Looking Ahead: Exciting Advances in Roofing Technology

All around the world, technological advances continue to contribute to the development of products that help save us time and money, make our lives easier, and reduce our impact on the environment. This is true in the roofing industry as well. At Muth and Company Roofing, we pride ourselves in staying informed about industry best practices and the latest breakthroughs in roofing technology. Here are a few of the interesting products that are being developed in the roofing industry today.

 

• Insulation. People tend to forget what an impact insulation has on keeping your home at a comfortable temperature. New advances in insulation have led to products with more insulating power than ever, like tightly woven glass-fiber materials that provide outstanding insulation, and polymeric foam that expands to fill in cracks and gaps. Both of these types of materials do an exceptional job at keeping warm attic air from escaping down into your house through the ceiling.

• Fireproof roofing. While there are already several different types of roofing materials that are non-combustible, like tile, slate and metal, fireproof coatings have been developed in recent years in an effort to give added protection to materials like wood shakes. Most recently, developers have begun experimenting with roofing materials that contain volcanic rock, which essentially draws heat from fire into the rock, weakening the flame and slowing its spread.

• Green roofing. Green roofing continues to increase in popularity across the country, and can generally be divided into two different types: living roofs with one of three types of vegetative roof covers (extensive, semi-intensive or intensive) and roofs that have solar shingles or panels. Green roofing has a myriad of benefits, from reducing the heat island effect in urban areas, to providing alternative energy sources by harnessing the power of solar energy.

• Cool roofing. Dark-colored roofing materials tend to absorb heat, which puts a strain on air conditioning and cooling units and increases energy bills. That is why there is increasing interest in the development of cool roofing products. The most common is a simple reflective material or coating meant to reflect heat rather than absorb it. Lighter colored roofing can be considered “cool” roofing, as well as materials such as metal which reflect light no matter its color. The effectiveness and energy savings of these products do vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and type of material, however.

At Muth and Company, our highly trained roofers are constantly learning about new and improved roofing materials and techniques. To find out more about the roofing practices and materials used by Muth and Company, feel free to give us a call at (614) 682-3060.