Roofing Sheets in Zimbabwe: IBR vs Tile-Look PVC | Santiago

Mr Quyen - Santiago. Posted 03/11/2026

Grey tile sheet with a ridge piece on the ground, Vietnam

Which roofing sheets do Zimbabwean houses use, and where does a tile sheet fit?

Walk through a new suburb in Harare or Bulawayo and most roofs are IBR (the box-rib steel sheet), corrugated iron, coated or plain, or concrete tile. Older houses and farm buildings often still have asbestos-cement sheets. Each has its place. IBR goes up fast on long, low roofs, and concrete tile gives the tiled look that many homeowners want, at the cost of a heavy roof frame.

A Santiago ASA/PVC tile sheet sits between those two. It is one long sheet with a Spanish tile profile, 1.05 m wide, 0.96 m cover, cut to length in 219 mm tile steps, 2.5 or 3.0 mm thick and about 5.4 kg per m² of roof at 2.5 mm. It suits a pitched roof on a light frame: a new 3-bedroom house, a cottage at the back of the stand, an extension that has to match the main house, a veranda. It is not the sheet for a near-flat roof, because it needs a slope of at least 20%.

IBR or corrugated metal vs ASA/PVC tile sheet: what changes?

Choose metal where nobody sleeps under the roof and looks do not matter: a farm store, a workshop, a carport on a tight slope. Choose the tile sheet where you live under the roof every day, or where the house needs a tiled look without the weight of concrete tile.

What about hail in the summer storms?

The rainy season, roughly November to March, brings thunderstorms, and in some places hail. We are not going to tell you that our sheet is hail-proof, because Santiago has not published a hail-impact test. What we can give you is the bending strength (above 1,000 N), the thickness (2.5 mm minimum for a roof, 3.0 mm also available) and the fixing rules, which keep each sheet held at every purlin. If hail is the main thing you worry about, put the question to your builder or your insurer before you choose any roof, and ask every supplier for test data.

The same honesty applies to wind. Santiago does not publish a wind rating. In exposed places use the tight end of the fixing ranges: purlins at 440 mm and 5 screw sets per m², with the roof frame tied down to the walls as your builder or engineer specifies.

How many sheets does a 3-bedroom house with a hip roof need?

Many Zimbabwean houses have a hip roof, sloping on all four sides. A hip roof is harder to count than a gable roof, because every sheet along a hip is cut on a diagonal. Here is a full count for a 3-bedroom house in Harare: roof plan 14.0 × 9.0 m including the eaves, a 30% slope (about 16.7°) on every face, and hips at 45° on plan. The ridge is 5.0 m long and stands 1.35 m above the eaves. Each face is 4.70 m from the eave up to the ridge along the slope.

Each hip sheet is ordered at the length of its longer edge, rounded up to whole tile steps, and the installer cuts the diagonal on site. That is why this roof needs about 162 running metres (about 156 m² of sheet) to cover 132 m²: about 18% more than the roof area. For a gable roof of the same size the extra would be small. Send Santiago a roof plan with every face measured and we will check the sheet list before the quotation.

Stack of grey tile sheets with ridge pieces, Vietnam

Replacing an old asbestos-cement or rusted iron roof?

The tile sheet often goes onto the old frame once a builder has checked it. The purlins usually change: the tile sheet needs them less than 700 mm apart, at 440 or 660 mm with one under the foot of each tile step, and the top purlin 15 – 18 cm below the ridge. Replace any timber that is split or eaten by borers, because a screw holds only as well as the wood around it.

If the old roof is asbestos cement, do not let anyone break, cut or drill it to save time. Ask a qualified contractor and your local authority how it must be removed and disposed of before the new roof goes on.

Grey tile sheets laid out near a house, Vietnam

How much are roofing sheets in Zimbabwe from Santiago?

