Mr Quyen - Santiago. Posted 03/11/2026
A poultry or pig house roof in Uganda or Tanzania has to keep off the midday sun and the rain without rusting from ammonia and wash water. A Santiago ASA/PVC sheet has no metal to rust, keeps the space under it 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal sheet and cuts rain noise by about 80% (Santiago tests). A 10 × 40 m poultry house takes 86 six-wave sheets of 6.26 m, 6 of them skylight sheets, and about 2,050 – 2,560 screw sets.
Stack of dark grey tile sheets in a yard, Vietnam
Do chickens need a roof, and what should it do in East Africa?
Yes. A poultry house is mostly a roof: in Uganda and much of Tanzania the usual layout is a long, open-sided house with low walls, wire mesh and curtains, so the roof is what stands between the birds and the sun and rain. It has three jobs. It shades the birds through the hottest hours, it keeps the two rainy seasons off the litter, and it has to last in air that carries ammonia from the droppings and spray from washing.
Most farms start with iron sheets (baati in Uganda, mabati in Tanzania), because they are sold in every town. Their weak points show up on a farm faster than on a house. Under a bare metal sheet the house heats up through the afternoon, a heavy storm on the roof is loud, and the underside rusts at the laps and screw holes where moist, ammonia-laden air settles. Our earlier articles on livestock roofs cover the ammonia side in detail; this one is about designing and counting a roof for an East African farm.
Iron sheets or ASA/PVC sheets for a poultry farm roof?
| Point | Iron sheet (baati, mabati) | Santiago ASA/PVC sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Heat in the house | Bare metal heats up fast in the sun | 6 – 8 °C cooler than under bare metal sheet (Santiago test) |
| Rain noise | Loud in a storm | About 80% lower than metal (Santiago test) |
| Rust from ammonia and washing | Starts at laps, screw holes and cut edges | No metal in the sheet |
| Daylight | Clear sheets bought separately | Skylight sheets in the same 6 or 11-wave profile, 80 – 90% light |
| Colour over time | Depends on the coating | ASA layer: no colour change after 2,000 hours of artificial UV, rated 30 years |
| Purlins | Your fundi's usual spacing | Less than 700 mm apart |
| Warranty | Ask your supplier | 10 years for 2.5 mm and thicker, installed as Santiago recommends |
The ASA/PVC sheet is four co-extruded layers with no glue: an ASA top layer, virgin PVC, a PVC core and a milky-white PVC base. For a long farm roof the corrugated profiles make sense: 6-wave (1.06 m wide, 0.95 m cover, 34 mm wave) or 11-wave (1.05 m wide, 1.00 m cover, 20 mm wave). A 2.5 mm corrugated sheet weighs about 5.2 kg per running metre. The farmhouse or office can take the tile sheet shown in the photos, which is the same ASA/PVC material in a Spanish tile profile.
Poultry house roof design: slope, overhang, purlins and long spans
Five decisions shape a farm roof, and the builder should settle them before ordering a single sheet:
- Slope. Keep it between 20% and 45%. On a 10 m wide house, 30% puts the ridge 1.5 m above the walls, which leaves room for warm air to collect high up, away from the birds.
- Overhang. A wide eave, 1.0 m in the example below, keeps driving rain and low sun off the side curtains.
- Orientation. Where the site allows, run the ridge east to west, so the low morning and evening sun falls on the short gable ends instead of on the birds.
- Purlins. Less than 700 mm apart, the top one 15 – 18 cm below the ridge. The trusses or rafters that carry the purlins over a 10 m span are a job for your builder or engineer.
- Daylight. Skylight sheets on 5 – 10% of the roof. For layers and for brooding, ask your poultry adviser how much daylight you want, and stay at the low end if unsure.
How many sheets does a 10 × 40 m poultry house need?
