Historic Roofing Materials: Metal

Early metal roofing included copper and lead in early america. These were typically used where the pitch of the roof prohibited other types of shingles for use. Beautiful New York copper roofs cover many of New York's fine historic buildings, especially those with cupolas, domes or other interesting architectural features. Sheet iron was first used in the 18th century.

It wasn't until the 19th century that New York Roofing installation included the use of corrugated iron. The method for corrugating iron was originally patented in England in 1829. Corrugating stiffened the sheets, and allowed greater span over a lighter framework, as well as reduced installation time and labor. In the late 19th century, galvanizing with zinc helped to protect the base metal of New York metal roofing.

Tin shingles were another metal roofing material Queens. Tin shingles were embossed to look like tile or wood or embossed with a decorative design. This was an inexpensive, lightweight roofing choice. The low cost, light weight, and low maintenance of tin metal roofing Bronx made it the most common roofing material in the late 19th century.