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mrspete

Metal roofs

mrspete
9 years ago

What do y'all think of them?

I've done some reading, and it sounds like they're a good investment: Expensive up front, but since I'm almost 50 I'd probably never have to replace it.

I was a little iffy about pairing a metal roof with a brick house (and I would not build a house that isn't brick), but after I did some reading, I realized that metal roofs can look a lot like shingles at first glance . . . and I realized that I've been seeing them on houses in my area . . . without realizing what I was seeing.

I did read some bad things about metal roofs and fire, and that was concerning.

Comments (38)

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    It would never occur to me that brick and metal don't go together. Here's a house that Sarah Richardson renovated. Metal roofs on brick houses is a very common look in rural Eastern Canada.

    We ruled it out because our area is very susceptible to hail. Just a couple of days ago some people were mountain biking outside the city, and got trapped in a hail storm. They were covered in bruises and had their helmets destroyed. They probably could have been seriously injured if they weren't wearing helmets.

    Anyway, metal roofs don't last all that long here because of it. So we're going with a rubberized asphalt shingle.

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    We did brick and metal. Not completely finished yet so I can't tell you much about it but it matched the look we were going for.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    I've not ever lived with one, but they are supposed to be durable, and good for snow and relatively easy to mount solar panels to if standing seam. But they are also supposed to be noisy...though some people like the sound of rain on them.

    House up the road from us has one that looks like a copper roof...kind of interesting...different, if not odd on a 50s ranch.

  • zippity1
    9 years ago

    i've looked at them very closely and i'd love to have them
    and with the right brick and house plan, they'd look great

    we didn't want to spend that cash on them.......

  • lmwright
    9 years ago

    We have a metal standing seam roof on our current home. I can tell you that we had terrible problems with leaks the first few years -- not because of the material itself but because it was poorly installed. We had a shingle roof replaced after our house went through Hurricane Ivan in 2004. At that time, the construction companies were very busy, as you can imagine, and they ended up hiring new people with little experience. We must have had twenty different leaking episodes (all in three or four places) before the roofing company finally figured it out. Since then, the roof has been terrific. Looks fantastic, though since we went with white, it does need frequent cleaning to look its best. Sounds awesome when it rains heavily, though, and has a lovely, crisp, clean look.

    My advice would be to go for it, but to find someone with good experience and a good reputation to install. A bit like anything else, I guess, in that the product is only as good as its installation.

  • IowaHawks
    9 years ago

    Metal roofs eliminate the need of putting down ply or osb on your roof first. You would only need to put down just the metal roof, so in actuality it'll probably be cheaper to go with a metal roof.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    No, you still need roof sheathing, but you can install purlins on top of that which will give better airflow to the roof and aid in keeping it even cooler. The only way that a metaal roof is noisy is if your attic isn't properly insulated. On a barn, with zero insulation, yes it's noisy. On a house with proper insulation, it's not any different than asphalt shingles.

  • IowaHawks
    9 years ago

    We've had numerous pole barns built through the years on our farm and weve never had to have roof sheathing installed. Just had to attach nailing strips to the trusses so there was a place to attach the metal panels. Laying down s heathing and purlins is overkill in my opinion.

  • klem1
    9 years ago

    IowaHawks said on
    Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 11:41
    "We've had numerous pole barns built through the years on our farm and weve never had to have roof sheathing installed. Just had to attach nailing strips to the trusses so there was a place to attach the metal panels. Laying down s heathing and purlins is overkill in my opinion."

    If you ever inclose and heat one of those barns you will have condensation dripping off the bottom of the roof. Sheathing and vapor barrier are absolute necessities. Sub-tropical climates will benifit greatly from laths to circulate air between metal and sheathing. As mentioned,proper installation is important ( as if it isn't for composition shingles) but installation isn't rocket science either. The roof posted by jdez definatly requires more attention to detail than those posted by amberm. I find that installation is overpriced,at least that's true in Central Tx. If the homeowner is handy and phisicaly fit,paying top wages for two helpers with construction experience and one experienced installer will save 50% on installation.
    90% of mistakes are made while installing flashing.

  • Brian_Knight
    9 years ago

    While skipping roof sheathing might be ok for pole barns and porches its not really an option for most homes. You need it for structural strength among other things.

    Keep in mind there are two broad categories of metal roofing. In our area we call them "exposed fastener" and "standing seam". Exposed fastener is the most common for residential and usually doesn't cost much more than top of the line architectural shingles. The exposed fastener is a screw with a neoprene gasket. Its the gaskets that fail over time and eventually need to be replaced.

    Standing seam is used by most commercial metal roofs and are quickly gaining market share in the residential market. They dont have the future screw replacement maintenance concerns and the taller ribs that conceal the fasteners have a better look. In my experience, standing seam costs almost 2x more due mainly to increased labor costs.

    White painted metal is one of the best choices for a home looking to save money on cooling energy costs and are arguably more comfortable due to this consideration. Building to current international energy code levels of insulation will help alleviate this concern along with the noise issues pointed out by hollyspgs. Metal is arguably the most durable common roofing choice and can also be recycled at the end of its usable life.

    Ive never heard of hail being a concern with metal and here in the southeast we commonly have serious hail. For those in high wind areas, upgrading to 26 gauge over 29 gauge can provide better uplift resistance and being almost 25% thicker should alleviate hail concerns as well.

  • klem1
    9 years ago

    Brian Knight said "Ive never heard of hail being a concern with metal and here in the southeast we commonly have serious hail"

    You get a discount on insurance in Ks,Tx and Ok. which get alot of hail and high wind. That pretty much speaks to the issue of durability.

