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dademoss

dademoss

What I specialized in is oboslete
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HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 10, 2017
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The last train to Clarksville
Sadly, the time has come after a few decades to replace our roof. It's been about 30 years since Sheriff Goslin did it last.

My question is are there pros and cons in the Metal Roof Vs Asphalt ? I don't have any estimates yet, but I found a shingle, so the time has indeed come.

Your knowledge and recommendations will be most helpful.

Dave
 
dademoss said:
Sadly, the time has come after a few decades to replace our roof. It's been about 30 years since Sheriff Goslin did it last.

My question is are there pros and cons in the Metal Roof Vs Asphalt ? I don't have any estimates yet, but I found a shingle, so the time has indeed come.

Your knowledge and recommendations will be most helpful.

Dave
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I had a contractor visit and took one look and said my 100 year old roof had too many undulations for a steel roof.

We had go with best asphalt instead.

Ben
 
dademoss said:
Sadly, the time has come after a few decades to replace our roof. It's been about 30 years since Sheriff Goslin did it last.

My question is are there pros and cons in the Metal Roof Vs Asphalt ? I don't have any estimates yet, but I found a shingle, so the time has indeed come.

Your knowledge and recommendations will be most helpful.

Dave
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Don't pinch pennies!
A really good one will be something you won't have to worry about again in your lifetime.:)
Metal roofs are called 'hurricane-roofs' down here because they can survive 100+mph winds.
They have evolved greatly from the roof on some farmer's barn.
We 'destruction-test' all roof types for everybody else. :thumbs:
Tab-shingles are found nowhere here because they fly away with the wind of a good fart.:mad:
Only drawback of metal, is the rain noise; and they ain't 'pretty'.
You can buy good asphalt 'architectural' shingles that will easily last over 50 years.
GettyImages-503463548-300x200.jpg
 
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I always went asphalt. This time I went with steel because I wanted it to be the last time (in my lifetime). I had the 25 year old shingles removed before the steel roof went. Yes the rain hitting the second floor roof is a bit louder but it can only be heard at night when it’s quiet, we don’t even notice it now.

Its been four years and if I had do all over again I’d still would’ve gone with steel.
 
Metal is my choice, and the sound depends on the roof structure , my home has open ceilings. the metal roof is very close to the insulation, and there is very little sound transfer, an open space between a metal roof creates a drum effect and is very loud.
 
I thought a metal roof would be great where I live in Minnesota. Just think, the snow would just slide off and I'd never have to shovel the roof again. Well, I was wrong. Yes, snow will slide off of a metal roof if your have poor insulation. But, if you have superior insulation and ventilation in the attic, the snow will sit on a metal roof just like on an asphalt roof. This is especially true after the metal roof has been on for a few years and has had time to get dirty from tree pollen and dust. The accumulated dirt makes the metal roof less slippery. Lastly, I would hate to have to climb a metal roof to sweep a chimney. My recommendation is asphalt.
 
I live in a rain forrest. Everyone here collects 100% of their water. I have installed wood, asphalt, and metal roofs. I am past the age where I will be doing any roof work but my next roof will be metal. A friend and I went over to see our buddies new asphalt roof. My friend picked up a piece packaging and asked, "Have you read the chemicals in your roof?" When all your water comes off your roof Asphalt holds water and then sheds the rest. I have seen light rains where I gained zero water in my tank. I have seen a morning dew that shed water from my metal roof.
 
Caribou said:
I live in a rain forrest. Everyone here collects 100% of their water. I have installed wood, asphalt, and metal roofs. I am past the age where I will be doing any roof work but my next roof will be metal. A friend and I went over to see our buddies new asphalt roof. My friend picked up a piece packaging and asked, "Have you read the chemicals in your roof?" When all your water comes off your roof Asphalt holds water and then sheds the rest. I have seen light rains where I gained zero water in my tank. I have seen a morning dew that shed water from my metal roof.
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Yep.

I assess that roof choice is a bit of a litmus test as to whether the owner has a survivalist mindset or not.

If you prioritize rain water capture, then you probably have a survivalist mindset.

If you prioritize aesthetics of the roof, then you probably don't.

The noise issue can be addressed by putting glass wool insulation directly under the sheets, between them and the battens. When used in combination with more insulation above the ceiling, the thermal performance of the house is very much enhanced.

Iron roofs (or more correctly steel roofs) are also much more fire resistant (ie in forest fires) and storm resistant.

