Deliver new design possibilities with Catnic Urban

Designed in conjunction with leading architects, Catnic's Urban standing seam roof system is broadening what’s possible for residential and commercial roof design and delivering contemporary, cost effective finishes to buildings across the UK.

In recent years, home and business owners have become more interested in the look of their roofs. It’s no surprise, a well-designed roof, which complements the building it’s attached to can make all the difference in ensuring an appealing external envelope. As such, there’s been a spike in demand for roofing systems that allow for increased design flexibility.

Our innovative Urban® standing seam roof system, is one such solution. The product represents the most cost-effective alternative to copper and zinc, pre-coated metal standing seam systems. What’s more, it’s available in eight tonal matt shades, which integrate seamlessly no matter the material of the façade, helping to deliver effortless modern finishes. The product is finally allowing architects to meet the demands of customers looking for contemporary and modern designs, without costing the world.

The product can be used to create modern looking roofing systems, which juxtapose with the surrounding environment. This was the case recently on a self-build project in Devon, led by Fearnley Lott Architects. “The Catnic® Urban roof provided the exact aesthetic that we required,” commented David Lott, Project Architect at Fearnley Lott Architects. “With such a variety of colours available we had a number of options however we selected Anthracite Grey to give the buildings a sharp distinctive outline. Furthermore, we colour matched the window frames and balcony railings, which elevated the appearance of the properties to the high-end contemporary standard we wanted to achieve.”

Another huge advantage of the Catnic® Urban standing seam roof system is that it can accommodate pitched roofs as low as five-degrees in both residential and commercial applications. Again, this broadens what is possible for architects who can significantly reduce the overall height of a building project – an important factor with regards to planning restrictions. This innovative approach also benefits those working on loft conversion schemes, as lower pitched roofs help to improve headroom. Furthermore, our standing-seam system lends itself to both mono-pitch and duo-pitch solutions, providing yet more design flexibility.

Additionally, the Urban standing seam roof system can be installed to a joisted roof, as it was at Summer House in Burntisland, Scotland. On the project, the system was pitched to create a double height open plan living area, which provides a striking visual contrast to the flat roof EPDM aluminium coated finish used elsewhere. The new build echoes the existing building’s roofline featuring a combination of pitched and flat roofing with three varying roof heights.

The Urban standing seam roof provides all the benefits of a copper and zinc alternative, but with a much smaller financial outlay. The product has been manufactured from Tata Steel’s Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel. As such, the system is seven times lighter than clay or slate tile equivalents, making it far easier to handle on site and quick to fix compared with traditional roofing products. Due to the product being so lightweight, it’s well-suited to retrofit applications, including the modernisation of traditional buildings.

As well as modernisation projects, the Urban standing seam roof can be used to create new build extensions to existing buildings. On such projects, the system often offers a striking difference to the exiting building, helping to create unique, dynamic aesthetics. This was the case on a contemporary new build extension to a farm outbuilding in rural West Lothian. To achieve the aesthetic goals of its client, the project team cleverly used the system to create a contrast to the original building, which was first constructed 125 years ago.

Speaking on the build, Colin Hardie founder of Hardie Associates commented: “We had originally considered a slate or tiled roof, but we are very glad we decided on the Urban system. It provides exactly the sharp finish we were looking for to ensure that there was a clear separation between the old stone house and the ultra-modern addition. The detailing of the vertical panels at the rear of the house and the square guttering and downpipes all add to the clean finish, which would not have been possible with a slate or tile finish.”

The days of British home and business owners exclusively wanting traditionally styled clay roof tiles are gone. Instead, increasingly the modern Briton desires minimalistic, sleek designs, which still provide exceptional performance. Whilst most people are put off by the price of such system manufactured from zinc or copper, our Urban standing seam roof is far more affordable. Not only is the product helping customers to achieve the designs of their dreams, but it’s backed by a company with over 50 years’ experience in the field.