Membrane or Metal? Choices in Low-Slope Roofing

EBN Oct. 2011). With about 22% of low-slope commercial roofing projects using metal systems, according to Scott Kriner, technical director of the Metal Construction Association, we wanted to see how metal compares. As with single-ply membranes, there are toxicity concerns around some of the materials involved, particularly coatings. However, on most measures, metal roofing holds its own.

While standing-seam metal roofs installed on steep slopes snap together and allow any water that gets under the metal to be shed by an underlayer, low-slope standing-seam roofs (also referred to as low-slope SSR) use hydrostatic joinery, mechanically crimping the edges into interlocking seams filled with waterproofing sealant.