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AUGUST 2019 | 17 Metal Roofing/Cladding Metal roofing and cladding continues to be the building material of choice by ROBIN BRUNET V icwest Building Products is one of many companies that views 2019 as a banner year for the metal roof- ing and cladding sector, and earlier this year it cited a Principia Consulting industry report that states, "Among the metal roof- ing contractors surveyed, 75 percent expect the market to grow over the next three years, and sup- pliers echo similar growth expectations." Vicwest notes that "metal roofing and cladding continues to be the high-performance building mate- rial of choice for many consumers and commercial developers" due to five factors: a lower lifetime cost delivering substantial cost savings over other mate- rial; superior product performance such as weather resistance (especially against high winds and storms); superior energy savings; availability and confidence in contractors; and the growing use of metal roofing/ siding as specified by architects and designers. Vicwest continues to distinguish itself as a leading supplier in this regard. Its roofing products are fin- ished with high-performance coatings, and each type of profile is designed with unique locking features so that the installation itself contributes to the ability of the roof to withstand high winds, driving precipita- tion, and extreme weather. Sean Lepper, VP and general manager at Behlen Industries LP (which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary), agrees that, "business this year is excellent. In fact, we enjoyed one of our strongest starts in recent memory with a lot of mining projects, hangars, sawmills, as well as commercial facilities." However, 2019 has also been accompanied by enduring issues. "The 2015 Energy Code continues to oblige owners to insulate their buildings in different ways, and architects must ensure that levels of heat loss are a lot lower than ever before," says Lepper. Behlen has spent considerable time and effort examining the issue and has come up with several solutions to achieve effective U and R values. "For example, we've always created cavities in the roof and wall systems and filled them with insulation, but now these systems are a focus for us and we use different combinations of elements to connect the cladding to the structure – such as using steel clips and bridging bars, and then more clips," says Lepper. "The depth of the cavities depends on the region of the country the building is located, how many openings it has, the type of system used to heat the building, and so forth." Behlen's insulated systems for frameless steel buildings include loose blown-in mineral wool between the roof and ceiling panels that is cost effective and easy to maintain, with the ceiling acting as the vapour barrier; and for walls, wood furring clips and strapping in which the steel liner panel acts as an integral vapour barrier. Behlen's Pitch Perfect numerous systems for rigid frame buildings include the Thermalguard roof system with liner, with the liner available in Galvalume or a range of colours to provide an attractive clean finish to the roof, and an economy thermal system without the liner. Darren Smith, national sales manager Canada/U.S. for Engineered Assemblies, reports that among his company's most noteworthy recent projects is the construction of a new community centre in Iqaluit. "For that project we used the Imetco Series 300 high-performance structural standing seam metal roof, providing a 10-year warranty for the system. The resiliency of the Series 300 was vital given the extreme weather conditions in this part of Canada, and we worked closely with the designers to deal with snow loads and determine the proper clear path of water shed." Engineered Assemblies also selected the Imetco Series 300 for the new Edmonton Police Services Building. "This roof is unbelievable because of its very low slope, complex curves, and sheer magnitude of size – some of the panels are over 190-feet long in a single run," says Smith. "To achieve this we brought Thermalguard roof system from Behlen Industries. PHOTOGRAPHY + ILLUSTRTATION COURTESY BEHLEN INDUSTRIES LP

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