How much is the total cost for aluminium roofing?

Aluminum roofing in Kerala - a case study

We recently installed new roof(GI & aluminum)on our house. Reason was to protect the ‘already existing concrete roof’ from harsh weather & to avoid leaking.

My location is in Kerala, and a good percentage of houses here have aluminum roofing. The need for extra protection for a concrete roof is the “weather”.

Humidity is high here in Kerala & the continuous rain during monsoon & relatively hot summer are culprits.

In my area, almost all houses have aluminum roof on top of concrete roof.

And because of the high demand for roofing, there is no lack of advertisements about aluminum roofing brands on TV.

Top Aluminum roofing brands with presence in Kerala include Everlast, Oralism, Tata, Jindal, Hindalco etc. and list goes on.

Type of roof design and its impact on cost.

2 main different roof designs are widely used in Kerala. Hip roof and gable roof. One is little costlier that the latter. Local language for hip roof is KODY(കോടി).

Hip roof and gable roof

If you choose a gable roof design, there will be a 30% decrease in cost compared to a hip roof.

Not only the reduction in the cost of the material but there is also a huge reduction in labor. On top of that, hip roof construction requires more skilled labor.

In Case of hip roof iron pillars are installed on all 4 sides of the roof. In gable design pillars are installed on center and 2 sides.

Even Though costlier, hip roof design is more attractive to look at and roof is covered on all sides in same level. But in case of gable roof we need to take care of 2 ‘open’ sides.

There are some other designs also- like pyramid hip roof and flat shed roof. And obviously flat shed roof design is the most affordable.

Different Types of materials and longevity.

2 main materials used for this is GI and Aluminium. While choosing material, make sure about quality, type and brand.

For example 1 inch square pipe is available in minimum 3 different thickness. Also many different brands also available.

Contract whole work to someone or not?

It is a big decision. You have 3 options.

• Buy materials yourself and give out work on contract basis - it is the best option according to me because you get the best of both world. Finding supplier and making big purchase decisions, It is little tiring. But since you are dealing with supplier directly, you can save little of money there.

• Give out everything including material and work as a contract - this is the easier option. Just talk with few trusted contractors and get quotes. Make sure to thoroughly discuss every detail(most tricky part). Otherwise, there will be dispute about materials, work etc.

• Buy materials and hire skills workers on daily wage basis - this is also a good option. But make sure that electricity is available during all times. Because if electricity is gone all work will be stalled.

Price/Cost of materials.

As mentioned above, materials are available in large variety of quality and sizes. Thickness is the main reason for quality difference in both aluminum sheet and GI pipes.

Aluminum sheets are available in different thickness. But too much thickness does not mean the best quality, because it adds weight to the whole structure.

GI round pipes, square pipes and rectangular pipes are also available in different thickness.

You don’t need to worry too much about this(if you are doing purchase yourself) because both of these items are priced based on its weight. More thick means more weight and hence more costly. So just buy according to what skilled workers demand.

But if whole thing is given out as a contract work you need to make sure that good quality materials are used.

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Cost of installation and labor.

Cost of installation approximately will be half of the total cost. That means if you are buying materials worth around 1 lakh, labor cost will be around 75,000 to 1 lakh.

But obviously based on your experience and skills in searching for better offer on material, finding skilled labor, ability to supervise and manage workers etc., you can significantly reduce the labor cost.

You can also get some discount on material also. Following is a rough estimation of cost based on area of roof.

500 square feet area aluminium roofing cost.

Hip roof - 50,000 to 75,000.

Gable roof - 30,000 to 50,000 rupees

1000 square feet area aluminium roofing cost.

Hip roof - 100,000 to 200000 rupees

Gable roof - 75000 to 125000 rupees

15000 square feet area aluminium roofing cost.

Hip roof - 150,000 to 250000 rupees

Gable roof - 100000 to 150000 rupees

2000 square feet area aluminium roofing cost.

Hip roof - 175,000 to 3,00,000 rupees

Gable roof - 150000 to 200000 rupees

Proper way of installing pipes to concrete roof.

The proper way of attaching GI pipes to concrete is by drilling and installing baseplate using anchor bolts first. Then welding GI pipes to them.

After all the work is over, it is recommended to add concrete reinforcement to the based of all pipes.

Drain pipes! Use them or not?

This is something you need to consider seriously. Because installing will add few thousand rupees to the total budget.

But the reason not to install drain pipes is not money. If you are installing aluminum roofing on the second or third floor, cleaning it will become a big problem. Leafs, small sticks, etc will start to get stuck on it.

In summer, it is not a problem. But during the monsoon, it will get clogged. Small insects and cockroaches will make their home. Another issue is trees like banyan tree will start growing in pipes

Some people use drainage pipes with net on top of it to avoid such issues. But that will not solve the problem completely.

So it is better to avoid drainage pipes. Make sure that the roof little extended on all sides to avoid rain splatters.

But that does not mean drain pipes are totally bad. If you have no other option, go ahead and install it.

Choosing color of sheets

The color of the roof will affect the look of the house for sure. If it is on the second or third floor, the impact on the overall look will be less but still, it will make a difference.

Bright colors like red or blue will give more punch to the whole house. Colors like grey will not steal all the attention. At Least It will be nice if the color of the roof matches with the color of the house itself.

Other charges

The cost of labor and material will take 90% of the budget. But there are some other costs also.

This includes the cost of transportation, painting, Amount to be paid to the electricity company(for example in the case of KSEB you need to let them know about the use of equipment like cutter, welder, etc.

And you have to pay some money also- around 200 rupees per day for permission to use heavy-duty tools- it is unfair because we are already paying for extra electricity being used), etc.