metal roof?

[gasstingy]

I'd like to chime in just in case you haven't spent your money yet. I have had a metal roof on my home for 11+ years now and it should be a lifetime roof, but I doubt it. There are two types of metal roofs, standing seam (most commercial installations are this type) and corrugated metal with thousands(?) of exposed fasteners. With standing seam there are no exposed penetrations. With what I have, the screws are fastened securely with some type of long life washer. One day about a year ago, my wife told me I needed to repair the roof, as she could see a row of screws sticking up above the metal. Sure enough, about a half dozen screws were about 3/4" out from the roof surface. I retightened them and hope they hold this time.

As for noise levels, I am thankful I have a remote for my TV set. Our house had open cell foam sprayed in the walls and on the top of the ceiling sheetrock and I hear the rain. It isn't REALLY loud, but it's noticeable. I would never go back to shingles, but I will suck it up and do the standing seam roof if I replace the one I have.

A side benefit of standing seam roof systems is there are mounts for PV arrays that clamp onto the upright seams and that means no roof penetrations for mounts. Maybe not an issue today for you, but later?

You may also want to consider this from the "above roof ventilation" thread: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/renova...v-east-tx.html

It's obviously your decision and your money, so weight the benefits carefully before you choose, as some money is best spent instead of "saved."

[AC_Hacker]

Originally Posted by william

I think metal roof is not a good option because Steel roofs can rust and need maintenance to prevent corrosion.Copper and lead roofs can be targeted by metal thieves.The high heat conductivity of metals requires careful incorporation of insulation into the roof structure.

I would like to know more about lead roofing. This sounds very interesting.

It's really too bad that there isn't some kind of metal that will not rust, the way lead and copper don't rust... some kind of metal that was, perhaps lighter in weight... some kind of metal that might be a silvery color that could reflect some of the sun's energy and keep a house cool... Some kind of metal that is currently being used in roofing... some kind of metal that starts with the letter "A"...

Best,

-AC

[jeff5may]

The kind of material that airplanes are made of?

[AC_Hacker]

Originally Posted by jeff5may

The kind of material that airplanes are made of?

Yeah, yeah... and beer cans, too!

-AC

[where2]

After 9 years with my Decra stone coated galvalume 26 gauge steel roof, I am happy to report I have no visible signs of rust. You'd think as someone who lives within 2 miles of the Atlantic Ocean in a tropical rain forest climate zone with an average precipitation of 63 inches per year and prevailing breeze off the ocean, I might have issues if there were going to be issues.

How do I know I don't have issues? I recently removed 45% of my Decra roof tiles to install 102 Creotecc tile hooks for my PV system. During the course of installing the tile hooks and re-installing the roof tiles, I was up close and personal with over 100 pieces of my metal tile roof.

[Exalta-STA]

Metal roofs are the norm here, never had any problems with rust since what is sold usually is rust protected.

yes, you can hear the rain when its in the part of the house without any ceiling but inside, you hardly hear the rain because of the roof insulation and the thick gypsum ceiling.

[buffalobillpatrick]

Many of the more expensive & higher quality steel roof shingle types, like Decra, are hot dipped in galvalume, a mixture of Zinc & Aluminum, then special long life paint.
Decra has stone chips imbeded in the paint & has a 50 year roof warranty.

I have found 1 company that sells Aluminum shingle type, never seen one in person.

I found a great deal on Craig's List on Decra Shake dark green, $85 / square. I bought 25 squares & as my next house has not been built yet, I am planning roof size/pitch to have as little waste as possible. It is to be installed on 2x2 wood battens with horizontal screws, none face up.

Some breathing above roof wood decking & eave to ridge venting below.

[ecomodded]

buffalopatrick you did very well on your metal roofing shingles , $2000 is a giveaway , I would install them myself and not worry about the getting the warranty , if you follow the manufactures instruction to a tee , you will be fine. Many roofing failures are due to not following the installation procedures or cheeping out on supplies, like using one layer of tar paper when they call for two etc.

[Elcam84]

Metal roofs are becoming very popular here. We live in what the insurance companies call the hail county capitol of the country as there is more $ paid in hail claims here than any other county in the us.

We are waiting for a good hail storm so we can get the adjuster out and look at our asphalt roof. Almost no one pays for their own roof here as the roofing companies keep their prices very high because insurance companies pay to reproof houses here cause of hail and storm damage.

My shop is a steel R - panel building insulated with the roll fiberglass with plastic on the inside. When it rains I can hear the rain but it isn't bad at all. Here it rains so little anymore that hearing the rain is a good thing.
Loml's past house had a standing seam roof and no issues at all. Asphalt roofing may last 10 years may last 2 just depends on the weather. The big benefit of metal roofs here is reducing heat gain. Anything you can do to keep heat out is a good thing.
I like the idea of the pex up there but... I'd have to hook it to a big radiator and use it to pull heat away from the house.


One issue with metal roofs is that regular r - panel will need cleaning if you have trees. I have to scrub the end of my shop roof where the tree drips on it. It puts a black gunk on it that absorbs heat. The galvalum isn't nearly as bad as it seems to self clean.

Standing seam or flat seam are the best for a house but r panel is done allot because it's cheaper. I prefer standing myself as it and flat have no visible fasteners. But r panel is much heavier material.

If you do plan to go steel look up the local metal building suppliers. The one here will come out measure the house and give a materials quote for free and most everything comes precut. The shop gets the steel on rolls and runs it through a roll former.
Steel Buildings, Metal Buildings, Metal Roofing | Mueller, Inc is who we have here.

[ecomodded]

I am in a 70s house plywood construction , under the outside siding and under the asphalt shingled roof and I still hear the rain , well not when its sprinkling out but any thing above that and I hear it , with a downpour it can be quite noisy. I doubt there are many if not any houses that damper the rains noise. Except perhaps a commercial Tar and Gravel flat roof is right next to silent , they have 6" of foam board as the first later.
Back in the day I was a roofer and hated the flat roofs , hard to tear off and stinky to put on they were.