When folks think of the most eco-friendly roof, they think of natural materials, such as wood shake. After-all, wood is natural and organic, right? What could be more eco-friendly than a real wood shake roof? Well…
When searching for the most eco-friendly roof, we consider where it came from, if it’s recyclable and how many times it’s recyclable, and does it help cool your home.
Non-Eco-Friendly Wood Shake
A wood shake/shingle roof is natural and eco-friendly until chemicals are added to it to make it resistant to fire, hail, insect, rot, and mold. Then it’s not so eco-friendly. Local recycling centers won’t accept treated wood, so it can’t be recycled. As a result, most old wood shake roofs are taken to the local landfill.
What’s more, where does that wood for your wood shake roof come from? Trees. Trees are being cut down to make your wood shake roof. That’s not being environmentally-conscious.
Something else to consider is how many times your roof can be recycled. A wood shake roof, because they’re always treated with chemical so they can resist hail, rot, etc., doesn’t get recycled. It goes to the landfill, just like an asphalt shingle roof.
A wood shake roof does help cool your home, but not as much as other roof coverings. A sheet metal roof cools your home much more than wood shake.
Wood Shake Roof Alternatives
Stone-Coated Steel Shake
A great alternative to wood shake is Westlake Royal Roofing’s Pine-Crest Shake. This stone-coated steel roofing product looks like real wood shake, but lasts a lot longer than natural wood. A wood shake roof often only lasts about 25 years with annual maintenance. A stone-coated steel roof, on the other hand, should last 70 years or more.
Standing Seam Metal Panels
If you’re looking for a metal roof that not only lasts a long time but also helps to cool your home, ask us about standing seam metal panels. No other roof covering helps to lower your summer utility bill than sheet metal. And, like steel shake, a new standing seam roof should last at least 70 years. Sheet metal panels, such as standing seam, might be the most eco-friendly roof.
Eco-Friendly Metal
Metal roofing, such as standing seam and stone-coated steel shingles, can be recycled an unlimited number of times. It’s basically melted-down and reformed into its new product. This process can be repeated over and over, again. In fact, when we remove an old metal roof, we deliver it to the nearest metal recycling facility. When we tear-off an old wood shake roof, we have no choice but to take it to the nearest landfill.
How Metal is More Eco-Friendly
A metal roof is more eco-friendly because trees aren’t being harvested to manufacture it. Metal is also recyclable, unlike wood shake. A sheet metal roof, such as standing seam, is the coolest roof. No other roof covering helps cool your home more than sheet metal.
- Trees aren’t harvested
- Metal is recycled repeatedly
- A sheet metal roof is cooler than wood shake
- Sheet metal roofing lowers your utility bill better than wood shake
The Bottom Line
If you’re shopping for an eco-friendly roof, consider metal. Not only is it more eco-friendly than wood shake, it’s less expensive, lasts longer, more durable and more resistant to fire, hail, mold, etc. Looking for a professional metal roofing company to install your new standing seam or stone-coated steel shingle roof? You’ve found us. We specialize in metal roof installations. We also stand behind our work with a 5-year workmanship guarantee. Should your new metal roof fail as a result of our workmanship, we’ll take care of you. Contact us for a free metal roof estimate today!