Take a broiler or layer house 10 m wide and 40 m long with a gable roof along its length, a 30% slope, 1.0 m eaves and 0.3 m overhang at each gable end. The roof is laid in 6-wave sheet, which covers 0.95 m after the side lap.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Roof length | 40 m + 2 × 0.3 m | 40.6 m |
| Sheets per face | 40.6 m ÷ 0.95 m = 42.7, round up | 43 sheets, covering 40.85 m |
| Face length along the slope | (5.0 m + 1.0 m) × 1.044 for a 30% slope | about 6.26 m |
| Sheets for the roof | 43 × 2 faces | 86 sheets of 6.26 m |
| Roof area | 40.85 m × 6.26 m × 2 | about 511 m² |
| Skylight sheets | 3 per face, spread along the house | 6 sheets, about 36 m², 7% of the roof |
| ASA/PVC sheets | 86 − 6 | 80 sheets, about 501 running metres |
| Purlin rows | 6.26 m at under 700 mm | 11 rows per face |
| Screw sets with ASA caps | 511 m² × 4 – 5 per m² | about 2,050 – 2,560 (use 5 per m² on exposed sites) |
| Ridge cap | Along the ridge | 40.85 m and 2 ridge terminals |
| Weight of the ASA/PVC sheets | 501 m × 5.2 kg per m (2.5 mm) | about 2.6 t; about 33 kg per sheet |
At about 33 kg, one 6.26 m sheet is a two or three-person carry. The whole house uses about 538 running metres, sheet and skylight together, so a 40 ft container of about 5,000 m roofs about nine houses of this size. That suits a farm that is building several houses at once, a group of farmers, or a dealer who supplies poultry farms.
Dark grey tile sheets on concrete, Vietnam
What changes in a pig house?
Pig pens are washed often, sometimes daily, and the walls and roof underside stay wet. With no metal in the sheet, there is nothing in the roof sheet for the water and the dung to rust. The screws are the metal part left on the roof: ask your fundi for corrosion-resistant screws and clip an ASA cap over every head. Santiago does not publish chemical-resistance ratings for disinfectants, so if you use a strong disinfectant on the roof underside, test it on a sample piece first. Samples are free; the buyer pays the courier.
The rest of the fixing is the same as on the poultry house. Pre-drill 6 mm holes and drive 70 mm screws through the top of the wave over a purlin, never in the valley, where the water runs. Lap each sheet over the next by one wave. Santiago supplies sheets and accessories and sends installation videos for your fundi; it does not install.
What decides the price of roofing sheets in Uganda and Tanzania?
Santiago quotes per order in writing. The quotation follows the profile, the thickness (2.5 or 3.0 mm; 2.5 mm is the minimum for a roof), the colour, the sheet lengths, the skylight sheets, the accessories and the quantity. Freight, duty and inland transport come on top, and your clearing agent confirms the duty rate.
How do the sheets reach a farm in Uganda or Tanzania?
Tanzanian farms are served through Dar es Salaam. Uganda has no sea port, so the container lands at Mombasa or Dar es Salaam and travels on by road; your clearing agent will say which route suits your district and which transit papers each border needs. Santiago ships under HS code 3925.90.00 with a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and a quality certificate (CQ) for every lot. Check the duty rate with your clearing agent before the first order.
The minimum export order is one 40 ft container, about 5,000 m, with profiles, colours, skylight sheets and accessories mixed. Production takes about 5 days. The factory works under ISO 9001:2015 certificate ICI-23087.D, and the sheet has Quatest test results. Standard colours are dark grey, red, blue, orange and chocolate.
Why does a metal roof make a farm building hot and loud?
A one-minute short with English captions: Mr Quyen compares metal and clay roofs with Santiago ASA/uPVC tile sheets, first in the factory and then on finished red and grey roofs.
Heat and rain noise: Santiago ASA/uPVC roofing explained (Santiago video on YouTube).
Short videos for poultry and pig farms
Two short clips in English, filmed by Santiago. Tap a video to play it here on the page.
How are long roof runs screwed down on a frame?
Installers screw grey Santiago tile sheets down on a roof while Mr Quyen and a colleague walk along the finished section near the gutter. The short opens in the factory with a green sheet.
Santiago uPVC tile roofs on site (Santiago video on YouTube).
How tough is the sheet for a farm building? The truck test
Mr Quyen sets two blue sheets on the ground at the factory and a Santiago truck drives across them. It shows how tough the material is; the roof itself still needs purlins spaced less than 700 mm apart.
Truck test on Santiago ASA/PVC sheets (Santiago video on YouTube).
Santiago – a leading exporter of ASA/PVC roofing from Vietnam
Santiago roofing is produced and loaded into containers at our factory in Vietnam. It has been exported to India since 2023, Thailand since 2024 and the USA since 2025. Every export shipment comes with a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and a certificate of origin (C/O) issued by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade, which importers use to claim the duty preference of their trade agreement.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| HS code | 3925.90.00 (ASA/PVC roofing sheets) |
| Certificate of origin | Form D (ASEAN), Form AI (India), Form AK / VK (Korea), Form AJ / VJ (Japan), Form VC (Chile), CPTPP proof of origin |
| Shipped from | Vietnam, by container |
Certificate of origin Form AI (ASEAN–India) for Santiago ASA/PVC roofing sheets, HS 39259000, certified on 24 September 2026. Buyer details are hidden.
