# Metal roof - costs and benefits



## saichele (Jul 14, 2006)

Anyone know anything about either 1) general costs for a reroof with standing seam metal or 2) the 'energy saving' aspect of it.  

Recently got a quote for a reshingle (no tear off) of 10,500 for 22 square.  the roof is a little steep (about 1:2, and 2-story) but so's the price.  

Have heard that metal roof will actually reflect sunlight in the summer, and since there isn't any sun in the winter here it doesn't matter.  It's an older farmhouse, so i think I could get away with it aesthetically.  

Thanks
Steve


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## Sandor (Jul 14, 2006)

477 dollars a square? Whoa! With no tearoff? And thats a 6/12 pitch? Are sure its not a 12/12?


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## HarryBack (Jul 14, 2006)

Standing Seam is the best and most expensive of the steel roofings. We sell a raised rib painted steel roofing, not standing seam, which is more, and the stuff we sell, made by Wheeling, costs $100/sq, NOT installed.


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## elkimmeg (Jul 14, 2006)

> Recently got a quote for a reshingle (no tear off) of 10,500 for 22 square.  the roof is a little steep



Steve you seen like a practical analyitical sort. Why would one leave all that weight on the roof  where it serves no productice purpose? Especially on an old farm house roof structure? If you ever go solar collectors up there  its a lot easier to cut and flash in asphalt shingles than metal roofing. Asphalt shingles are now rated up to 50 years. Your common 3 tab fiberglass is 25 years    the next steps up are 30 and 35 years before there is a larger cost increase. I guess I live in the wrong area. I would feel guilty quoting
 10.5k to do 22  squares. I make good money at 350 per sq and that includes stripping and the dumpster removal


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## Harley (Jul 14, 2006)

Sorry to jump in with a dumb question.... but what is the area of a "square" that you guys are referring to?  My guess is that it's not a SF.  Yard?


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## BrotherBart (Jul 14, 2006)

Harley said:
			
		

> Sorry to jump in with a dumb question.... but what is the area of a "square" that you guys are referring to?  My guess is that it's not a SF.  Yard?



If memory is working ok today, a roofing square is one hundred square feet. Measure length X width and divide by 100. A square is about three bundles of shingles.


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## HarryBack (Jul 14, 2006)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Harley said:
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> ...



a Square is 100 square feet. A 10x10 area, or roughly 3 sheets of plywood. Beware saying a square is 3 bundles of shingles...often that isnt the case....most likely the 50 year shingles Elk mentions are 5 bundles per square. We most commonly sell 30 year shingles...both 3 tab and architectural. The 50 year shingles, in my opinion are far too much money to justify their cost. An extra 20 years' warrantee? Well, almost all warrantees are prorated now, so if your 50 yr shingles fail in 30 yrs, you'll only get 40% of the shingles value (20 yrs left/50 yrs). Frequesntly, labor ISNT included, and if it is, its usually a ridiculously low figure. Also, you buy a 50 year warrantee.....will the shingle company still be around in 50 years? 

Also, steel roofing is much LIGHTER than asphalt roofing. I do agree tho, its best to strip then roof with metal. Like Elk says, why leave all that weight up there?


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## Sandor (Jul 14, 2006)

And if you go with a steel roof, the asphalt shingles must be removed.


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## saichele (Jul 14, 2006)

I'm just checkin gout my alternatives.  It's not quite leaking yet, bu there are definitely some patches that are a little past prime.  

10,500 was just way too much - thinking almost double what I was expecting.  As to the solar - we don't get enough sun to matter, and our southern exposure is obstructed by some nice big spruce trees. Good shade, but no solar energy.

So raised rib is about double regular 3tabs.  How about installation?  Seems like if you can do it in fewer steps (larger sheets) and it's a bit lighter to handle, it might be cost competitive onthe install.  

Any ideas or experience?

Thanks
Steve


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## HarryBack (Jul 14, 2006)

no, raised rib is about double, but standing seam is going to be alot more.