The homeowner with the new shingle roof and a few drums of water in the basement or few bulk packs of bottled water in the closet is the prepping equivalent of "all hat.....no cattle".

All our buildings have steel roofs and almost all have rain water capture.

We capture and store more than 50,000 gallons of rain water a year.

We use it to drink, cook, shower, flush toilets, wash clothes, wash vehicles, fight fires, mix agricultural sprays..........everything except for the gardens. We use water captured in gully dams for gardening.

Our bull even drinks rain water.......
 
Hardcalibres said:
Yep.

I assess that roof choice is a bit of a litmus test as to whether the owner has a survivalist mindset or not.

If you prioritize rain water capture, then you probably have a survivalist mindset.

If you prioritize aesthetics of the roof, then you probably don't.

The noise issue can be addressed by putting glass wool insulation directly under the sheets, between them and the battens. When used in combination with more insulation above the ceiling, the thermal performance of the house is very much enhanced.

Iron roofs (or more correctly steel roofs) are also much more fire resistant (ie in forest fires) and storm resistant.

The homeowner with the new shingle roof and a few drums of water in the basement or few bulk packs of bottled water in the closet is the prepping equivalent of "all hat.....no cattle".

All our buildings have steel roofs and almost all have rain water capture.

We capture and store more than 50,000 gallons of rain water a year.

We use it to drink, cook, shower, flush toilets, wash clothes, wash vehicles, fight fires, mix agricultural sprays..........everything except for the gardens. We use water captured in gully dams for gardening.

Our bull even drinks rain water.......
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You bring up a good point about fire protection. I stopped by to visit a cousin in Northern California. He quizzed me about roofs, fire protection and more. I talked him into putting on a white metal roof to keep the house cooler and to protect from fire. I also had him clean out underbrush. A few years later a wild fire came through his area. When he came home there was a fire crew camped out on his porch. His neighbours burned but the fire crew saw a defensible property so that was where they put their energy.
 
Tirediron said:
Metal is my choice, and the sound depends on the roof structure , my home has open ceilings. the metal roof is very close to the insulation, and there is very little sound transfer, an open space between a metal roof creates a drum effect and is very loud.
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We installed a rib-lock prepainted steel roof around 2006, we underlaid with 30 pound asphalt felt, later when I added a sunroom, the guy that made the roofing told me that it's better to use a membrane made of a plastic that is woven like plastic tarps but is resistant to rot, he told me that he had seen that membrane still solid after a year when a home owner wasn't able to install the metal roofing when he wanted to, he said that the 30 lb. asphalt paper was found to wear through over time. I'm the metal extremely happy to have installed the metal roof as the 25 year three tab shingles were breaking down in less than 20 years. Our metal roof is very quiet due to using very thick insulation in the south side and on the north side I built a cold roof which really isolates sounds even when it's raining hard. I'll be putting a 10' X 10' tool shed together and I'll be installing a metal roof on it, I have asphalt roll roofing on the chicken coop and when it comes time to replace the roofing, I will probably use metal. One other thing I like about metal roofing is that snow clears off by itself.
 
Caribou said:
You bring up a good point about fire protection. I stopped by to visit a cousin in Northern California. He quizzed me about roofs, fire protection and more. I talked him into putting on a white metal roof to keep the house cooler and to protect from fire. I also had him clean out underbrush. A few years later a wild fire came through his area. When he came home there was a fire crew camped out on his porch. His neighbours burned but the fire crew saw a defensible property so that was where they put their energy.
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Yep.

The crews around here do that too.

It is the fire fighting version of "accident scene triage".

Those with survivable injuries get real medical care.........those with unsurvivable injuries get hand holding.

All through summer, we have a big green lawn around the homestead. With that, the cleared area we created and all the grid independent water we store and can pump, the local volunteer fire fighters consider our place one of the most defensible in the area.
 
We have forest interface laws here that if we make our property defensible we won't be charged with fire fighting fees in case of fires, one of the stipulations is that if we have a metal roof the clean out circle around our home is 50', with combustible roofs that circle goes to 100'. When we had the forest fire around here in 2013, I asked a firefighter if our place was defensible and he said yes.
 
It depends on your skill level, if your doing the work yourself.

Asphalt is really easy. You need no special skill, anyone can do it and any mistake can just be tarred over.

Metal is significantly harder to do properly.

And as mentioned, it depends on if you care how it looks at all. I HATE the look of metal roofs. But they do have many advantages.

I personally think rubber shingles are the best of both worlds, but they are pricy.
 
