An Americanism, perhaps? We also called steel cans coated with tin 'tin cans'
and some older folks still use the term
for steel cans coated with other things. It may also be slang for a rickety old
car.
I believe the older term was the descriptive, 'tinned can'. Doesn't
exactly flow off the tongue. Tin can is just more poetic ;)
We also installed aluminum roofs on our house and barn and they are called
tin roofs also.
Perhaps the aluminum has better coatings now. Around here the few AL
panels remaining are quickly turning to white oxide. Most houses now use
the coated steel which lasts a (relatively) very long time. I was sold
when I a friend's house with cedar shakes caught a spark from the wood
stove. When you live in a dry area in the woods steel makes sense. Yeah,
yeah I know about slate but the structural requirements are onerous.
Plain rusty steel is becoming popular now too. The FeO coating is pretty
stable and attractive in a rustic sort of way which fits with the
developing PacNW architectural style.
A lot of the older stores and homes around here have pressed tin ceilings.
Not a PacNW style. Very few coffered ceilings of even the plain sort.
However the emigrants are bringing the style and the necessary $$ with them.
Mike
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