Metal roofs

[theoldwizard1]

I have always liked the looks of a metal roof. I think with adequate pitch (12:12 ?) they would do well in snowy climates.

A good friend rebuilt a part of his barn so that he could have a full hay loft for his wife's 3 horses. One thing he was instant on was a traditional shingle roof.

So besides the noise from rain, what are the downsides to metal roofs ?

 

[srmofo]

The noise from rain is an upside....The only only downside I can think of is upfront cost. however they last much longer.

I have a metal roof on my house. Im not sure if you have to recoat the newer roofs like you do on this old one. Even then I recoated it once when I first bought the place 8 years ago. Havent touched it since although, It might be time I havent climbed up and looked at it recently

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

Oh my yes, nothing better to fall asleep to than rain on a tin roof! I dunno about cost. I thought tin was the cheapest way to go. I've built a few pole barns, and if there was anything cheaper than tin, I'm sure we would have used that.

 

[larry_g]

Are you talking hay shed or house? On the house you will have insulation and support under the metal so noise is not an issue. If you have valleys in the roof and trees then cleaning the valleys is necessary and wet metal is slick. My other house has a standing seam metal roof on it. Its now some 20+ years old and still looking good.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Flatland Dave]

Big hail tends to be hard on them, but most of the country is pretty immune from that.

 

[dwilliams35]

Noise certainly isn't an issue on mine: it's put down on standard decking, which absorbs the noise. A real upside to them is that you can choose the color well beyond what you can composite shingles: put as light a color as you can stomach on it, and the temp in the attic plummets.. Worst thing about it is that if you ever DO have to go up on the roof, you better have plenty of ropes and some help: after a few years, with dust, etc. on them, they get slippery as all heck: I went up there to clear a birdsnest, and was really unsure whether I was going to make it back down the non-painful way or not..

 

[draglink]

I have a metal roof om my shop- standard sheet metal rook, no issues at all.

My house has standing seam metal roof that is 100+ years old(house is 150 years old), my only complaint is the required painting about every 4 years

 

[Firebrand]

If you have snow in your area, there is simply nothing better! I am in the process of covering my entire house with this material shown above the garage. Already have the barn done along with the garage and one-third of the main house. Material just landed this week for the main part of the house so I have that project to look forward to shortly. Love the sound of the rain, too!

 

[trbomax]

We have metal on everything,house,barns, shops,even the ones we built 30+ yrs ago in ohio. All are 4/12 and snow builds to about a foot and then slides off. Like the sound in the rain too.

 

[justanengineer]

My father had a flat metal roof on his first 40'x110' shop and hated it. In the rain it was LOUD - no insulation. It often dripped inside, not because it leaked, but due to the temperature difference inside and out causing humidity to collect on the inside edge of the roof sheeting. The worst part was pushing snow off it because it was flat, just plain dangerous and ridiculously slippery. Metal roofs are great on price and can last a long time, but believe it or not they need to be painted regularly (every 10-20 yrs) to prevent rust and help seal them, despite the galvanization, especially in snow country. My brother's tin barn roof is ~50 years old and still standing strong. Personally I prefer shingles myself. They are a little more expensive, but I know quite a few farmhouses with quality shingles (not the box store ****) that were properly installed (read hand hammered, not gunned to death) that have 30+ years on them.

 

[Gary S]

My brother build a garage with a metal roof. It rained inside his garage almost as much as it rained outside. A metal roof will need a water barrier inside and lots of insulation to stop the condensation and inside rain.

 

[trbomax]

No manufacturer recommends useing metal on a pitch less than 3/12. Of course it will leak on the flat unless its gasketed at the joints. The 4/12 i have on the house in toledo is 4o yrs old and no rust streaks or leaks. The shop roof was put on in 1973,and back then no one used wrap or foam under the steel,you just had to deal with the sweating,but with power ventalation (which I have on all of my buildings that have an interior ceiling) They do not sweat even w/o the foam underlayment. All the above said,I have a shed type roof on my snowmobile garage off the back of the house that is only 1/12. All of the seams are gasketed and it does not leak,its also 12 yrs old. We do have to shovel it,but most of the time the wife uses a toro power shovel on it when it gets 8-10" deep.

