Metal roofing is one of the most popular choices for homes across Australia, but if you are considering having a metal roof fitted to your home, it pays to look beyond basic steel and aluminium varieties. Zinc roofing is becoming increasingly popular, especially for residential properties, and has some unique advantages over more conventional steel or aluminium roofing.

Zinc roofing is a particularly good choice if you are looking for roofing that will help make your home more eco-friendly and energy-efficient. Here are three reasons why zinc roofing is an ideal choice for any environmentally conscious home:

Long-Lasting Durability

Having to replace your damaged roofing every decade or so will massively increase your home's embodied energy and carbon, no matter how eco-friendly your chosen roofing material may be. Zinc roofing is exceptionally long-lasting, and will withstand many decades of use with minimal maintenance and repair work.

Zinc is a ferrous metal, and like all ferrous metals, it starts to corrode when exposed to air and moisture. However, zinc corrodes at an exponentially slower rate than steel, and is even more corrosion-resistant than aluminium. This allows zinc roofing to withstand many years of exposure to the elements without losing its strength, structural stability or water-tightness.

Zinc roofing is also very physically durable. It can withstand heavy impacts caused by falling objects (such as tree branches or chimney pots). When it is damaged by very heavy impacts, zinc tends to dent rather than shatter, making any damage quick and easy to repair without requiring replacement materials.

Like other types of metal roofing, zinc roofing is also immune to rot and termite damage that can badly damage timber roofing. 

UV Reflective

Because zinc roofing has inherent resistance to corrosion, it does not rely on protective coatings like other types of metal roofing. This allows the use of uncoated zinc, which has a reflective, metallic surface. This reflective surface can reflect a large proportion of the sun's heat. Zinc roofing can therefore help to keep your home cool during the summer months, without relying on energy-hungry air conditioning systems.

Low Embodied Energy And Carbon

Metal roofing tends to have high-embodied energy and carbon values since it requires a significant amount of non-renewable energy to manufacture. Zinc is an exception to this rule. Because zinc has a lower melting point than other metals commonly used to create roofing, it can be melted, forged and cast into roofing sheets and shingles, using much less energy.

Zinc roofing is also made at least partially from recycled zinc, and at the end of its long lifespan, zinc roofing can be recycled again. This minimises a zinc roof's embodied carbon across its entire lifetime and makes zinc roofing highly sustainable.