The Santiago team beside a loaded export container at the factory, November 2024
Loading Santiago roof tiles into an export container
Frequently asked questions
Do chickens need a roof?
Yes. In an open-sided poultry house the roof shades the birds, keeps rain off the litter and carries the daylight strips. In East Africa it also has to stand up to ammonia and wash water without rusting.
What is the best roofing material for a poultry house in Uganda or Tanzania?
Pick the roof for the conditions under it. An ASA/PVC sheet has no metal to rust, is 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal sheet and about 80% quieter in rain (Santiago tests). Use purlins less than 700 mm apart and skylight sheets on 5 – 10% of the roof.
How many roofing sheets does a 10 × 40 m poultry house need?
With a 30% slope, 1.0 m eaves and 0.3 m gable overhangs: 86 six-wave sheets of 6.26 m (80 ASA/PVC and 6 skylight), about 511 m² of roof, 40.85 m of ridge cap and about 2,050 – 2,560 screw sets.
How much skylight should a poultry house roof have?
Santiago's range is 5 – 10% of the roof area; skylight sheets let through 80 – 90% of the light. The example uses 6 sheets, about 7%. Ask your poultry adviser how much daylight your birds need.
What is the price of roofing sheets in Uganda or Tanzania from Santiago?
Santiago quotes per order in writing, by profile, thickness, colour, lengths, accessories and quantity. Freight to Mombasa or Dar es Salaam, inland transport and duty are added; your clearing agent confirms the duty rate.
Read more
- A rust-free roof with ASA/PVC sheets
- Skylight roofing sheets: which profile and how many
- ASA screw caps and fixing on the top of the wave
- How Santiago loads an export container
- ASA/PVC roofing sheet, 6 waves
Toleo la Kiswahili
Paa la banda la kuku au la nguruwe Uganda na Tanzania linapaswa kuzuia jua kali la mchana na mvua bila kupata kutu kutokana na amonia na maji ya kuoshea. Mabati ya ASA/PVC ya Santiago hayana chuma, kwa hiyo hayapati kutu. Chini yake ni baridi zaidi kwa takriban 6 – 8 °C kuliko chini ya bati la chuma lisilo na kinga, na kelele ya mvua iko chini kwa takriban 80% (majaribio ya Santiago). Banda la m 10 × 40 linahitaji mabati 86 ya mawimbi 6 yenye urefu wa m 6.26, yakiwemo 6 ya kupitisha mwanga.
Kuku wanahitaji paa la aina gani?
Banda la kuku Uganda na Tanzania kwa kawaida ni refu, lenye kuta fupi, wavu na mapazia pembeni. Kwa hiyo paa ndilo linalowakinga kuku na jua la mchana na mvua za misimu miwili. Mabati ya chuma (baati, mabati) yanapatikana kila mahali, lakini chini yake banda hupata joto mchana, mvua kubwa hupiga kelele, na upande wa chini hupata kutu kwenye maungio na matundu ya skrubu, pale ambapo hewa yenye unyevu na amonia hukaa.
| Jambo | Bati la chuma | Bati la ASA/PVC la Santiago |
|---|---|---|
| Joto bandani | Hupata joto haraka juani | Baridi zaidi kwa takriban 6 – 8 °C |
| Kelele ya mvua | Kubwa | Chini kwa takriban 80% |
| Kutu kutokana na amonia na kuosha | Huanzia kwenye maungio na matundu ya skrubu | Halina chuma, halipati kutu |
| Mwanga | Mabati ya kupitisha mwanga ya aina nyingine | Mabati ya kupitisha mwanga ya mawimbi 6 au 11, mwanga 80 – 90% |
| Rangi | Inategemea rangi ya juu | Tabaka la ASA: rangi haikubadilika baada ya saa 2,000 za UV |
| Dhamana | Uliza muuzaji | Miaka 10 kwa unene wa mm 2.5 na zaidi, likifungwa kama Santiago inavyoelekeza |
Mabati ya vigae ya kijivu na vifaa vyake uwanjani, Vietnam
Banda la m 10 × 40 linahitaji mabati mangapi?
