What color metal roof?

[bams50]

My new building will have in-floor radiant heat, 18' ceiling height. I live in an area with sometimes heavy snow accumulation, and sometimes hot summers. I want a roof that will shed the snow when the sun comes out; so that would suggest a dark color. But then, it seems like a dark color will make the building hotter in the summer.

So, I guess I have to compromise. So, which is the best way for me to go- dark or light?

 

[bobscogin]

So, I guess I have to compromise. So, which is the best way for me to go- dark or light?

Do you have more months out of the year that you want a roof that absorbs heat to shed snow, or more months when you want a roof to reflect heat and not contribute to a hotter shop?

Bob

 

[jhelrey]

You should install brackets so people don't get knocked out by the sliding ice/snow

 

[Chandos]

Green or red are, in my view, the only proper colors for a metal roof. I see a lot of silver in the mid-west, which also looks pretty cool, but of it were up to me, I figure out some shade of the first two that worked with the building/setting.

This is an opinion grounded entirely in taste, not in observed fact. No animals were harmed in reaching this conclusion.

C

 

[cyamaha2007]

I vote green. My roof melts snow pretty quickly.

 

[40cpe]

I'm from the south, so this subject is low on my priority list. Will the roof color really matter if it is covered with snow so the sun can't reach it?

I don't know, just asking

 

[djjsr]

Good question!

I've been wondering the same thing about shingles on my house. Current shingles are a little darker brown/bronze color and the heat in the summer makes it uncomfortably warm on the second floor.

I've convinced myself that it should be some medium shade of any color. Dark enough to help melt snow and light enough to repel some heat.

Somebody needs to invent a temperature sensitive shingle (or paint for metal roofs) that gets darker in color when it gets cold and lighter in color when it's hot. They would be a good seller!

 

[jkeyser14]

In your area do you have more heating or cooling days a year? Here in MD there are 3x as many heating days so a dark roof is better. If you're in NY, I would assume you want dark.

 

[MP&C]

I vote for red

 

[The Boss]

I went with green.

 

[mitusa]

I would go with a light brown (tan or almond) and increase the pitch of your roof. jmo & hths.

 

[Free Willie]

<<<< I like mine except I should have put the doors on the gable end.
When we get a foot or more of snow it gets pretty deep in front of them.

 

[RAYJAY]

blue is my pick as for color the snow will melt and slide off no mater what color it is unless you have no pitch

FYI it sound like a freight train coming when the snow lets lose,

i know a couple of years ago they were giving you a energy credit on the lighter color roofs.

also if i had to do over with i would have did the 1 inch foil covered foam under the metal on the roof, did it on my side walls and the contractor talked me out of it on the roof (found out later it a PIA to install on the roof

 

[1953mercury]

Pick your favorite color, and plan as well as you can for the anticipated results. To me it's just as important that you like looking at it, because you will most likely be looking at it for a long time. Mine is black, matches my Harley, looks good with the cedar, and sheds snow nicely. Its been up there 30 years and needs to be painted (faded), but still in good shape. Are place is at 7200 ft and we get long winters with lots of snow. Yearly average around the 380" mark. Mike

 

[P.Roz]

I went with Green when I did mine. I didn't think of the heating or cooling properties, I went purely for aesthetics.

 

[wedge40]

I have more warm and less snow, but never really considered JUST the roof color. I played with a whole color scheme. My roof is white, sides red, trim black and wains coat white.

Wedge

 

[LutzTD]

I always heard green reflects and absorbs equally. I also liked the color. I wish I would have went with white since I am in florida I dont need any absorbtion AT ALL...... I just redid the roof on my screened patio, this one I went with light grey

 

[White 99]

I did the house with dark brown because it looked best with the wood I thought. I did the detached garage about the same color to match the house a few years ago. Now I need to do the house again and probably will have to match the new garage.

If I was doing it all over I would look at lighter colors.

I had the house built about 25 years ago and it needs to have the metal roof repainted or better replaced. When I did the second garage I went for a better quality of metal roof. House has the raised panels that have exposed screws; screws tend to loosen and back out. Garage has standing seams; seems to allow for expansion.

I will probably check into the insulation when I redo the house.

 

[rvr6000]

Seeing as you have in-floor heat I assume the rest of the garage is insulated and there is a finished ceiling. The color of the steel isn't gonna make a hole lot of difference on the temperature inside of the garage....especially with a ceiling height of 18 feet.

With that said, I put brown steel on my garage roof purely for aesthetics. But it's the 6/12 pitch that removes the snow... more-so than the color.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

when im stuck i go with the cheaper usually. galvinized!! if your insulated it shouldnt matter much what color it is. you could go with red, white and blue and be patriotic

 

[countryroad82]

I went with white myself. We used to get some pretty wicked snow at times (haven't seen much the past few years....YAY!!) and it would always melt about as fast as every other roof imo. Keeps me a little cooler in the summer months and with the humidity around here that is more important to me.

 

[Doug B]

I put a grey metal roof on my garage.It's an 8 in 12 pitch-unheated. When it was new,any snow over a few inches would slide right off.Over the 6 years it's been there, the snow has been slower to come off,moreso on the side that get the most sun. 2 weeks ago,we got 16" and it stayed right there untill the temps went well above freezing just a few days ago. My guess is the paint is getting dull or weathered over time and is not as slippery.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I live in PA and our weather is similar to central NY. You are not considering the two most important seasons when determining the roof color, Fall and Spring. These are the dirtiest seasons and will matter most in the long run.

