metal roofing advice?

First of all, I have to say kudos to the universe for providing. This morning I cleaned my gutters and patched a leak in the roof. Now its raining and I have no leak and I hear the sweet sound of water in the downspouts. Every gutter was full of decaying stuff to the point where there were Maple saplings growing out of the mud.

But the real reason for posting is this: While I was up there I noticed that it looks like I'm about 25 years into a 30 year roof, and the 93-year-old lady that used to live here neglected the roof for the last 10 years or so. I want to do a metal roof - not immediately, but when this one finally gives up the ghost I want to do metal.

I've done composite roofs before (but it was about 15 years ago and I had two guys walking me through it) and I've done one metal roof (but it was on a garage that no one cared if it leaked). If I were going shingles again, I'd do it myself with a friend or three. Any good tips on doing a metal roof myself? Multi rib? Standing seam?

Not tips on doing the roof, only that everytime I call the cell phone people about limited service the first question they ask is does my house have a metal roof. Apparently it's the kiss of death for cell phone service.

carguy123 wrote: Not tips on doing the roof, only that everytime I call the cell phone people about limited service the first question they ask is does my house have a metal roof. Apparently it's the kiss of death for cell phone service.

Oooh.... kissing. I'm down with that :)

You are right though... metal roofs can degrade cell signal. Its less of an issue with CDMA but still a consideration.

I have a metal roof. My cell phones (4 ea) work and I'm on the edge of coverage.

My construction worker friend says to fit all the pieces first, that way everything is square, then start screwing it down. You can cut the stuff with a carbide tipped blade in backwards in a skill saw. I have other metal cutting tools, but that's what my friend uses.

I will add that ours started leaking last fall. The screws have a rubber gasket on them. After 10-12 years of wind, etc., the screws had worked loose a bit and water was leaking in the screw holes. I went up on the roof and tightened them all down. Many were stripped. I put some new screws into good wood near those, then I put a dab of silicone over all the heads. No more leaks.

I've got a metal roof as well. Cell phones work fine. GPS units all get skunked by it though. I would speculate the difference is because GPS is looking upwards for satellites, while the cell phone is going sideways to towers.

I've got a standing seam roof, which is flat rolls of stuff with the edges turned up and crimped. Compared to the preformed corregated panels, it looks rather home made. Would not care to try to form the long seams myself with things like pliers and such.

Standing seam has the fasteners rolled into the seams, which means it doesn't leak (no holes) and they don't rust out. But if they pull out, it's real fun to reinstall.

Standing seam roofs tendto require painting, in no small measure because of the bending and crimping you do. Preformed corregated panels don't have this issue.

Standing seam metal comes on big rolls that you lay out and cut. Preformed corregated panels can be bought from Home Depot and the like.

Standing seam roofs make neat noises in the wind because of the large flat unsupported areas. Like giant oil cans in the wind. Preformed corregated panels don't do this becuse of the corregations and because you can use a lot more screws and nails to hold them down.

On This Old House, in the Austin Green Remodel, they used a metal roof. Spent a goof bit of a segment detailing the hows and whys. See if you can find that video. IIRC, theirs was a standing seam, so no leaks, and it was galvanized, not painted.

I found THIS and THIS and THIS. All three are pre-formed standing seams that kinda snap together with concealed fasteners. The finished product has no exposed fasteners at all.

We had a metal roof system put on the mobile home my wife lived in. It was put on probably 20+ years ago and never leaked. How, you may ask? My father in law put a big fat bead of silicone caulk down every single joint in the thing. Wanna know how fun that was to take apart when we sold the trailer and had to get it moved? None at all!! But if it's gonna be there a while/forever, caulk the hell out of it.

