Concept
Origins of the steel tile
Profiled steel has existed for more than 100 years, although its usage substantially increased after the Second World War. In Great Britain, many buildings were destroyed which had to be rebuilt in the shortest possible time. Profiled galvanised steel sheeting was an ideal solution to cover the roofs of many damaged buildings. However this new roofing system showed some aesthetical shortfalls.
At that time this roof covering was covered with a bitumium product. It was also apparent that this covering protected the steel. Usually its usage was on military buildings but soon extended worldwide on commercial buildings. In the fifties, an industrialist from New Zealand decided to manufacture this product on a large scale. Soon afterwards he decided to take from the advantage of the bitumium cover, by adding an additional layer of granulated rock.
Unlike a traditional tile, the steel being light and strong, can easily be cut and shaped. With the introduction of this new protective cover (the granulated rock finish) it became possible for this roofing product to be used on all types of roofs. The steel tile was born!
The advantages of a steel tile
- Strength: incomparable in extreme climatic conditions ;
- Low in weight: (approximately 6kg/m2 for the Coversys roofing tile) which allows for lighter roof constructions and allowing renovation on top of existing roof coverings ;
- a perfect water tightness, due to its double interlocking system ;
- speed of fixing, faster than traditional roofing materials such as clay or concrete roofing tiles.