Mfano: banda la kuku lenye upana wa m 10 na urefu wa m 40, paa la pande mbili lenye mteremko wa 30%, ukingo unaotokeza m 1.0 pembeni na m 0.3 kila mwisho. Urefu wa paa ni m 40.6; bati la mawimbi 6 linafunika m 0.95, kwa hiyo kila upande unahitaji mabati 43 (m 40.85). Kila upande una urefu wa takriban m 6.26 kutoka kilele hadi ukingo. Jumla ni mabati 86 ya m 6.26: 80 ya ASA/PVC na 6 ya kupitisha mwanga (takriban 7% ya paa). Eneo la paa ni takriban m² 511; skrubu zenye vifuniko vya ASA ni takriban 2,050 – 2,560; kofia ya kilele ni m 40.85. Kila bati lina uzito wa takriban kilo 33. Kontena moja la futi 40 (takriban m 5,000) linatosha mabanda tisa ya ukubwa huu.
Fundi azingatie nini kwenye banda la kuku na la nguruwe?
Mteremko wa paa uwe 20 – 45%. Nafasi kati ya purlin (mbao au vyuma vinavyobeba mabati) iwe chini ya mm 700, na purlin ya juu iwe sm 15 – 18 chini ya kilele. Toboa matundu ya mm 6 juu ya wimbi, juu ya purlin, kisha funga skrubu za mm 70 na kifuniko cha ASA, seti 4 – 5 kwa kila m². Usifunge skrubu kwenye bonde la wimbi, ambapo maji hupita. Kila bati lipande juu ya jirani yake kwa wimbi moja. Banda la nguruwe huoshwa mara nyingi: bati halina chuma, lakini skrubu ni za chuma, kwa hiyo omba skrubu zisizoshika kutu kwa urahisi. Santiago haitoi vipimo vya dawa za kuua vijidudu; jaribu dawa yako kwenye kipande cha sampuli kwanza. Santiago haifanyi ufungaji, lakini hutuma video za ufungaji kwa fundi wako.
Mabati ya vigae ya bluu karibu na lori, Vietnam
Mabati yanafikaje Uganda na Tanzania, na bei inapangwaje?
Mashamba ya Tanzania hupata mzigo kupitia bandari ya Dar es Salaam. Uganda haina bandari, kwa hiyo kontena hufika Mombasa au Dar es Salaam kisha husafirishwa kwa barabara. Santiago husafirisha kwa HS code 3925.90.00 pamoja na ankara, orodha ya mzigo, hati ya usafirishaji (B/L) na cheti cha ubora (CQ) kwa kila kundi. Oda ya chini ni kontena moja la futi 40, takriban m 5,000, na aina, rangi, mabati ya kupitisha mwanga na vifaa vinaweza kuchanganywa; uzalishaji huchukua takriban siku 5. Bei hutolewa kwa maandishi kwa kila oda, kulingana na aina ya bati, unene, rangi, urefu, vifaa na idadi. Uliza kiwango cha ushuru kwa wakala wako wa forodha. Sampuli ni bure; mnunuzi analipia usafiri wa kifurushi.
Maswali yanayoulizwa mara kwa mara
Je, kuku wanahitaji paa?
Ndiyo. Paa la banda huwakinga kuku na jua na mvua, na hubeba mabati ya kupitisha mwanga. Afrika Mashariki linapaswa pia kustahimili amonia na maji ya kuoshea bila kupata kutu.
Banda la kuku la m 10 × 40 linahitaji mabati mangapi?
Mabati 86 ya mawimbi 6 yenye urefu wa m 6.26: 80 ya ASA/PVC na 6 ya kupitisha mwanga, takriban m² 511 za paa na skrubu 2,050 – 2,560.
Bei ya mabati ya Santiago Uganda na Tanzania ni kiasi gani?
Santiago hutoa bei kwa maandishi kwa kila oda. Usafiri hadi Mombasa au Dar es Salaam, usafiri wa ndani na ushuru ni juu yake; wakala wa forodha atathibitisha kiwango cha ushuru.
Sources for the figures in this article
- Profiles, 2.5–3.0 mm thickness and 10-year warranty: Santiago ASA/PVC product specification.
- About 6–8 °C cooler than bare metal sheet and about 80% less rain noise: Santiago's own comparisons on finished roofs in Vietnam.
- HS code 3925.90.00: Harmonized System Chapter 39 (builders' ware of plastics), as applied in Vietnam's export tariff.
- Certificates of origin (Form D, AI, AK/VK, AJ/VJ, VC, CPTPP): issued by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade under the country's free trade agreements.
- Minimum order of one 40 ft container (about 5,000 m) and about 5 days for production and loading: Santiago export desk, October 2026.
Updated 03/11/2026. Santiago Import Export Co., Ltd, Vietnam. WhatsApp +84 935 391 495 (Mr. Quyen), hotline +84 965 437 316 (Mrs. Ly), email salessantiagoroofing@gmail.com.