Santiago does not publish a price list. Searches for "roofing sheets prices in Zimbabwe" or "how much are roofing sheets in Zimbabwe" get the same answer from us: quoted per order in writing. What a Zimbabwean buyer finally pays is built from these parts:

• Sheet thickness: 2.5 or 3.0 mm (2.5 mm is the minimum for a roof)
• Colour: dark grey, red, blue, orange and chocolate are standard; green, white and purple are made to order
• Running metres after each sheet is rounded up to whole 219 mm steps
• Accessories: ridge cap, hip ridge, three-way pieces, ridge terminals, eave sealing tile, wall flashing, ASA screw caps
• How full the container is: one 40 ft container holds about 5,000 m of sheet
• Sea freight to Beira or Durban, then road transport and the border crossing
• Import duty, which your clearing agent confirms
• The margin of the dealer or builder who sells you the roof

The house above uses about 162 m, so one container carries the sheet for about 30 houses of that size. A family building one house normally buys through a Zimbabwean dealer or a builder who imports by the container; a housing developer or a roofing dealer can import directly.

How do the sheets get to Harare or Bulawayo?

Zimbabwe has no sea port, so the container lands at Beira in Mozambique and goes on by road through Mutare, or lands at Durban in South Africa and goes north through Beitbridge. Your clearing agent will say which route suits your town and which transit and import papers each border needs. Santiago ships under HS code 3925.90.00 with a commercial invoice, a packing list, a bill of lading and a quality certificate (CQ) for every lot; ask your clearing agent whether a certificate of origin from Vietnam helps, and check the duty rate before the first order.

Production takes about 5 days, and colours, profiles and accessories can be mixed in one container. Tile sheets are cut to the lengths on your list before loading, so the sheet list must be final first. Samples are free; the buyer pays the courier.

Grey tile sheets with ridge pieces on a lane, Vietnam

What should the builder do differently from IBR?

Keep the slope between 20% and 45%. Fix purlins at 440 or 660 mm. Pre-drill 6 mm holes and drive 70 mm screws through the top of the wave over a purlin, 4 – 5 sets per m², each with an ASA cap. Never screw in the valley, where the water runs. Lap each sheet over the next by one wave. The 10-year warranty for 2.5 mm and thicker sheet holds when the roof is installed this way. Santiago supplies sheets and accessories and sends installation videos for the builder; it does not install. The factory works under ISO 9001:2015 certificate ICI-23087.D, and the sheet has Quatest test results.

What does a grey tile roof look like while installers fix it?

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 ASA/PVC sheet.

Santiago uPVC tile roofs on site (Santiago video on YouTube).

Short videos for home builders in Zimbabwe

Both clips below come from Santiago's own YouTube channel and were filmed at the factory in Vietnam or on Santiago roofs.

Frequently asked questions

How much are roofing sheets in Zimbabwe?

Santiago quotes per order in writing. The price follows thickness, colour, running metres, accessories and quantity; sea freight to Beira or Durban, road transport and duty are added, and your clearing agent confirms the duty rate.

Is a PVC tile sheet better than IBR for a house in Zimbabwe?

It depends on the room below. The ASA/PVC tile sheet is 6 – 8 °C cooler than bare metal sheet and about 80% quieter in rain (Santiago tests), and it cannot rust. IBR suits stores, workshops and low-slope roofs under 20%.

Can PVC roofing sheets take hail?

Santiago has not published a hail-impact test. The sheet's bending strength is above 1,000 N. If hail is your main concern, ask your builder or insurer and ask every supplier for test data.

How many sheets does a 3-bedroom house with a hip roof need?

A 14 × 9 m hip roof at a 30% slope takes 50 tile sheets in seven lengths, about 162 running metres for a 132 m² roof, plus 26 m of hip ridge, 5 m of ridge cap and about 530 – 660 screw sets.

Which port is used to import roofing sheets into Zimbabwe?

Usually Beira, with road transport through Mutare, or Durban, with road transport through Beitbridge. Your clearing agent advises on the route and the papers.

Read more

• PVC roofing sheet advantages and disadvantages
• Roof tile accessories checklist
• Santiago heat, noise and corrosion tests
• Santiago export markets and certificates of origin
• ASA/PVC roof tile sheet

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.