 

[trbomax]

My brother build a garage with a metal roof. It rained inside his garage almost as much as it rained outside. A metal roof will need a water barrier inside and lots of insulation to stop the condensation and inside rain.

Two words,power ventalation.

edit) either blow it or **** the outside air in on the gables and exhaust it out the ridge. Mine are on timers and run 3 times a day,1 hr at at time.

 

[dirttracker18]

Many new metal roof systems are warranties for life. Try to find that with shingles.

We also love the sound of the rain.

 

[nonhog]

My shop roof is metal and will add that to the house someday.
Snow slides off quickly which can be an issue if it piles up and refreezes in front of your parking stall. Only happened once to me.

 

[Scoutman]

The only thing I've heard as a negative is that if/when you have a house fire, the fire dept can't get water into the house via your roof. I'm not sure how true that is and if your place has burned to that point there probably isn't much to salvage anyway.

I'd love to have a metal roof for many of the reasons already stated.

 

[ibedayank]

even here in tn WHEN we get a little snow it just slides off the roof in a day or 2
not sure of the pitch.. but main part is 40 wide with a peak about 23 foot off the ground

 

[ibedayank]

The only thing I've heard as a negative is that if/when you have a house fire, the fire dept can't get water into the house via your roof. I'm not sure how true that is and if your place has burned to that point there probably isn't much to salvage anyway.

I'd love to have a metal roof for many of the reasons already stated.

they have saws that will cut through that thin sheetmetal like a knife through butter.... even a axe will go through it pretty easy
its not like it a 1/2 thick plate

 

[5lima30]

I have a metal roof 10/12 pitch on my house and a metal roof 6/12 pitch on my detached garage.
Pros: cheaper homeowners insurance
long life 40+ years
fastened down with screws vs. nails
snow slides off much better than shingles (IMHO)
Looks better
Better resale value ((although that may be a regional thing)

 

[Jeff]

Snow isn't an issue down here, but hurricanes are. When I bought my home 2 years ago the roof was 'iffy'. The seller agreed to pay half the cost of a new roof. We went with metal. In this area metal roofs are about 10-15% higher than shingles.

 

[wafrederick]

The barn metal roofs are to avoid,the metal is way too thin and uses exposed fasteners resulting in leaks.I have been told of one wall of a house replaced,had a barn metal roof leaking rotting out this wall.

 

[rburke65]

Can the metal roofing be attached directly to 1/2" osb on top of the trusses, or is some sort of underlayment required? Is there a "good", "better", "best" method of instalation? Thanks.

 

[rvr6000]

My garage has a 6/12 pitch and the snow rarely gets more than 4 inches before it slides off. Insulated the garage last year so noise is no longer a problem. Roof is 5 years old now and still looks as good as the day it was installed. I opted to use screws over nails and pre-drilled the sheets down on the ground first.....really made the install go fast doing that.

I would love to put the same metal roof on the house when the day comes to replace the shingles but I'm not sure how installing the roof vents would work. I have a 1 1/2 story so I need those vents inside the knee wall. If it was just as simple as installing a ridge vent I'd do it in a second.

 

[finn]

My 32X54 has a 5-12 pitch steel roof, and 3 eave entry garage doors. We live in real snow country (Michigan UP). The avalanche off the eaves is a problem. The compacted snow (from the roof) in front of the doors is a bear to move even with a plow on a pickup. a snowblower just rides over the berm.

The snow from thebuilding's back side shoots over the lot line into my neighbor's drive.

If I was to do it again, I'd move the building farther from the lot line and do some sort of gable end garage door.

I'm also looking into devices to stop the snow from sliding off the roof, but then the roof wouldn't be self cleaning.....

 

[dlenkewich]

Many new metal roof systems are warranties for life. Try to find that with shingles.

We also love the sound of the rain.

Actaully GAF just announced lifetime warranty on it's shingles. They kept it super secret until the last second to get the jump on the competition. I love GAF shingles.

http://www.gaf.com/Corporate-Information/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Press-Releases.aspx?id=25

 

[dlenkewich]

I'm also looking into devices to stop the snow from sliding off the roof, but then the roof wouldn't be self cleaning.....

