House With A Beautiful Thatch Roof, England, United Kingdom

In the 19th century, iron, electroplated with zinc to improve its resistance to rust, became a light-weight, easily-transported, waterproofing material. Its low cost and easy application made it the most accessible commercial roofing, world wide. Since then, many types of metal roofing have been developed. Steel shingle or standing-seam roofs last about 50 years or more depending on both the method of installation and the moisture barrier (underlayment) used and are between the cost of shingle roofs and slate roofs. In the 20th century a large number of roofing materials were developed, including roofs based on bitumen (already used in previous centuries), on rubber and on a range of synthetics such as thermoplastic and on fibreglass.
Functions of a roof