standing seam steel roof

These new steel roofs are all the rage in my area. They look really nice although some of the color choices leave something to be desired.

I'm thinking I'll get one put on over the shingles on the farm house in the next couple of years, but I have some concerns about it.

1. I have a chimney up there and a fairly steep pitch. Will chimney sweeping be suicide?

2. As I understand it, the steel costs quite a bit more than shingles, but the steel lasts longer. However, steel still only has a 20 year warranty. Is it really worth it? After 20 years is it going to look like crap and need to get replaced or at least painted?

3. Are there any other problems that I'm not considering?

just have the roofers lay down rungs to your chimney could be an option. You'll have to check with your roofer but the existing shingles may have to come off. But one thing to keep in mind is that if you are seriously thinking about a metal roof i don't know if i would wait with the way prices are rising.

Do not apply steel roofing directly over shingles. You will need to shim it out to allow for an air space and moisture barrier. Also be sure to vent the ridge thoroughly.

Standing seam roofing looks very attractive to me but I helped my FIL put a screw down metal roof on a big garage and we put a lot of scratches in the paint. Steel of course is only as good as it's coating so I don't see a long life for that roof.

One thing that happened to me last winter is the ice and snow that accumulated above my metal chimney came crashing down and tiped my chimney over. Braces above the chimney ( angle iron not conduit ) seems to be the answer.

Steel roofing is competitive with shingles, you just have to watch your source. We just put galvalume 5 V steel roofing on the house here last spring. Cost was 4200 dollars for everything for 30 squares with 50 year warranty, labor, and furring strips. Last shingle roof we had, less than 8 years ago, cost more than that. Plus, in most cases the warranty on a shingle roof has been voided by stacking the shingles before they are ever nailed on.

There are several different grades/thicknesses of metal roofing. the cheapest is really thin. the commercial stuff is nice but pricy.


friends of mine that do commercial roofing use a seam roller on the standing seam roofs.

I believe you'll find the FINISH is guaranteed for that 20 years. Most standing seam roofs use hidden 'clips' to hold them down.

Be informed about putting metal roofing down over flammable materials. Some insurance agencies will cancel your homeowner's if you do.

Also, as already posted, even if it IS allowed, you'll still want the old materials to have proper airflow to them.

I've put steel on both my houses and all my barns. Nice thing about it is, it sheds snow really well - and that's a big plus where I live.

Standing seam can be either with exposed fasteners (usually screws) or hidden. The hidden is more pricey and I'm not sure it's worth it.

In regard to lasting? I've got an 1850 barn with the original standing seam roof still on it. It has to be painted once in awhile, yes. And the seams are soldered which you don't see much anymore. But as far as the steel lasting - if cared for it can virtually last forever. The finish varies, I've seen some peel after 10 years.

You asked about trouble walking on it to clean a chimney? A pitch of 5/12 can still be walked on if it's dry and you're wearing the right shoes or sneakers. Any steeper than that, and you've got problems.

If you're going over asphalt shingles, you need to put down furring strips spaced no more than 24" apart, running the width of the roof.

I like this type of roof, not familiar with all mfr's of same, but you do want to be cognizant of field cutting these materials whereas the finish will be removed and exposed or vulnerable. The mfr should provide you the information on fabrication and installation, outlining what is acceptable and what is not.

I can relate some experience with standing seam roof systems;

10 years ago I was involved in a real large NYS project, one had 25 buildings the other had 10, all used FABRAL standing seam roofing, and they had to adhere to shop fabricated materials from approved shop drawings, the design and construction division of nys office of general services had identified failures of previous standing seam roof installations that were directly attributed to field modifications and fabrication, which violated the finish on the material, causing it to fail prematurely. They had a lot of defective roof systems out there, and re-evaluated their designs based on the problems. They also used W.R. Grace Ice and Water shield under all of the standing seam roofs, not just hips and valleys, the entire roof, it's self healing if a nail or fastener goes through it, still seals back up, all the fabral panels were fabricated to fit at the factory, not in the field. Excellent system, we learned a lot about this kind of roof, this state agency was also run by some top notch people, contrary to what most, ( including myself ) would expect, they did their jobs and there were some very admirable people involved in the design of the buildings.
FABRAL

Site has all kinds of technical information, check out the FAQ section;
FABRAL FAQ

I like steel roofs, as we put them on our house and all the barns when I was growing up. Nearly 50 years later, those roofs still appear to be in good shape and doing their job well. My family has since sold those buildings, but I drive by all the time.

If you have snow, you need to plan for the snow to slide off of a metal roof. That means not leaving anything in the way, since the snow may come off quickly and heavily. I have seen snow berms 12 feet tall under the eaves of the old barn.

Gutters don't work very well on metal roofs, since sliding snow can bring the gutters down. If you have problems with ground water and need to remove roof water from near the house with a gutter system, a metal roof may not be the best choice, unless you can do something on the ground to deal with the melt there.

I also have had the awful experience of sliding off of a metal roof, completely out of control, with no possibility of catching myself. Luckily, I didn't hit anything and it turned out OK. But since then, any time I go up on a metal roof steeper than about 3 in 12, I toss a long rope over the peak and secure the other end very well, to give me something to grab if I find myself sliding. Sliding can happen under dry conditions, but it is much, much worse if the painted surface is wet or icy. Galvanized is a little less slippery, but not much. If you are moving around on the roof, you need to take the rope with you at all times. Sliding out of control is very scary!

I have no experience with standing seam roofs, but they look very good, with all the fasteners hidden. Our first metal roofs were corregated galvanized sheets, that we fastened with galvanized nails. The later ones were the 4 rib sheets, that we screwed on. The screwed on roofs have not required any work at all. The nailed on roofs have had some of the nails replaced with screws as they came loose. I will never nail on another metal roof. The screws work much better, even if it is slower and more expensive to do.

Chimneys and vents through metal roofs should be protected so that sliding snow will not damage them. It is easiest if the penetrations are at or near the peak. If you talk to a contractor that does not address what he will do with penetrations, I would look for another contractor.

Good luck, a well applied metal roof should last a very long time.