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    For our metal roof, we had OSB sheathing, that black tar paper type stuff, then rigid foam insulation board, then furring strips, then metal roof. At least I think that was the order of things. Our choices made it cost twice as much but we were told that no sheathing or insulation was necessary.

  • Brian_Knight
    9 years ago

    Klem1, youre saying that non-metal roofs get an insurance discount? If so, I wonder if this is due to hail, wind uplift failure or both. Ive always considered metal to have better uplift resistance in general but I dont know that much.

  • klem1
    9 years ago

    Brian,metal roofing earns the discount.

  • musicgal
    9 years ago

    This is a metal roof. It really sets the style of the house. Very few people know it's not tile.

  • robin0919
    9 years ago

    Wow! I've never seen that before. I like it....but I wonder how much it would cost?

  • musicgal
    9 years ago

    I hesitate to say here... but, my roof cost more than a clay roof. Why did we do it? Hail resistance and lower weight, not to mention that we live next to a national forest which had fires break out nearby a few years ago. It is also more wind resistant... good because we catch the occasional back end of a hurricane.
    Our product is Decra- but there are many coated steel roof products out there. They ought to pay me I'm such a fan, but alas, they don't. Their roofs can look like shake, and shingles too.

  • robin0919
    9 years ago

    mg....is that 'your' roof? If so, can you say how much it costs per s/f?

  • Aims
    9 years ago

    Wow, music gal, I would have never known that was a metal roof!

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    The hail storms turn cars into golf balls, and metal roofs are made of thinner metal than cars. Perhaps the sheathing helps protect it from denting. But I always wonder about the standing seams. And if you use lathe to allow air flow, you're going to lose that protection.

  • musicgal
    9 years ago

    robin- email me if you are really interested, and I will give you the total roof cost and our sq. footage. The roofer priced it by what he called "squares" and labor, which is not square feet but the amount of material. It was expensive...
    Hi amberm- hail does make dents in the standing seamed metal roofs around here, but they are still a popular replacement choice for shingle roofs down here after a bad hailstorm, because there is less penetration than with the asphalt shingle products used on most roofs. That's why you see a lot of hill country farmhouses and hill country eclectic homes add a metal roof, because we can catch some nasty hail in the Waco, Dallas, Austin, College Station rectangle. There are some good youtubes on my product...I love this one. Sorry, I don't know how to copy this url on my tablet so I took a screen shot.

  • musicgal
    9 years ago

    This is Hill Country eclectic- I first saw it in an upscale acreage neighborhood in Houston, and thought it was wacky. It's grown on me- notice all the metal.

  • mrspete
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    So much information -- even concerning pole barns, which aren't on my radar at all!

    Yes, looking online I saw pictures similar to the one posted by MusicGal -- things that you wouldn't recognize as metal initially. They really can look like "regular shingles".

    Hail isn't a huge problem here, but it sounds like the thicker-quality metal would be worth the cost.

    I hadn't considered paint. A metal roof will last longer than shingles, but it'll need to be painted, right? How often? And I presume this isn't a cheap procedure, but it'd be cheaper than replacing a shingle roof?

  • Brian_Knight
    9 years ago

    Paint is a whole nother can of worms. Because its painted in the factory under climate controlled conditions and baked on, the warranties on the paint are usually 50 years or more. Theres no shortage of failures out there though. The Kynar product seems to have a good reputation.

  • LE
    9 years ago

    Just experienced our first downpour on our metal roof last week. It wasn't noisy at all-- I had to go out on the porch to know it was raining. I think that misconception might come from experience with uninsulated agricultural type buildings. I love knowing the thing should last for 50 years, though some friends had a fading issue with theirs after 15 years, that wasn't the current product, obviously.

  • millworkman
    9 years ago

    Painted finishes have improved tremendously over the years. In fact the supplier we use for commercial storefront and curtain-wall uses the same finish for their standard warranty as the 20 or year warranties. They just charge a percentage of the material cost above and beyond in the slight case they have a claim. And Kynar painted is their standard painted finish.

  • suzyqtexas
    9 years ago

    Yes you get a discount for the metal roof. But, you have a choice of waving the cosmetic damage from a hail storm which also lowers the insurance cost.

  • She Abe
    9 years ago

    So, I am hearing that I need to specify neoprene washers. Assuming installation is good, do the neoprene washers hold up well over time? Is this the best option?

  • Brian_Knight
    9 years ago

    Neoprene washers for exposed fastener metal roofs come standard but you bring up an interesting point. Anyone know if there is better brand or type to go with? Might be worth special ordering if it delays that maintenance task.

    Standing seam is considered the best option because you dont have to maintain the screws/washers. Just be prepared to pay 2x more for standing seam than exposed fasteners.

  • Kiwigem
    9 years ago

    JDez, is that a clear coated galvalume roof?

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    Kiwi - I don't know if it's clear coated. We told the metal place that we wanted "just silvery metal color". So, it is galvalume but I am not sure what's on it.

  • Kiwigem
    9 years ago

    Jdez, Looks great! When you view it up close, does it look speckled like galvanized steel, or is it more like a silver metallic painted car?

    This post was edited by Kiwigem on Sat, Aug 16, 14 at 9:37

  • klem1
    9 years ago

    To me galvalume looks white at all distances over 3 feet.

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    Kiwi - I don't know. I'll have to go take a closer look and get back with you. I will also dig out the receipt and see what it says.

  • Kiwigem
    9 years ago

    That would be so nice of you! We are finalizing our choice this week.

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    Receipt says 26 ga. galvalume.

  • Kiwigem
    9 years ago

    Thanks!

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