Who's Got A Metal Roof?

[slingshot]

Thinking about going with a metal roof on the house after some recent storm damage. I've heard all the sales pitches, but would like to hear from someone who has one, or knows something about them. It would be helpful to hear about pricing per square, noise, hail damage, etc. Plan on going with some rainwater harvesting if I go with metal. Any & all thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

[eeyore]

I had one on a summer getaway a few years back. I loved it, the sound of the rain. But i like them for there longevity (50 years) and the fire protection. If you can do it yourself you can save a bundle.

[dilli]

we have one.. fairly pricey but well worth it for water collection purposes alone.. it is our only water supply.. The noise is fine so long as it isnt a huge down pour and hail, it then gets uber loud... you can also hear much more noise from the roof when something is up there like a cat or in our case GOATS... Only real damage we have ever had was manthing made. dropped a tree through it, but was fairly easily patched. They do require periodic maintenance depending on the style or type you buy. We have to coat ours every couple of years for rust but ours is old and has nothing special for protection purposes.

[slingshot]

Thanks for the replies. How were your metal roofs laid? Did you put down lathes and screw the metal to that? Did you use a vapor barrier? I've been told (by salesmen) that it's not a good idea to just lay down a vapor barrier and screw the metal through existing shingles into the decking. Eager to hear your thoughts on that.

Eeyore, wish I could do it myself, but too much roof (50 squares,) too steep (9/12 & 12/12 pitch,) and too high (3 stories on the backside.) That's scarey to an old fat man! LOL

Anxious to hear if vapor barriers, lathes were used on your roof!

[eeyore]

Eeyore, wish I could do it myself, but too much roof (50 squares,) too steep (9/12 & 12/12 pitch,) and too high (3 stories on the backside.) That's scarey to an old fat man! LOL

LOL, i understand, not a fan of real heights, 3 stories would bother me alot, but up on a tower crane (250') does not bother me at all. The pitch is not a picnic either.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I had one about 7 years ago on a house we rented and it was ok but the hail was loud, real loud. No damage and the rainwater would be better/easier. I liked it better for the wind too on shingle damage. That roof did not have decking which could have been the noise issue too.

[trkarl]

Instead of replacing our shingles in 2005 we had a metal roof put on over them. They installed a radiant barrier over the shingles and then screwed the metal on over that. It is supposed to be 150 mph wind rated. It dropped the temp in the attic by about 20 degrees. I love it. 50+ yrs life. fireproof. easy to clean. saves on cooling costs. A lot harder to penetrate with wind blown projectiles than shingles. Doesn't break like tiles. can't think of any down sides to it.

[LizardKing]

I saw a new product in Home Depot today called Ondura (or something close to that) that comes in corrugated sheets like metal, but looks something like a plastic/something mix. It has the feel of a heavy shingle and cuts with a circular saw. Looked interesting and comes in a bunch of colors.

[Klingon]

"Instead of replacing our shingles in 2005 we had a metal roof put on over them. They installed a radiant barrier over the shingles and then screwed the metal on over that. It is supposed to be 150 mph wind rated. It dropped the temp in the attic by about 20 degrees. I love it. 50+ yrs life. fireproof. easy to clean. saves on cooling costs. A lot harder to penetrate with wind blown projectiles than shingles. Doesn't break like tiles. can't think of any down sides to it."

Ditto except 1999. No noise increase, in fact it's quieter now. Cost about 10% more than shingles.

[Bill Foster]

My 30-year asphalt shingle roof only lasted 11 years before simply turning loose and sliding down into the gutters. I'm sure there are several good roofers out there that would defend the shingle and condemn the installer, but, my builder bud tacked what I had back up and put a metal roof on...a pretty green one. It wasn't much more expensive than a shingle roof and like Klingon's, it cut the upstairs temp considerably. We don't have an attic, we have a wooden vaulted ceiling. In the summers, the upstairs was uncomfortable. With the metal roof, it is a day and night improvement. At my BOL and my daughter's BOL, both metal roofs have taken hard hits by tree limbs with no dents so far. The noise level is higher during storms, but it is soothing, not annoying.

[sewbeit221]

That's what we used on our chicken coop/tractor. Ondura- Great product!

[overbore]

Just built a 500 sq ft porch with corrugated metal roofing; Used est Buy Metals and give them a five star rating. Hurrricane grade and Environmental tax credit in light colors

Laus Deo
overbore

[slingshot]

Thanks for the input everybody. The crew finished up last Wednesday. Was glad to get that project finished. I used 26 ga. metal and it was heavy and hot for the crew. The temp was tickling 100 degrees for all 5 days it took to complete the job. Man, I'm glad I decided to contract that job out! I can't believe I considered doing it myself. That crew was beat when they finished. The layer of shingles under the metal really dampened the rain noise. It's a little louder, but not an nuisance. In fact, I like the rain noise when I'm trying to sleep!

[Briar Wabbit]

I have been a certified Green Builder, since 1996 ...


On my Ranchette, I have a 60'x60' Galvalume shed-roof that is raised 16' (at the low eve) off of a concrete slab.

That is 3,600 ft/sq of rain catchment, equating to 3,600 gallons of rain-water, per inch of rain, which is funneled into a 15,000 gallon fiberglass water-tank ... It takes less than 5 inches of rain to fill that tank and morning condensation adds to that.

... Point? ... G A L V A L U M E is the metal which you want to use ...
... In calculating catchment, you would not use the sq/footage of the roof material but, rather, the slab, beneath it, because the angle of the roof adds to the material sq-footage, but not to the catchment footprint.

Research "rainwater catchment" and similar phrases like "rainwater collection" ... There are many important things you should know about "initial runoff" (silt, bug guts and bird poop) and how the various tank materials and linings effect the potable quality of the water, etc.

Rotza-Ruck !

[ANVIL]

Another bonus of this type of roof is that snow buildup is not as bad. if the roof has a good pitch it will slide off faster then a shingle roof. We put it on the barn 10 years ago and have not had to worry about the snow load on the roof. With the old roof we had to shovel the snow off when it got deep. This is in northwest Pa.