Metro Roof Products

Metro Roof Products offers five roofing product lines to meet a range of needs. The company was founded by workers in the US steel industry who claim to have over 100 years of combined experience in applying stone coatings to steel. They tout simple, functional roofing products with fast installation.

Corporate History

During WWII, a New Zealand industrialist stationed in Britain observed that military buildings with steel roofs and corrugated iron hangers were withstanding the harsh British climate. Upon his return to New Zealand, he brought this idea with him but modified it by adding stone chips to the coating and cutting the corrugated metal sheets into roofing tiles. This was the beginning of modern stone-coated steel roofing.

Metro opened its first formal factory in January, 2000. Located in Oceanside, California, the company is owned by Boral Steel, a subsidiary of Boral USA. Boral has been in the stone-coated steel roofing business for 52 years.

In 1997, Metro Roof Products was the first company to produce a concealed fastener for a direct-to-deck stone-coated shingle panel.

In the early 2000s, the company was the first to design a series of roofing products including a rake channel with an integrated “locator lip,” a nail-on batten-less, direct-to-deck shake panel, a fully integrated stone-coated roof vent, a SMART-jack pipe flashing, and a SMART-sleeve pipe cover.

Product Lines

Metro’s products include:

• Pine-Crest Shake, designed to resemble hand-split wood shake;
• Granite-Ridge Shingle, which the company claims has high wind and hail resistance;
• Cottage Shingle, a multi-grooved design to evoke a cottage feel;
• Barrel-Vault Tile, which resembles authentic Spanish tile; and
• Pacific Tile, which has a Mediterranean look and inclement weather durability according to the company.

These roofing designs come in colors such as English Suede, Country Blend, Barclay, Spanish Red, Sage Green, Timberwood, and Charcoal.

Metro roofing tiles are Class 4 hail impact resistant, Hurricane Performance Rated, have a Class A fire rating, are energy efficient, and weigh only 1.4 pounds per square foot. The company describes its roofing designs as sleek and durable and claims that the designs improve curb appeal.

MetroTile, MetroShake, MetroRoman, and MetroShingle roofing all meet California’s Title-24 Energy Code standards that require built-in air-space that creates an above sheathing ventilated space above the roof deck. This can prevent the need to install a highly reflective roof. Even so, three of the Metro roofing color options meet the US federal Energy Star reflectivity requirements of 25% when newly purchased and 15% after three years of use. The Cool Roof Ratings Council also lists five Metro colors that meet the CRCC’s overall reflectivity requirement of 20%. These colors reduce heat absorption and result in cooler homes.

Homeowners can use these environmental achievements to their financial benefit both in utility bill savings and tax bill savings. In many municipalities, discounts are offered for energy efficient appliances and building materials. In fact, homeowners who have a Metro roof profile in pearl, white, aspen, or driftwood are eligible for the Energy Star tax credit because of the energy-saving properties of these colors.

Credentialing

Although Metro Roof Products doesn’t offer contractor certification, the company provides contactors and construction crews with training on installing their products. To receive training from the company, you must locate your local Metro Roof Products distributor and complete an online registration form verifying your availability. Contractors must also receive the Metro Installation Kit, Metro roofing material, and proper hand tools before any on-site training.

Additionally, the company also offers SMART-Start installation classes for construction crews to further ensure safe, precise installation of roof designs. Training can either take place at a service center site or on-site at the installation project. At the service center site, classes of up to six people learn about the company’s roof designs and installation methods. If only a portion of your crew members are able to attend, they can impart their knowledge on the rest of the crew after the training. During the on-site class, a Metro trainer will visit your roofing installation site for two days to train your crew on how to install the client’s roofing. For safety and liability purposes, the Metro trainer must perform the training on the ground unless a man-lift is provided.

Contacting Metro Roof Products

Warranty

The Boral Steel Company offers a limited transferable warranty on Metro Roof Products roofing for 50 years. Customers must register for the warranty within 90 days of installation. The warranty guarantees that the product will not burn, will maintain its surface coating appeal except for normal weathering, will withstand winds of up to 120 miles per hour, will not warp or curl, and will not be pierced by hailstones less than 2 1/2’’ in diameter. If the roofing fails to live up to these standards, Boral will repair the product, replace it, or refund the homeowner for their purchase. Proper installation is also essential in preventing these maintenance issues.