Metal Roofs pros & con s

Kind of intuitively, they look like they would be prone to damage from high wind. I've never heard this anywhere, but the metal roofs I've seen seem vulnerable, just from looking at the unfaired, raw edges.

Other than wind or hail damage, I think they are considered to be a lifetime roof.

Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, metal roofs is just about all you see. Often they are cleverly painted and disguised to look like Spanish tile or something similar but on one-family houses (and many larger) they're almost exclusively corrugated metal. I've often asked locals where this tradition came from and they'll generally shrug and say, just developed as a natural way to build a house once you did away with the thatched roofs of huts. Go figure.

I wonder if you could combine a metal roof with a solar water heater? Save big-big on de bills that way.

Cycloptichorn

I lived for a while in a house which was solar-powered. (And, of course, it had a metal roof.) I have no idea what the comparative saving was as the house was off in the boonies, not near any high-tension wires either above or underground. If you wanted electricity, solar panels on your roof was one of the few options you had. If I remember correctly, though, the hot-water heater was propane-operated, not electric, as was the kitchen range.

We have a rolled seam metal roof and we love it. QWe used to have a slate roof that was over 150 years old. It had been coated with pitch in the early 20th century and was a real old momms.
The rolled seam metal roof is a heavy guage metal 11 gage. Weve had it for almost 10 years and its not even showing any wear. Its still as shiny as the first day . Its a compound alloy , not copper. I didnt want copper because with acid rain , all copper roofs Ive seen leave big bluish green stains down the building sides and we are in a stone farmhouse.
The roof is attachhed by metal straps to the roof frame unerneath. There are NO NAIL holes anywhere because the tie straps are all incorporated into the roll seams. Even the lightning rods are strapped to the roll seams and the roof vents are just like a tent of the metal. Our color is a tan color and people stop all the time because its still an unusual look. Weve seen a few others bloom in our area and all these were people who stopped and asked us about it.
Metal roofs were very popular here in the 1800's and the technology has improved alot (the roll seam machines actually ride up and down the seams and bend the metal as they go along.

One drawback, beware for sticker shock. Around here a rolled seam (not a fitted plate) metal roof will cost as much as slate, and will probably last as long , maybe longer because the slates are all nailed in and the wind can physically erode the nails by making the slatess wobble slightly in the wind , causing abrasion of the nails.

Metal roofs are light on the house and are friendly to the energy budget.


Im a satisfied customer but we shopped around for a good installer and our architect did a lot of searching and we both came up with the same roof company, a bunch of very experienced artisans in metal and slate roofs.
Ive seen other jobs where the metal has not been done well and there were a few nails seen from the ground.

A rolled seam metal roof should have NO NAILS on the surface.

As far as hail, the thickness of the metal has been very durable and we get hails as big as quarters coming in from 60000 ft so the (M)x(v^2) is like a spaceship on reentry.
Not a mark on the roof. YOUR metal will have a rating for hail in your part of the country so Im not familiar with how bad your hail storms can get.

OF course, it must be said that, a metal ropof MUST get lightning protection so you dont blow our a masonary wall from a lightning hit, or start a fire from a zap in the attic.

Thats why many barns around us start blazes when theres a lightning storm, the Amish dont believe in preventive actions , so well have one or two barns with metal roofs go up every few years . After they rebuild, the bishops make a dispensation and the Farmer will get lightning rods and down lines to a good ground.

Hope this helps, If you have any other questions Ill try to anser them , but no guarantee I know more than Ive told you.

Youll love the sound of rain or hail on a metal roof, Its the most soothing sound I can think of.

A rolled eam roof has no faired edges. Everything is Rolled onto itself and the roof is strapped from top to bottom. The gutters and downspouts are also part of the construction scheme. OH yeh, they also install these really neat snowcatchers called "Snowbirds" which are shaped wrought iron wings that hold snow banks so they dont slide off when the sun melts the snow a little bit.

Miss Picky wonders about looks - and your house, Swimpy. We have a spanish-oid house on a nearby street with a white metal roof and it is a bit disconcerting visually. On the other hand, I can envision benefits, and imagine they wouldn't all have to be bright silver. I saved brochures that used to be sent to me in my design business, but didn't peruse them intensely since I never did specify one. I happen to be going through my old binders this week, tossing a lot of stuff. If I run into any useful info, I'll post back.

On hail and wind, I figure they can weather both of those, but not sure. Or at least that the high end ones can.

Hell, no, they don't have to be bright silver. As I said before, the roofs around here are sometimes painted a deep red to resemble Spanish slate or sometimes a bright green to look something like thatch. After a while you don't deven realize you're looking at metal roofs until you take a real close look.

I suppose they are powder coated - I just don't like, personally, faux stuff. Faux spanish tile, oy... I'd prefer distressed metal.

If I remember, Swimpy's house is brick (am I crazed on that?). I might be able to envision some kind of medium color metal (still clearly metal) with copper (uh oh, how would that work?) gutters.

I guess I should shut up until I do some google looking.

Thanks for all the info, FM. I haven't talked to the actual roofer yet about the products he installs. What do you mean by a compound alloy? Is it something like this? http://www.coolmetalroofing.org/

I do have a brick house, osso. Good memory. I don't think I would go with white, but a lighter color is what I'm leaning toward.

There are some systems like that, Cyclop.

Most of the higher end metals are a clad surface made of several multiple alloys (like Monel or sammiches of metals). PAint is usually not a powder coat because powder coats tend to crack when the surface is bent as when being rolled.
I too like the look of a metal roof as a metal roof and not the spanish tile and shingle stamped patterns. Why make it look like something it aint when , all by itself in a rolled seam ,its a really cool look. The picture you provided in that link is like what we have

OK, then.

I just saw Farmer's replies and can only say. Ok, and much more.

I think a lot depends on the type of house you have. The first two houses with metal roofs, don't appeal to me at all. My eye is drawn away from the house and to the roof - it's very distracting.


This metal roof, I like. It seems to fit in its surroundings better.


But in terms of the sound of rain, etc...it can get very loud if it's raining hard. It is nice if it's a soft pitter-patter type of rain, but if it's raining very hard it can get so loud that it's distracting.
My dad has a log home with a metal roof - so I've experienced this and though I like the look on certain houses, that's one reason I decided against it for my own house. But I am very distractable, especially by noise - maybe even moreso than most other people- so although this was a consideration for me, it may not be for you.

But I do know he's had that place for twenty years and never a problem or leak with the roof - so it does seem to be a good roofing investment.

You never see metal roofs on private houses here (perhaps on factories), but only roof tiles and slate.

It was used, however, after the war, as cheap and temporary replacement by some house owners.

I can't comment re your conditions, but corrugated iron roofs are very common here.

They are very durable, attractive ( a roofing and construction icon here) because many houses are designed for them, and have been since the 19th century.

They come in many colours and last 100 years or more.


There is nothing more lovely than the sound of rain on one's iron roof!!!

Monel? Them Huntington alloys are expensive! Stand up to weathering real well, I bet.