UPVC Roofing Sheets Advantages and Disadvantages

Mr Quyen - Santiago. Posted 14/11/2026

UPVC roofing sheets with an ASA top do not rust, run about 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal and cut rain noise by about 80%. Their disadvantages are real but mostly about planning: purlins under 700 mm, a slope of at least 20 %, no walking on the sheets, and made-to-order colours that add a few days. Only an existing wide-spaced frame or a flat roof is a true deal-breaker.

Aerial view of a grey hip roof with a dormer, Vietnam

Aerial view of a grey hip roof with a dormer, Vietnam

Is PVC roofing good for a house in a hot country?

For most pitched roofs in hot, wet countries, yes. The sheet contains no metal, so it cannot rust; it passes heat slowly; and a 2.5 mm sheet does not drum in heavy rain the way thin metal does. The question is less "is it good?" than "does my building suit it?" The tables below sort each point by the kind of building it matters to.

Advantage	Santiago figure	Matters most for
No rust	No metal in the sheet	Coastal houses, farms, fertiliser stores, workshops
Cooler under the roof	About 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal sheet	Houses without ceilings, shops, poultry houses
Quieter in rain	About 80% less rain noise than metal	Bedrooms, classrooms, cafés, offices
Colour that lasts	No change after 2,000 h artificial UV; colour rated 30 years	Houses, resorts, shopfronts
Long life	25 – 30 years in use; 10-year warranty from 2.5 mm	Owners who do not want to re-roof
Light weight	About 5.4 kg per m² of roof at 2.5 mm	Light frames and renovation work
Matching accessories	Ridge, hip, three-way, four-way, terminal, eave and wall pieces in the same colours	Houses and gazebos with many roof faces

What are the disadvantages of UPVC roofing sheets?

Here are the honest limits, with a plain verdict on each. "Planning" means it costs you nothing if you know it before the frame is built. "Deal-breaker" means the sheet is the wrong product for that job.

Disadvantage	What it means	Verdict
Needs close purlins	Purlins less than 700 mm (27.5 in) apart; design at 660 mm or 440 mm for the tile sheet	Planning for a new frame; deal-breaker on an existing wide frame unless purlins are added
Needs a slope	20 – 45 % only; water lies on flatter roofs	Deal-breaker for flat roofs and very low lean-tos
Not a walking surface	Sheets are not made to carry foot traffic	Planning: use boards across the purlins for maintenance
Moves with heat	Holes must be pre-drilled at 6 mm so the sheet can expand	Planning: a fixing detail the installer must follow
Some colours made to order	White, green and purple take extra days	Planning: order earlier
No structural, wind or fire rating from Santiago	Engineer and local codes decide those questions	Planning on homes; check early for public or commercial buildings
Cut to your lengths	Tile sheet cut in 219 mm steps from your list	Planning: measure twice before you confirm

Stacks of blue, white and red corrugated sheets, Vietnam

Stacks of blue, white and red corrugated sheets, Vietnam

Which disadvantages matter for my building?

Building	Main gain	Main limit to check
Family house	Cooler, quieter, tile look, colour	Slope 20 – 45 % and a frame checked by your builder
Poultry or pig house	No rust from ammonia; cooler for the animals	Purlin spacing on long, light frames
Shop, workshop, small factory	No rust; cooler for staff	Local fire rules: ask for test reports to your standard
Terrace or carport	Light frame, tile look over steel	Slope, wind fixing by the installer to local rules
Factory near chemicals or the sea	No rust	Send the chemical or gas list and ask before ordering

For a house, the limits are almost all solved at the drawing stage. For a factory or anything public, the fire question comes first: Santiago gives no fire rating, so ask any supplier for test reports to your local standard before you decide.

A man holding a camera on an orange tile-sheet roof, Vietnam

A man holding a camera on an orange tile-sheet roof, Vietnam

Is a plain UPVC sheet the same as an ASA/PVC sheet?

Not always, and this is where many complaints about "UPVC roofing sheets disadvantages" begin. UPVC describes the base material. What faces the sun is the top layer. Santiago's sheet has four co-extruded layers with no glue: ASA on top, virgin PVC, a PVC core and a milky-white PVC base, made from virgin material, not recycled. When you compare quotes, ask what the top layer is, whether the material is virgin, and measure the thickness at a cut edge. Anything under 2.5 mm is too thin for a roof.

What should a buyer plan for before ordering?

Production takes about 5 days after the order is confirmed; made-to-order colours add a few days.
Tile sheets are cut to your lengths in 219 mm steps, so the slope length must be measured, not guessed.
Allow 4 – 5 screw sets per m² of roof and enough ridge and edge pieces for every roof face.
Importers: one 40 ft container holds about 5,000 m of sheet, with colours, profiles and accessories mixed.
Santiago supplies sheets and accessories and sends installation videos; it does not install.

Red tile sheets fixed on a steel frame over a terrace, Vietnam

Red tile sheets fixed on a steel frame over a terrace, Vietnam

What does a uPVC tile sheet look like from stock to finished roof?

Mr Quyen stands among stacks of brown tile sheets in the Santiago factory, then walks with a colleague along a finished grey tile roof near the gutter. Installers carry a grey tile sheet into place, and the WhatsApp number is shown at the end.

Santiago uPVC tile sheets from the factory to the roof (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.

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 are the main disadvantages of UPVC roofing sheets?

They need purlins less than 700 mm apart, a slope of at least 20 %, pre-drilled 6 mm holes for expansion, and they are not a walking surface. Santiago also gives no structural, wind or fire rating.

Is PVC roofing good for a house?

Yes, on a pitched roof with a suitable frame. Santiago's ASA/PVC sheets do not rust, keep the room about 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal and cut rain noise by about 80%.

Can UPVC roofing sheets be used on a flat roof?

No. They are made for slopes of 20 – 45 %. On a flatter roof water lies on the sheet, so a flat roof needs a different system.

Do UPVC roofing sheets fade in the sun?

A sheet with an ASA top layer resists it: Santiago's showed no colour change after 2,000 hours of artificial UV, and its colour is rated for 30 years. Ask any supplier what the top layer is.