Mr Quyen - Santiago. Posted 14/11/2026
Rain is loud when it hits a thin sheet that vibrates freely, which is why bare metal roofs roar in a storm. Santiago's 2.5 – 3.0 mm ASA/PVC sheets cut rain noise by about 80% compared with metal sheet. A ceiling, firm fixing and purlins less than 700 mm apart help further; a flat roof needs a roofer's advice, because these sheets need a 20 – 45 % slope.
A house with a grey tile-sheet roof and a balcony, Vietnam
Why is rain so loud on some roofs?
Every raindrop is a small hammer blow. A thin metal sheet is light, stiff and springy, so it rings like a drum skin and passes the sound into the room. Under a bare metal roof with no ceiling, a tropical downpour can make it hard to hold a conversation or hear a television. Thicker, more damped materials absorb more of each blow before it becomes sound, and every layer between the sheet and the room takes away a bit more.
How much quieter is a plastic roof sheet?
Santiago measures its ASA/PVC sheets at about 80% less rain noise than metal sheet. The sheet is 2.5 or 3.0 mm thick and built from four co-extruded layers (ASA, virgin PVC, a PVC core and a milky-white PVC base), so it does not ring the way thin metal does. You still hear the rain; it becomes a steady patter rather than a roar.
| Roof covering | What you hear in heavy rain | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bare metal sheet, no ceiling | Loud drumming | The common complaint in houses, shops and classrooms |
| Metal sheet with ceiling or insulation | Quieter | Depends on what is under the sheet; ask your builder |
| ASA/PVC sheet, no ceiling | About 80% less rain noise than metal (Santiago figure) | Also about 6 – 8 °C cooler below than bare metal |
| ASA/PVC sheet with a ceiling | Quieter again | The ceiling adds another layer between rain and room |
A man standing on a blue corrugated sheet roof, Vietnam
How do I stop rain noise on a flat roof?
Be careful with this one. Santiago's sheets are made for pitched roofs of 20 – 45 % (about 2.4 to 5.4 in 12) and should not be laid flat, because water would sit on them. If your flat roof is a metal deck that drums in the rain, a roofing contractor is the right person to look at it, and the answer usually lies in what is added under or over the deck.
There is one case where the sheet does fit. In hot countries many owners build a light pitched roof over a flat concrete terrace or a rooftop room, to keep off sun and rain. If you are building that kind of cover, the new roof can be laid at 20 % or steeper with ASA/PVC sheets on purlins less than 700 mm (27.5 in) apart. Have the frame designed or checked by your builder or engineer, and follow your local building code.
Which noise reducing roof panels and fixes actually work?
Insulated roof panels with a foam core are a separate product made by other manufacturers; Santiago does not make them. For a pitched roof, these are the steps owners and installers use, roughly from the biggest change to the smallest:
| Step | What it does | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Replace thin metal with a thicker, damped sheet | Less ringing at the source | Installer, with a frame check |
| Add a ceiling under the roof | A second layer between rain and room | Builder |
| Tighten loose sheets and fixings | Stops rattling in wind and rain | Installer |
| Close up wide purlin spacing | A sheet spanning too far moves more | Builder; under 700 mm for ASA/PVC |
| Check gutters and flashings | Water dripping onto loose metal makes its own noise | Installer |
Installers on a brown tile-sheet roof with skylight sheets, Vietnam
Which fixing mistakes make a roof noisier?
- Screws in the valley instead of the top of the wave. They leak, and water running inside the roof adds noise.
- Screws without caps, or over-tightened so the sheet is pinched; holes should be pre-drilled at 6 mm so the sheet can move.
- Purlins too far apart: for the tile sheet, 440 or 660 mm, one under each tile step foot.
- Too few fixings: allow 4 – 5 screw sets per m² of roof.
- A top purlin set too low: it belongs 15 – 18 cm (6 – 7 in) below the ridge.
Skylight sheets can sit in the same roof, as in the photo above. They let through 80 – 90 % of daylight and are normally used on 5 – 10 % of the roof area, so a bright workshop does not have to mean a louder one.
A gazebo with a grey tile-sheet roof in a garden, Vietnam
Where does a quieter roof matter most?
- Bedrooms and living rooms under a single-storey roof.
- Classrooms, offices and clinics where people need to hear each other.
- Cafés, restaurants and garden gazebos where guests sit under the sheet.
- Workshops and small factories where staff talk or take phone calls under the roof.
Santiago supplies the sheets, accessories and installation videos; your local installer fits them. Free samples are sent on request, and the buyer pays the courier. Santiago gives no structural, wind or fire rating, so local codes and your engineer decide those points.
What does a finished tile-sheet roof look like up close?
Mr Quyen shows a green ASA/PVC sheet in the Santiago factory, then climbs onto a grey tile-profile roof that installers are still screwing down. Near the end he and a colleague walk along a finished grey tile roof next to the gutter.
Santiago uPVC tile roofs on site (Santiago video on YouTube).
More short videos on rain and roofs
Both clips below come from Santiago's own YouTube channel and were filmed at the factory in Vietnam or on Santiago roofs.
Why are thin metal roofs loud in rain?
Mr Quyen holds a white tile sheet in the Santiago factory and explains in English, with captions, why bare metal roofs are hot, noisy in rain and costly to repair. The short then shows a red tile roof on a house and a finished grey tile roof beside the gutter.
Heat and rain noise: Santiago ASA/uPVC roofing explained (Santiago video on YouTube).
How do tile sheets cope with sun and rain?
This one-minute short moves from red tile sheets going up onto a house to a flame test on a stack of sheets, then a blue warehouse roof under installation. A flame test is a demonstration, not a fire rating.
Santiago PVC roofing tiles in real conditions (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
What is the best roofing for noise reduction in rain?
A thicker, damped sheet with a ceiling below it. Santiago's ASA/PVC sheets cut rain noise by about 80% compared with metal sheet, and a ceiling reduces it further.
How do I stop rain noise on a flat roof?
Ask a roofing contractor, because the fix depends on the deck. Santiago's sheets are not for flat roofs; they can be used only if you build a new pitched cover at 20 – 45 %.
Do noise reducing roof panels have to be foam panels?
No. Foam-core panels are one product, made by other manufacturers. A solid 2.5 – 3.0 mm ASA/PVC sheet is another way to make a roof quieter.
Why does my roof rattle in the rain and wind?
Usually loose or missing fixings, sheets spanning too far between purlins, or loose flashings. An installer can check screws, spacing and edges.
Is an ASA/PVC roof silent in rain?
No roof is silent. Rain on an ASA/PVC sheet sounds like a steady patter, about 80% less noise than on metal sheet in Santiago's measurement.
Read more
- Heat and rain noise: metal vs ASA/PVC roofing
- ASA screw caps and fixing on the top of the wave
- PVC roofing sheet thickness and weight: 2.5 or 3.0 mm
- Skylight roofing sheets: which profile and how many
- ASA/PVC roof tile sheet
Read next on this topic
Main guide: Heat Resistant Roofing Sheet for a Hot Climate
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.