The 'device' you're looking for is call a snow stop. It's an L shaped metal piece that spans the roof.

http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-p/snow-guards-for-roofs-312697.jpg

 

[Justanoldguy]

I New Zealand, 95% of roofs here are metal.
Hugely popular and have been for 150 years.

 

[danski0224]

I have always liked the looks of a metal roof. I think with adequate pitch (12:12 ?) they would do well in snowy climates.

A good friend rebuilt a part of his barn so that he could have a full hay loft for his wife's 3 horses. One thing he was instant on was a traditional shingle roof.

So besides the noise from rain, what are the downsides to metal roofs ?

Every factory made metal roof system I have looked at requires the use of ice & water shield membrane under the whole thing.

There are several methods of creating a standing seam or other type of metal roof.

Lots of places to cut corners.

Lots of places to rely on sealant instead of proper workmanship designed to shed water.

There are several books on the subject. Make sure you check up on them.

A factory made roofing system helps to eliminate some of those issues.

If you live where it snows, you definitely want snow guards.

European methodology is way different from traditional USA methods.

 

[dirttracker18]

Can the metal roofing be attached directly to 1/2" osb on top of the trusses, or is some sort of underlayment required? Is there a "good", "better", "best" method of instalation? Thanks.

Answer to the first question is yes. If fact, most systems I have seen now recommend a sheeted roof first and no longer want strapping.

As for the rest of the question, look up the manufacturere you intend on using or have available. They all have very specific recommendations of instalation methods, although they all seem very similar.

In my case I have a standard gable roof which is very simple to put up.

On another note, exposed screws should not leak if instaled correctly. however you can now purchase hidden fastener roofs. That is what I will be going with this spring.

A replacement and construction thread is planned.

 

[theoldwizard1]

... A metal roof will need a water barrier inside and lots of insulation to stop the condensation ...

I think condensation was my buddy's big issue. The original barn was 30+ by 90+. 1/3 is horse stalls (only 3 horses) and the other 2/3 was used for hay and equipment storage. The 2/3 section was replaced with a true 2 story pole barn. Hay is stored upstairs and the lower level is equipment storage/shop.

Two words,power ventalation. Either blow it or **** the outside air in on the gables and exhaust it out the ridge. Mine are on timers and run 3 times a day,1 hr at at time.

He did have one large fan (at the end where the stalls are; still there) but I don't think he had ridge vents.

As I said, he was insistent, "no metal roof" on the new section.

FYI - His barn cats (Fred and Wilma, brother and sister) love the "loft" and they have other neighborhood cats over to "visit". Definitely no mice, or other vermin. Well there was one big ol' '**** they could not convince to move out. It got lead poisoning !

 

[theoldwizard1]

To kind of keep this thread rolling, I would love to have a metal roof on my "dream home" (if I live long enough to build it). It will be built in northern MI, where the temps can drop well below 0 F. The "great room" will have 10' walls and a 12:12 pitch roof that be open to the "rafter" and possibly have knotty pine tongue and grove on the walls.

How do you design a roof deck, that will have a "nice looking" under side and yet still provide excellent insulation value and a base for metal roofing ?

 

[VHF]

How do you design a roof deck, that will have a "nice looking" under side and yet still provide excellent insulation value and a base for metal roofing ?

Hard to do if you want the framing exposed. You might do some kind of tonge and grove on top of the framing, then a few inches of rigid foam board insulation, then a layer of sheathing then the metal or shingle roof. This would be an unvented roof (i.e. no soffit or ridge vents) which is fine for metal roofs, OK with some brands of shingles.

If you aren't doing exposed timber frame, you could use 2"x12" rafters with insulation in the cavities. Put knoty pine (or whatever) on the inside. If you put in 10" of insulation this still leaves 1.5" for air flow if you want a vented roof.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The only thing I've heard as a negative is that if/when you have a house fire, the fire dept can't get water into the house via your roof. I'm not sure how true that is and if your place has burned to that point there probably isn't much to salvage anyway.

I'd love to have a metal roof for many of the reasons already stated.

A Partner saw with the correct blade will cut through almost anything.