From March this year new standards for the fixings used in the British roofing industry will become compulsory. The intention is to make our roofs better able to stand up to strong winds – something Metrotile has been including in our designs for decades!

What the new standards mean

The new British Standard BS 5534 affects fixings used for tiles, slates and shingles and has been in place as a recommended standard since August 2014 but will now become mandatory for all new roof installations. The main change from the previous standards in place is that all tiles, slates and shingles must now be attached entirely mechanically to the underlying roof structure. This means that the adhesive effect of any mortar used to hold the roofing material in place can no longer be considered as part of the roof specification.

What this means for Metrotile roofs

The good news for Metrotile customers is that the high quality, super tight fixings we recommend for our tiles are already compliant with the new standards. All of our roofs are designed to be highly resistant to lifting due to wind and have even been tested in hurricane conditions! This means if you are a specifier, roofing contractor or homeowner in the UK you can be confident that our tiles will stand up to whatever the UK weather has to throw at them.

That’s why we offer a 40 year weatherproof guarantee on any roof using our products (as long as the installation is carried out by one of our approved installers or is signed off by one of our representatives). So if you’re looking for a lightweight roofing solution that meets and exceeds the latest code of practice standards, you’ve come to the right place.

If you would like to find out more about the technical specifications of any of our products and how they comply with relevant UK legislation, please get in touch. You can call us on 01249 658514, email us or fill out our contact form with your query. We look forward to hearing from you.