Agricultural buildings take more punishment than most buildings, due to their exposed locations and frequent encounters with errant farm vehicles, and building one to last means choosing the most durable, long-lasting building materials. This extends to the roof of your barn, and most barns need a roof made of something a little more robust than traditional clay or slate roofing tiles.

Roofing made of sheet steel is a particularly popular choice for barns and other agricultural buildings, and their popularity is well owned; these practical, versatile roofs have a number of advantages that other roofing materials simply cannot match, and can bring many benefits when installed to cover your barn.

What are the advantages of choosing sheet steel roofing for your barn?

Durable

As you can imagine, steel roofing is immensely durable, and is able to take a battering from the elements and heavy impacts (such as falling branches) in equal measure without showing damage. Unlike tiled, concrete or asphalt roofing, metal roofing sheets also have a tendency to dent rather than shatter under extremely heavy punishment, which is usually much cheaper and easier to repair.

Longevity

A well-chosen and well-installed metal barn roof will often last longer than the barn itself, and represents an excellent long term investment for your barn and business as a whole despite being a little more expensive to purchase than some other roofing options. Rust concerns are not an issues, as the metal roofing panels sold by reputable steel merchants can be coated with a wide variety of protective, rustproof treatments; galvanised coatings are particularly useful, as are rustproof paints and powder coatings.

Low maintenance

Metal barn roofing is very low-maintenance, and only requires an occasional cleaning to remove impacted dirt and leaves and prevent gutter clogging. 

Choice of designs

Steel roofing sheets aren't just available in the classic, corrugated design --  a wide variety of different sheet designs and shapes are available, including small metal 'shingles' designed to combine the strength of steel with the looks of classic slate shingles. So-called 'standing seam' roofing sheets are particularly valuable for barns, as they encourage prompt run-off of rainwater and snow and are particularly resistant to leaks.

Heat reflective

Unpainted steel roofing can be particularly useful for farms in hotter parts of the country, as its shiny, reflective surface helps to reflect heat from your barn during the summer months. This can be especially important for livestock barns, and can considerably your barn's climate control costs and energy consumption.

Fire resistant

Barn fires can be a very dangerous and sadly frequent occurance, and barns storing flammable materials such as fuel or straw are particularly vulnerable. If a fire does occur in a steel-roofed barn, the roof will not catch fire and contribue to the blaze. Combining steel roofing sheets with roofing trusses also made of steel can be particularly effective at increasing your barn's resistance to fire.

Contact local steel merchants to learn more about getting a steel sheet roof for your barn.

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