognized by its characteristic tactile sensations: unlike ordinary hard plastic, it feels more like plasticine or silk to the touch.

   

   Pural can make the surface of metal tiles look like leather or wood

4. Purex. This polymer is also quite resistant to all sorts of influences. It is applied with a layer of 26 microns and is guaranteed for 15 years. Has a semi-matte surface.
5. Prism. The most reliable polymer coating, positioned as elite. The thickness is 50 microns, the integrity is guaranteed for 15 years.
6. Polyester. Most common. It has an acceptable level of resistance to temperature changes and UV radiation, but special care is required during installation, as the coating is easily scratched.

Polyester is available in two versions:

1. Glossy. It is applied in a layer 25 µm thick. This type of coating is guaranteed for a period of 5 to 10 years.

2. Matt. Contains Teflon, applied with a layer of 35 microns. Integrity is guaranteed for 15 years, but the color palette is less varied than glossy polyester.

   

   Metal tiles covered with a matte polyester film will last 15 years or more

Video: DIY installation of metal tiles

Reviews about ondulin, metal tiles and corrugated board

Modern materials allow you to quickly and inexpensively create a reliable and durable roof covering. At the same time, as in the case of metal tiles, it can have a very presentable appearance, almost not inferior in this to elite varieties. It should only be remembered that the service life declared by the manufacturer will only be achieved if the installation rules prescribed by him are strictly observed.