There are many different roofing materials that are popular on homes in Melbourne and elsewhere in Victoria & Australia. Heritage homes often used Welsh slate, but terracotta, metal, and lately synthetic roofing tiles have all at some time been popular. Since your roof is one of the most expensive components of your home to build and replace, it’s certainly worth shopping around for reasonable quotes as well as researching some of the solutions that fit within your budget.One roofing material that is fairly popular is cement (or concrete), in the form of cement tiles. The name alone may not sound very exciting, but rest assured that cement roofing tiles don’t need to look like bare grey pavement – they can look absolutely stunning on just about any home.Here are a few quick reasons to consider cement roofing tiles for your home:
Cost-Efficient Roofing Material
Pound for pound, concrete tends to be quite an affordable material when broken down as a long-term investment (which you ideally want to do for a roof!). Concrete is extremely versatile and fairly simple to manufacture – all that’s normally needed are some coarse and fine aggregates (i.e. rocks/sand), water, and the active “yeast,” the cement itself.Manufacturing and supplying cement roofing tiles is fairly straightforward, which keeps the cost reasonable for homeowners and for roofers to source.Keep in mind, however, that cement roofing tiles do have a slightly higher up-front cost than many other roofing materials.
Very Durable & Great Longevity
How long do cement roofing tiles last? Well, a well-maintained cement roof can last for around 40-70 years or even longer. The wonderful thing about concrete is that the chemical reaction that takes place makes it continually strengthen.You may have heard of the famous rule of thumb of 28 days for concrete to harden, common amongst civil engineers. What you may not know (until now) is that concrete becomes stronger and stronger over time, so there’s no reason why you can’t expect at least a half century from a very well-maintained roof.
Fairly Easy to Maintain
Concrete is pretty tough as far as roofing materials go. Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension, but since tensile forces are supported by the roof framing you’re just getting tough and durable tiles that don’t have any notable weaknesses.Perhaps every 10 years or so, some maintenance work is generally recommended for general wear and tear, to replace dislodged tiles, and to reapply primer and paint coating to the tiles since these can wear off.
Excellent Energy Efficiency Properties
A great reason in Australia’s often hot and sometimes scorching climate areas to have cement tiles is that they offer superb energy efficiency, keeping the home cool when the air conditioning is on whilst dissipating heat throughout the day.This helps you save on energy by allowing your home air conditioning to work more efficiently.
Beautiful, Versatile Aesthetics
Remember what was said prior about cement tiles not looking like raw pavement concrete. The concrete material itself is a drab grey, but modern cement tiles can be painted and coated in all sorts of wonderful colours that can mimic terracotta, slate, and other natural materials, or you could opt for a wonderful colour that contrasts or complements your home’s exterior paint.
Guardian Roofing
Contact us at Guardian Roofing for cement roofing services and much more.
