Metal roofs- opinions, please

If you are putting in over the roof you already have, it will be sound proof just like the one you now have on.

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The road not taken, had a gas station only a 1/2 mile down the road, with a free gas can you could use.

We love our metal roof!

Pauline

Thank you, sue. That's exactly what I told DH but it needed to come from "someone else" doncha know...

Stacy

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

I love our metal roof, also. The only warning I received from the installer was not to plan any pine trees nearby. I guess the sap can blacken the roof over time.

Stacy, You just have to watch for the snow slide off the roof on a sunny day! Don't get caught under it. two foot of wet snow can give you a headache.

Except for a few screws "backing out" due to the metal expanding/contracting with temperature changes (which was very easily/quickly corrected), I've had no problems with my metal roof. It is about eight years old. I've replaced a couple of sections that were damaged by tree falls, but that was my fault for leaving trees too close to the house. There is more noise associated with these type roofs, but I enjoy the sound. In a hot climate, I would strongly recommend a lighter colored finish (mill finish, white, etc.). Standing seam roofs are the best, but not as easy for the "do it yourself" types to install. A roof with many valleys/dormers will be more difficult and involve more cuts, but we've installed those successfully too. If possible, try to have any openings for plumbing vents, furnace vents, and chimneys close to the ridge. By doing this, you can install the flashing under the ridge cap. This is not essential, but it simplifies the installation in many ways and helps guard against leaks. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

We had a new metal roof put on our log home three years ago and we really love it. You do hear the rain more but I like that sound. We had the roof done in Forest Green which goes well with the logs.

RenieB

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The Will of God will never Lead You where the Grace of God cannot Keep You

You know what color the rain drops are on a metal roof?........

pink....pink....pink.....

Seriously though.....I would get a metal roof if I could afford one. 30 yr AR Architectural shingles will run about $50 per sq. for materials compared to $120 per sq for the proper type of metal roof.

depending on where you live, don't necessarily expect a break on your insurance.

Anything properly installed won't leak.

When living in a high snow area (or really most anywhere there's snow) you need to get snow dams installed. If you don't, in high snow, it will come off in a big heavy chunk, and it will and does hurt people, cats, dogs, etc. Imagine about a 100lbs or more of wet snow hitting you from the second story (if you have a second story.)

If you can afford it, get one. You won't be sorry.

Thanks to all of you, lots of good information here- especially about the snow coming off. The cabin is only one story but I still can imagine two foot of snow coming off it, boxwoods- ouch.

Stacy

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

I love my metal roof.... also on a log cabin. It is a little noisy when it hails, but nice sound when it rains{I think}.The snow slides off really well and the fireproofing is great.Much better than the shake roof we replaced!!
Laurie

Isn't that the truth. We got our roof on our second year building and living in our house after a winter under a flat tarped roof. The first snow slide off our roof crushed our generator shed.

All said I love our metal roof. I installed it myself, (all 1800 screws), and after five years have had no leaks. In memory of our winter with a blue tarp for a roof we bought blue metal.

We have a mobile home with a dome type roof and we installed metal roofing 3 years ago . We ordered the galvinized to the length we wanted . Laid down fanfold insulation - then furring strips and then the metal . I love it . We got a snow shovel to pull the snow off the roof.

What warranty? I have been burned by two metal roofing manufacturers - Metalworks and Finall (aka International Exteriors, Interlok, etc.). Finall is being sued in class action lawsuits in the U.S. They change their name regularly to avoid the warranty claims. The BBB has had numerous complaints countrywide and the problems remain unresolved. The BBB memberships by these companies are being withdrawn in many locations. I have never been able to obtain the warranty - which according to my lawyer is not worth the paper it is written on anyway as the companies go out of business and change names on a regular basis.

That being said, we did the garage/stable combination ourselves with sheet metal product that was more than double the area to be covered and less than 1/10th the cost of the professional job and I have no complaints with that product. The amateur's installation held up during the hurricane - the professional installation and expensive product failed 100%.

Do not buy based on warranty. You will ultimately be disappointed.

We love our metal roof....and I have one on the house across the street, and it is all white metal which is very pretty. When a pecan drops off one of the trees and hits, you will know it, sounds like a cannon going off.

We live in a barn with a red roof. It is 100 x 30 feet. Yes, the snow does come piling off it at times. But, we never ever worry about snow load taking down the roof!
Hubby put the roof on 18 years ago when it was still used as a storage barn. 5 years later we turned part of it into a house, we had 2 minor leaks. He fixed them since he put the roof on.
His suggestions are never put a metal roof over any existing roof. Neighbors did that and it blew off in some high winds (really, it was in the field!).
Make sure it is secured properly and securely !!!!!!
With normal insulation we only notice heavy rain or hail. We notice it but it isn't deafening.
The plus side is we have a roof that is good for probably 40 - 50 years. Sure beats shingles coming off in high winds and replacing in maybe 10 years.

We have an Amish group here that makes the metal roof, for a 12x12 shad I built, it was only 120$ I put it up myself, Look around and see if there is an Amish metal roofing group where you are. It is a very good roof, They also install. I will be geting more for my addation on a cabin in a few days. I will ask them if there are any in NY

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The road not taken, had a gas station only a 1/2 mile down the road, with a free gas can you could use.

We have a red metal roof on our Aframe. We also have a cathedral ceiling. We can hear the rain but like someone else said, it's a soft sound. Now when it's hailing, it's very loud!

I would never have shingles again.

We like our metal roof. I sprayed styrofoam directly onto the underside, and that made a big difference in the noise from rain and hail.

I've got an original metal roof with a shingle roof floating over it... over which we put another metal roof 100 odd years after the original metal roof went up. So, in essence, three layers of roof. We don't hear rain sounds!

But I LOVE this metal roof... even with the Wall Of Snow Sliding Off feature. Prior to that we had huge ice dams (old home poorly insulated) and my husband would try to either shovel the steeply pitched roof, or rake it. I was genuinely concerned he'd kill himself doing it someday. Yes, the wall of snow coming off is not something you want to be standing under... nor have anything even remotely fragile sitting under.

We had two roofs installed (cottage and main house) by the same contractor... who retired at 50. Before we'd done the garage/barn. Bummer! But the thing that got our attention was the price of steel. It went up by better than twice as much between the time we did the first and the second, and that was with pre-buying much of the metal.

Still... This roof will outlast me. Shingles would need to be replaced when I'm at that age that I couldn't do it myself. Tin Wins!

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Icelandic Sheep and German Angora Rabbits

I've had two barns, both with metal roofs. One was insulated to prevent the condensation, the other was not. No complaints on either...I actually like the sound of the rain. House needs a new roof next summer. I'm leaning toward a metal roof.

One downside...metal is harder to work on if anything needs to be done on the roof (i.e. chimney cleaning). On the upside, it looks great & more than likely will outlast me.

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CJ