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## elkimmeg (Jul 15, 2006)

I agree with Harry about the 50 year warranties pro rated and who know if there will be a company in existance to warranty it.
From common 3 tab to 30 year warranty is less than $10 per sg a little more for architectural.
I call architectural shigles almost idiot proof to install with nailing guns one can install easilly 6 to 8 sq a day Me doing it by myself that means all the lifting and staging setup, 4 is a good number at my age, cooler weather 5/6 sq. I have also cut back, if I can not reach with a 28' ladder, let some else do it.  Metal sheets roofing, I have never done it so I have no experience to form oppinions


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## saichele (Jul 15, 2006)

I did the tear off and reshingle on my last house, but it was a ranch with a 1:3 pitch.  Did about 5 sq. a day over a long weekend.  carried them to the roof too.  But 2 stories and a steeper pitch is making me cautious.  

Steve


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## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2006)

The 2.5 year old house we moved into last January has a painted steel roof by Fabral, http://www.fabral.com/ .  It is screwed through gaskets onto the decking.  I would replace it with a long lasting standing seam when it has to be replaced.  Here is a copy of the installation manual for my roof (grandrib3) that I loaded onto my site - I'm on dial-up and it is very tedious to browse - I'm sure other brochures are on the fabral site.  http://velvetfoot.com/house/roof/grandrib3.pdf

Snow slides off very easily and doesn't stay on the roof much.  It could do some serious damage, I believe, if someone was standing underneath (I have no snow cleats).  I also don't have rain gutters - not sure how well they work with the high velocities of water coming off of metal roof and the need to be extra careful to indent their installation so the sliding snow doesn't rip them off - also maybe it's ultimately better to distribute rather than concentrate the water (my opinion, maybe).

It's also quite noisy.  The water falls off the roof and lands on the front porch, making noise.  Even when there is slight dripping, it is noisy. (like when the windows are open in the bedroom).

Penetrations are harder to do, and installation isn't a bowlful of cherries, although the contractor who just screened in our deck was able to match the existing roofing and did the job okay.

Also, if you plan to put a tv antenna in your attic, it probably won't work that great since the roof would act as a shield.

It also might be a little more dicey to walk on.  I am ambivolent about this since I only plan on cleaning the chimney after next season and don't have to make any decision about going on the roof till then.

That's about all I can think of.  I know nothing about the cost aspect, except that the previous owner did not install the best.


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## HarryBack (Jul 15, 2006)

ok- weve used alot of steel roofing at our place- I LOVE it for some things. If your buildings gonna be a showpiece, and you have to go steel, it should be standing seam....no exposed fasteners, all covered by the lap. Raised rib roofing is great on outbuildings, barns, sheds, and the like. Super easy to install...Ive done all of ours, and had no problem. A screw with a gasket and a nutsetter head is how its fastened. I use a cordless drill with a spare battery and a nutsetter bit. And when screwing the stuff, always screw on the FLAT, not the rib...you'll crush the rob with screws, it might leak. Another must is to make usre you square up first, if not, you fight the stuff thru the whole job. The steel roofing is nice because it comes in different colors, up to 24' long, and can be sheared to length, when ordering. So, if you have, say, 19'6", you can have it cut so. for the sake of argument, say we are installing a 20' section....its 3' wide, so we are installing .6 squares....quickly. Its fairly light, much less so than shingles. There is a plethora of trim pieces, etc as well (rake, ridge, facia, etc). Perforations are more difficult as well tho. There are vent pipe flashings, etc. And for the record, you can use this stuff over old work (shingles), but its not that great an idea. We did one where the customer had those old asbestos shingles on the roof....had to try to get them removed ($$$$$) or cover them....covered them.
Snow....slippery...can you say avalanche? there are fittings to put up there and keep the snow from sliding off, buuuut, then you are hugely increasing your snow load...where I am, we load roofs for engineering purposes at 35 lb/sq-ft Live Load, and 15 Lb/sq-ft dead load, but if you keep the snow up there, itll be MUCH more...so we live with the avalanches....it all comes down at once too...not in little drips and drops...the whole roof...at once.....

All in all, a good product for the right application.


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