History Of Zinc Roofing

As mines and mills opened in the united states domestic production replaced imports.

History of zinc roofing.

With average lifespans of 80 100 a zinc roof will far outlast most other roofing options. A metal roof is a roofing system made from metal pieces or tiles characterized by its high resistance impermeability and longevity. Brass supplemented bronze during the roman empire in the manufacture of coins weapons and art. The history of zinc man made zinc alloy products have been reliably dated as far back as 500 bc and zinc was first intentionally added to copperto form brass around 200 300 bc.

Zinc roofing generally formed with copper and titanium has been made very popular in germany as well many other countries for about 300 years by european architects. Galvanizing with zinc to protect the base metal from rust was developed in france in 1837. Zinc standing seam roof in poland. The ancient egyptians used aluminum and alum compounds to strengthen their roofing.

As with other roofing materials the earliest uses of metals for american roofing employed imported products. Copper has always been a popular choice of metal for roofing because of its ease of handling and the beautiful way it ages. Zinc has been used on roofs for over 150 years. By the 1850s the material was used on post offices and customhouses as well as on train sheds and factories.

In paris 85 of roofs are constructed of rolled zinc most of which are original roofs from the mid 19 th century. In greece and egypt the use of zinc since antiquity has been proven with the discovery of jewellery and funeral urns. Being one of the more recent metal roofing technologies history has still proven that it provides a distinguishable long term option for a metal roofing system. By the 1400s flat copper sheeting began to be used in europe particularly on churches.

Zinc started to be used in roofs in the 1700s and remains popular today as an alternative to copper. It is a component of the building envelope. A brief history of zinc and copper roofing zinc the ancient babylonians and assyrians used zinc as part of the alloying process to produce brass but it was in the 13th century that india first obtained metallic zinc through smelting. For decades it has been the preferred choice for roofs all over the world in the form of architectural zinc rheinzink.

Flat seam metal roofing was used here on the problematic areas. Zinc has a rich global history and is known for its long lifespan. Lead copper and tin plate most often came from great britain while the first zinc came from belgium. In 1834 the american architect william strickland proposed corrugated iron to cover his design for the market place in philadelphia.