When I bought my place the existing roof was a light tan color and absolutely filthy from the leaves in the Fall and Pollen and **** from Springtime... I changed my roof to green this past summer and, though I can already see some discoloration, it is a thousand times better.

Yes it is noticeably hotter in my attic space and I'll need to ventilate better or add a fan this spring but aesthetically it is far better.

I don't have an "after" picture yet but it it the same roof only green...

 

[egnorant]

What concern are you trying to address? Snow loading? killer avalanches from sliding snow sheets? trying to absorb a bit of winter sunshine heat?

If your purpose is that you don't want snow on your roof (for whatever reason) the color might not be the right question.

Even the best heat absorption color will retain snow if it does not have the heat replenished by some method. Sufficient warm mass to maintain through times of low solar absorption or replenishment of heat via shop heat reaching the roof or mechanical means.

Living in Texas I don't have much experience in snow, but I have researched the manipulation of heat. About the only relevant snow issue I can use is when I was a youngling and my job was washing cars at the Buick dealership.
After a rare dusting of snow I was tasked with removing the snow from the cars. One thing I noticed was that the white cars had snow cover with a thins bit of icelike frost on the surface while the black cars had thicker ice layers, larger icicles and were a pain to clean.

Even as I type this I it is snowing outside! Not a lot but some may stick.

Bruce

 

[thdewey]

Green!

Someday I will build a new house with a GREEN metal roof.

Ah, someday......

 

[Chaz]

I went with black on mine. I'm VERY happy with it. I live in Montana so we see lotsa snow. Good insulation is a must. Never gets too hot in the summer.

If I lived in a more southern climate the choice probably would be different.

 

[readhead]

I build metal buildings for a living in snow country. We have built buildings with 120 psf roof loads. I am always puzzeled by the need to shed snow off the roof. If the building is well insulated, and that is another thread in itself, the roof color will not be a factor. Most, and soon all, sheeting comes with a reflective paint regardless of the color. We install snow bars or brakes on most of the roofs to keep the snow in place. Every spring we are busy replacing siding, doors and windows because of damage caused by sliding snow.

 

[bams50]

Lots of good comments here. I'll try to answer some of the questions.

We tend to have roughly 5 months of snow season here. Probably three months of that has potential for heavy snowfall (Although the last couple years has been extremely light). Snow load has always been an issue here all my life. Not just collapses, but there is lots of trouble with ice dams causing water backup and interior damage, not to mention icicles growing and falling and injuring people. If we get over a couple feet of snow, it is customary to shovel off the roofs in my area.

Founded or not, this is one of my big worries. I am no longer in a condition that I can get on the roof and shovel for five or six hours in a day to clear it off. You can hire it done, but it's hit or miss, usually spotty and done by uninsured individuals looking to make side money. One of my main goals for this retirement property is to have a roof that sheds snow, so it will not be an issue in my life again. Most doors and windows will be on the gable ends, and the small doors that will not be will be covered by an extension that will allow entering from the side where not only will there be no worry of folks getting hit by snow sliding off, it will also be set up so there will be no slide off to have to shovel.

I am assuming that with in floor heat plus really good insulation, there will not be a lot of heat against the roof from the inside. That's why I thought light or dark color would make a difference in my situation. There are lots of metal roofs here. We had about a foot and a half of snow on Christmas eve. So I've been watching the metal roofs here, trying to do my own unscientific survey of which works better; and I don't think I noticed that one color necessarily works better than another. But as I said, that is not my educated study, just a guess.

At this point not one nail has been pounded or one nickel spent, so this is the time to think this through and decide. Thank you for all your thoughts on the subject!

 

[bams50]

I should add that currently I am considering function more than form right now; that is, I will think of color once I've decided what will work best in my situation. I will I have good pitch on the roof and good snow rating, for the reasons stated above.

 

[SARG]

GALVALUME.
I regret the painted roofing I've installed in the past.
My brown garage roof has been painted once within the last twenty years because it faded ......... and looks like **** again.

Those buildings in our area with the Galvalume roofing have looked the same for thirty years.

 

[readhead]

Thanks for the info. Looking at roofs to see what they are doing doesn't help. You don't know what the heat and insulation factors are inside. One thing I do know is that infloor heat is about the most expensive way to heat a building. In your case since you want to shed the snow I would suggest you extend the eaves at least 2'. That way falling snow will not build up next to the building and cause damage. Try to remove the fallen snow as soon as possible since there is something similar to ice daming that can occure at the bottom of the wall.

 

[2mJps]

I put a metal roof on my house. I wanted to reflect the sun so i ask the guy that i was geting my metal from. He gave me a sheet that told what the was what and i went with gray it is in the middle between dark blue and white. I think you need to think about the sun heating it up in the summer more than the winter snow. If it wasnt for the way it looked i would go with white.

 

[Keithinsc]

I understand wanting to shed the snow. But I always prefered to leave the snow up there IF the building is able to hold the snow load.
Snow is just extra insulation, I noticed my old house stayed much warmer once there was 4" on the roof.

I moved to SC and have a shop with dark green steel roof. Matches the pine trees! I would've done gavalume to reflect the sun in the summers if function was priority over aesthetics.