Also, get a cell phone booster, as many have already suggested.

a helpful canoe wrote: On average to short panels, screwing through the ribs should work ok. On long panels, expansion and contraction can cause screw movement and oval out the screw hole leading to leaks. Screwing through the flat is the preferred method. Be careful not to overdrive the screw (strip the hole), the screw will eventually work out and leak. If you happen to overdrive a screw, replace with a stitch screw and move on.

canoe with good info?... odd

for cell coverage... metal roofs aren't great... but stucco is far worse...

[Edit: since you thought the canoe's content was helpful, I quoted it - minus the spamtastic bit - into this post before I deleted their account. If that bothers you, feel free to edit your post to take their comments (or these comments from me) out. - JoeyM]

I have a metal roof on a 10 - 12 pitch. I built this from scratch and opted for metal because it lasts as long as shingles but you don't need to lay down sheets of plywood under it. Furring strips across the rafters and then the metal. The "living space" is insulated, the storage area above is not. I ordered the sheets to length so all four edges were covered in paint. If trimming is required, you put that side up under the ridge vent.

Metal was a tad more expensive that the same area in shingles, but subtract the cost of plywood and it's a baragain.

This photo was taken after being up there ~15 years, I still like it.

Dan

FYI:

Do NOT be standing within 19 feet of the drip edge when the snow slides off!

914Driver wrote: FYI: Do NOT be standing within 19 feet of the drip edge when the snow slides off!

Been there, got knocked on my ass as a kid

There's a tool for every job, and the best tool for doing a roof I've found to be my checkbook. Climbing around on a 30 degree slanted piece of wood 20 feet off the ground? Eff no, I'll pay some other fool to do that for me, thank you very much!

Luckily you can afford me!

Imagine sliding down a tin roof with those 1/2" rubber gasketed screw heads sticking up.

Real meat hooks ....

Interlock makes a metal roof that mimics slate.

My parents and I lived in a house that had a slate roof, and it really added to the house. They didn't want to replace the roof, but had slate-like metal roofing been available at the time it would have been a good option.

I think metal roofs will be a selling point in the future. The idea of not having to replace it is nice.

I recently put a metal roof on my project house. I used the "ag panel" with exposed fasteners. Looks pretty good. I'd rather have used the standing seam with no exposed fasteners, but they really charge a premium for that, it seems...so I went the budget route.

I order it from a place nearby that rolls/cuts it to length for me. That's nice. A roof goes on quick when the pieces are 3' wide by as long as you need.

Yes, a circular saw blade put in backward will cut. Just wear hearing protection (and obviously eye protection) as it FREAKIN' loud.

I'll try to post some photos up later. I haven't trimmed the rake yet, but it's not bad for my first metal roof. Unfortunately...the hail did a number on it the other day. I don't mind too much, though.

Clem

Does the hail compromise the sealing abilities or anything?

^Depends.

I was just about to post, if it matters to people, if you're roof get's damaged by hail but doesn't compromise the seal.......insurance will not pay for it as it is cosmetic damage.

So you're roof will still be a roof, but be dented and look like crap.

It's a concern for those of us in Tornado alley that get frequent strong/severe thunderstorms........part of the reason they aren't too popular here.

This is good stuff. I was looking into using one of those metal buildings like they show on the TV to make a home out of.

I so need a metal roof on this house.

Pretty good info here. Couple of overlooked points:

Metal roofs are not hard to install, but they are SLIPPERY. REALLY SLIPPERY! If you are uncomfortable working on roofs, multiply the butt pucker factor by about 7X over a shingle roof. When I install them, I lay it out so I reach across the metal to secure (never stepping on the metal). It's a whole lot safer. Safety harness is a really good idea.

Caulk is not necessary on the seams. Use seam tape. It's like a foam tape with a peel off adhesive surface (essentially double sided foam tape)

Screw the flats, not the ridges.

While the basic panel is quite simple, proper flashing of penetrations, valleys, chimneys, dormers, wall step flashing, etc. is quite difficult. Some would be almost impossible without a metal brake.

I have done them with and without plywood decking. With is significantly easier.