The roofing market is inundated with inferior local and imported products, selling at lower prices. In the current economic conditions, many homeowners are tempted to spend their hard-earned cash on cheaper inferior options. The South African company, Harvey Roofing Products, a subsidiary of Macsteel, cautions consumers that “penny wise” may, in this case, prove to be “pound foolish”.

 “At Harvey we pride ourselves on the saving that the customer will see after installation”, says Business Unit Executive, Frikkie Erasmus.  Erasmus points out that the Total Cost of Installation already starts when the roof material for the house is being planned and procured: a Harvey tile is lightweight, so there is a saving on truss spacing and beams. The lighter weight also saves on transport cost. A fast and easy installation saves contractor time on site. These factors need to be taken into account when comparing pricing and value.   

“A Harvey roof tile comes with a 20 year substrate and a 15 year coating, warrantee,” Erasmus continues. Every effort has been made to ensure a durable product that can withstand the elements ranging from storm strength winds to merciless UV exposure under a bruised and battered ozone layer. “For at least 15 years, there will be no need to repaint the roof. Our paint pigments are imported from Germany and mechanically bonded to the tile.” Harvey offers contractors free installation training at their head office in Johannesburg which will ensure that the Harvey Tile roof is leak-free.

An issue that is seldom considered when choosing a roof, is security. The latest criminal trends indicate that burglaries take place by removing concrete roof tiles to gain access to the home. “Best of luck trying to remove a Harvey rooftile!” smiles Erasmus. “Harvey Roofing is designed and manufactured for strength.  The unique overlapping and the fact that the tiles are positively fixed onto battens would make it extremely difficult for burglars to remove the tiles.” Once again the customer is spared unnecessary expense and – often, a lot of trauma.

Whilst saving in the long term, solar solutions and water harvesting are also kind to the environment. A Harvey roof lends itself to both of these: the unique Harvey Solar bracket ensures that the customer’s solar panels can be mounted on the roof quickly and easily without causing damage to the roof.  Concrete roof tile absorbs water, unlike a Harvey Tile. This improves   the customer’s yield when harvesting water: another green practice that also comes with long-term savings.

The greatest way that Harvey saves the end-user money, however, is when it comes to reroofing.  “When a roof hits a certain age it needs replacing.  A good alternative is to reroof, by literally installing the Harvey tile over the existing roof,” explains Albie Jordaan, Sales Manager for Harvey. This practice is a lot more cost effective than replacing the entire roof, with the added benefit that it can be done while the house is being occupied.

Jordaan warns that consumers should be careful of counterfeit products and explains that Harvey Roofing deals with at least one copyright infringement per week. “Our product is being copied. Upon first glance, the tiles look the same and some are even sold on a forged Harvey receipt,“ he explains. The team often finds these roof tiles when conducting warrantee investigations. They always check for the Harvey trademark embossed on the bottom of the tile first, and Jordaan says he urges customers to do the same upon making the purchase.

Harvey Roofing has been around since 1967: every South African has come to know and love Harvey as being synonymous with a quality roof. Constantly looking for new and different ways of doing things has led the team to a place where they can save the customer money, without having to compromise on quality. Some new product launches include that of natural stone that eliminates the need for recoating, simply referred to as “Rock your Roof”.  The team is especially excited about the new Midnight Black product, which offers the customer a classy black roof without having to worry about fading.

Harvey Roofing Products is a division of the Macsteel group and can clearly live up to the Macsteel motto: Pursuing Reinvention.