When we had our manufactured home built we went with something like this. For fire resistance and 50 inches of rain. I think I insurance was less because of this. I don't know how noisy it is we are used to it I suppose. I just didn't want to figure out how to afford a reroof when I am 75 or 80.
https://legacymetalworks.com/1-snap-lock/
 
Aerindel said:
It depends on your skill level, if your doing the work yourself.

Asphalt is really easy. You need no special skill, anyone can do it and any mistake can just be tarred over.

Metal is significantly harder to do properly.

And as mentioned, it depends on if you care how it looks at all. I HATE the look of metal roofs. But they do have many advantages.

I personally think rubber shingles are the best of both worlds, but they are pricy.
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Thank you all for the education and thoughts.

My days of doing my own roofing are long past. Words you will never hear in my area are "I had to shovel off my roof"

The company that did our last roof 30 years ago is still around , and does both asphalt and Metal, so we will get estimates on both.

Leaning towards metal even before I asked, and you all have confirmed. I really do NOT want to have to do this again when I am 90+
 
Some of those huge log hunting lodges in Wyoming & Montana have metal roofs, and they look awesome! I'd go with a green color to blend in with the background up there... but down here in the high desert, I have a white metal roof to keep temps cooler. Roof color makes a big difference, you'll wanna assess that for your area and choose wisely... :rolleyes:
 
Wingnut said:
Some of those huge log hunting lodges in Wyoming & Montana have metal roofs, and they look awesome! I'd go with a green color to blend in with the background up there... but down here in the high desert, I have a white metal roof to keep temps cooler. Roof color makes a big difference, you'll wanna assess that for your area and choose wisely... :rolleyes:
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Opinions differ. I think they look like crap.

It's how almost every building is made in my part of MT, for obvious and practical reasons....but non of those reasons are because it looks good.
 
Aerindel said:
Opinions differ. I think they look like crap.

It's how almost every building is made in my part of MT, for obvious and practical reasons....but non of those reasons are because it looks good.
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Not all "Metal Roofing" looks like standing seam.
1680396110897.png


1680395901271.png
 
dademoss said:
Thank you all for the education and thoughts.

My days of doing my own roofing are long past. Words you will never hear in my area are "I had to shovel off my roof"

The company that did our last roof 30 years ago is still around , and does both asphalt and Metal, so we will get estimates on both.

Leaning towards metal even before I asked, and you all have confirmed. I really do NOT want to have to do this again when I am 90+
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Expect to pay more for metal. It is worth it in my estimate. I found metal easier to install. You have to get the first one on straight. After that just put them in place and screw them down. The metal I found to be faster YMMV. If you have one layer of roofing you can put your new roof right over it. If you have two layers of roofing you will need to strip the old roof and start from the plywood. That is true whether you use metal or asphalt. I put extra fasteners on both ends and along the bottom edge of my roofs. None of my roofs ever failed and they have seen 100 MPH winds.
 
dademoss said:
Yeah, when I quit posting because I died of a heart attack, you all will know I got the estimates.
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Hint: Throw something really heavy up there, yank it down, and then call your homeowners-insurance agent and tell them about the 'storm damage' you just discovered :oops:.
They will pay most of the cost.😉🙂
 
Supervisor42 said:
Hint: Throw something really heavy up there, yank it down, and then call your homeowners-insurance agent and tell them about the 'storm damage' you just discovered :oops:.
They will pay most of the cost.😉🙂
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I wish I could, but I can't. It has just plain worn the 💩 out. I have to live with myself. :p
 
At 80 I'm still working on things, if you talked with my wife, you'd think I didn't do anything, that may be true but in the long run, long, long run, I do get some things done. Yeah, some of my parts have worn out, but I try not thinking about that.
 
Take a look at Matt Risinger's video about metal roofs, I have been following him for several years now and he is a straight shooter.


Another thing to consider is the cost per year of your roofing and don't forget that your homeowner's insurance will qualify for a discount if you have a metal roof, as they are less susceptible to storm damage. I have become very much a buy once, cry once guy. Except for windshield wipers. I will bitch about their price from now until eternity.
 
My vote is for a standing seam galvanized metal roof. I would make sure that the material is NSF approved for rainwater catchment. IMHO, it's just better all around. Shingles have been a thorn in my side from day one, and I deeply regret installing them when I built my place. The barns, sheds, chicken houses, garden hooches, etc. get 5V crimp or R-panel (those have exposed fasteners), but the extension on my house got standing seam which has no exposed fasteners. It's more expensive, but you get what you pay for :)
 
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