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AUGUST 2016 | 27 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY FIRESTONE BUILDING PRODUCTS Metal Roofing/Cladding It is perhaps to be expected that a system from Imetco would provide an extreme weather-resistant metal roofing system. The company's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, the biggest city in a region known for tornadoes and hurricanes, where winds of over 200 kilometres per hour are not uncommon. Imetco is not tied to any particular steel mill and will work with any metal, including steel, aluminum, zinc, copper and stainless steel, Davies says, and adds that the company's system is price competitive with comparable systems: "You kind of get the engineering for free, as they've been doing roofs like this for decades." Concealed fasteners like the ones in many of today's metal roofing systems are recommended by the Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia (RCABC). "Exposed fasteners deteriorate because of UV rays, rain, and they also collect organic debris. The issue is water ingress. With exposed fasteners, lots of holes are made in the roof. All these increase the risk of water ingress. Using them is a very short-term saving. A standing seam roof with hidden fasteners entails far less maintenance," says Hamish Matheson, RoofStar technical advisor at RCABC. An underlayment or membrane beneath a metal roof system has an important role as it acts as a secondary water barrier, he says. "A metal roof will have conden- sation. This water can then run down the smooth underlayment. Many architects refer to our practice manual for this," adds Matheson. Also, "Factor in snow loads when designing a metal roof. The slope may need to be adjusted, otherwise there could be repercussions from load and structural issues. A solid substrate is mandatory." RCABC has a lot of data on file regarding roofing issues. That's because the association tracks all roofs that have been inspected and approved under the RCABC guarantee. Today's increased focus on thermal performance and more stringent energy codes are continuing to drive change at the design level, says Tyrel Sutton, a con- tracts manager at Flynn Canada. He should know. Much of his day-to-day work involves providing information to architects and other specifiers on products and systems available from member companies of the Architectural Metal Cladding Association of British Columbia (AMCABC), including those of Flynn, a member. "At one time, architects said, 'Build this type of wall.' They specified what type of membrane, sub-girt, and so on. Now, we're seeing performance specs and less emphasis on prescriptive details. Instead, we're getting performance objectives. In the drawings, it's more about the design intent, and in the specs, it's performance based. For a company like Flynn, it's great because we've got the internal resources. We have thermal modelling software, structural and envelope engineers on staff. It gives us flexibility," he says. New products that can cost-effectively address a widespread issue can rap- idly find a large market. Only a few years ago, thermal bridging was found to be much more of a hindrance to good thermal performance than previously thought. "Companies came out with thermally-broken intermittent clips as a solution. Now, every job has thermally-broken clips or some other means for continuous insula- tion," Sutton says. Noting that there is a variety of thermally-broken clips on the market, he says his company uses the ISO Clip, a product from Northern Facades. The cladding and roofing sector is also seeing new types of membranes for air and vapour barrier hitting the market. Products include microporous, "breathable" ones that are self-adhering and others that allow one-way microbreathing, Sutton says. Innovations are also making great waves in the ACM (aluminum composite mate- rial) cladding sector, according to Keith Borg, COO at AL13 architectural panel sys- tems: "ACM cladding was previously created and cut to size at an off-site fabrication plant. This kept prices high as there was a lot of custom work and tools needed. Firestone's UNA-CLAD UC-4 standing seam system. 888-738-9677 www.cmetals.com Our wide selection of metal products is guaranteed to satisfy your project design needs...quickly, easily, creatively. All the Selection, One Source For samples submit your request to samples@cmetals.com. 888-738-9677 www.cmetals.com Introducing our newest innovation in pre-painted steel... Cascadia TEX A pre-painted, texturized product designed to provide high durability, enhanced strength and shimmering aesthetics.

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