Roofing questions.....
 

I posted on here a while back about putting a new roof on my house and that I was going to put metal over existing asphalt shingles and do the job myself.

I've since had a change of heart and am now planning on removing the old shingles and either going with metal or asphalt shingles just like the existing ones....3 tab version.

Was talking to my brother today and he was urging me to consider architectural asphalt shingles vs. 3 tab, due to their durability.

I have not priced the materials yet, so not sure what we are looking at. I'm inclined to go metal just because I like the appearance.

We use gavalume here and it holds up well, even along the coast. Maybe a 50 year shelf life (?)

I have no plans to ever sell and move somewhere else - but you never know. And what's driving my thought process more than anything is what the metal roof will do for both marketability plus resale value, should I ever decide to sell. Even though by default, my location alone should do what's needed.

If I go metal, I would even consider something like blue or green or (?)

Anyway...just looking for opinions from the pelican trust on what they prefer and has worked for them.

I only have about 3,300 S.F and a very simple open gable roof, as illustrated below. Low slope and single story.

Thanks for any input!

https://i1.wp.com/www.roofingcalc.co...gram.png?ssl=1

I am just finishing up the roof of my daughter's playhouse using 3 tab shingles and replacing the leaky cedar shakes. We have a new granddaughter so the playhouse will be needed fairly soon. Our house was done with the architectural shingles about five years ago and they are supposed to be 30 years plus. Having said that the previous 25 year ones have come and gone so if you go these kind of shingles then the architectural ones with the longer life are the best?

I found the three tab shingles are easy to work with and I would think that architectural ones are easy too.

Metal roof? I have always wanted a metal roof as they are long lasting and I like to hear the rain hitting the metal roof. Having said that if you need to get on the roof for whatever reason I would imagine it would be super slippery. Regular tar shingles on the roof make for easy walking on the roof when I clean the eavestrough out. Hopefully somebody else will chime in with some ideas.

Cheers, Guy

Thanks, Guy. Appreciate the insights!

I have to shingle my garage, the back shed and my other house in the country.

I'm going with metal for all three.

The garage was re-shingled 17 years ago with 3 tab shingles. I increased the insulation and the heat cooked the shingles.

The other house was re-shingled with 3 tab shingles 15 years ago and the sun cooked the shingles (they were 25 yr ones).

The back shed is rolled roofing that is past it's end of life.

I believe global warming had something to due to my failure of the two roofs. Each had 3 tab from two different manufacture's so I'm not sure how the 30 or 35 years shingles will hold up any better.

With the steel roof I won't have to worry about it for longer than I will be alive. Each manufacture has different ways of installing it so read/watch their videos.

How many metal roofs (percentage wise) came off or were damaged in the last few rounds of hurricanes? I'm 60+ miles from either coast but down where you are storm survival would influence my choice heavily.

In 2002 I had a 3-tab roof replaced by architectural shingles on a house in downtown Orlando, two years later that roof was subjected to Hurricanes Charley, Jeanne and Francis with no damage... Roofing nails were used instead of staples (although I think the rule on that changed after Andrew) and nothing hit it.

In 2015, we had an older architectural shingle roof replaced by gavalume sheetmetal on a house on Tampa Bay. We've since sold the house but it made it through a few tropical storms beforehand.

I liked the look of the galvalume as it seemed "beachy" on our stilt house. I had been told to expect 2X-3X the price of shingles but it was only 1.5X, so the cost trade seemed worth it. This was on ~2000 square feet spread over two buildings with an inter-connecting porch. Semi-hipped roof. Cost IIRC was ~$15k. The warranty was longer than shingle but oddly the finish, not the material is the driver for warranty length on the galvalume. Ours was just clear galvalume... not a color.

Stripping is a good idea, and it gives you the opportunity to check out your sheathing and either repair and refasten it with ring shank nails or go over it with additional sheathing. You want a roof that will support the fasteners that hold on the roofing material.

I have been known to cover whole roofs with Ice and Water Shield products, if the price seems reasonable. This can be considered good practice in areas where you might see part of your roofing blow off, as you will still have a roof membrane under everything else.

Use a nail that goes completely through the sheathing if you do shingles, and use plenty of clips and or screws if you go metal. Definitely go with an architectural shingle if you go that route, but consider that no one has ever regretted going with a metal roof if it was done right.

The metal roof on my house was put on before 1900. I coated it once. I built my shop less than 20 years ago. I will be redoing the shingles within 10 years.

Baz on our retirement house there was one layer of standard 3 tab shingles when we bought it last year . We had no leaks and the shingles were laying flat ( not curled ) . I wanted to replace and wanted metal . Had a local metal roof manufacturer come out and give a quote . They recommended to leave the shingles on as an extra layer of protection , this also helped with the overall price . The installers went with a membrane over the shingles which adds another layer of protection AND protects the back of the metal panels from the grains on the shingles .

Install went perfect and we have had many aggressive rain storms and no issues to date . Went with a light gray which helps with heat build up . Full length ridge vents just like what was on the house before . I'm 60 years old and I figure this is the last roof I will have to deal with :D . Also have a metal roof on the pole barn/man cave/two car detached garage . I just like the way they look/perform and in our country setting it adds to the look of the house . Another benefit for me is we have lots of woods/forest around us and IF we ever get raging wild fires a metal roof is more forgiving in regards to igniting . Like anything else a good install makes or breaks the job .

Price out Architectural vs. Metal, the price difference is minimal.

I went metal and plain old silver for three reasons. Metal is more durable, I want to say it is a 30 year roof, Metal IMHO will fare better in a hurricane and finally Lighter the color = less heat sink.


+1 for stripping it down to bare wood. There is a newer rubber underlay that adheres to the wood deck and seals when the nails or screws that go through it.

When I did my roof we knew we had press board for decking, we paid extra to have 5/8 ply decked over it. Something else to consider.


Finally, if you have an older house there is a good change the roof is not tied to the walls to current codes, with the roof ripped off this is a perfect time to retrofit the proper ties (name is escaping me at moment) to the walls.

Hurricane straps.

white is way cooler then colors for heat loading on a roof

the older style T&G planks is way stronger then ply sheets
and particle/press board is a disaster waiting to happen

bahama style 3 layer ply screwed and glued is the best roof in hurricanes
metal second then barrel tile

over hanging open porches are a roof killer in hurricanes as they are a lever for the wind to ripoff the roof

I learn the above after ANDREW'S north eyewall came thru in 92

We put metal on our outside garage/shed and regular shingles on the house. The metal isn't too bad to walk on when dry if you have decent shoes. When wet it gets slick so be careful there. The metal I did myself and it was pretty straight forward but the shingles got hired out. We bought a metal blade for the circular saw and it helped a ton making trimming easier but we did metal siding at the same time. Where you are you dan't have to worry about ice and snow and dams on metal.

Baz, What look do you prefer metal or shingle? You mentioned liking the metal roof appearance. If you are fine with the appearance of shingles or tile, it's worth looking at Stone Coated Steel. We replaced cedar shake with Stone Coated Steel about 12 years ago. Roof has a 50 year transferable warranty. Basically steel panels stamped to look like architectural shake & coated with stone about 2mm in diameter. They also carry products that look like tile. The bottom of the panels have a low emissivity coating to thermally decouple the metal shingles from the base felt. Typically installed over wood battens to provide some dead air space. Some R factor benefit. Dade county rated to 125 MPG wind resistance, and hail resistant. Class A fire rated. We get a 25% discount on hazard insurance because of the roof's resistance to wind, hail & fire. Not cheap, but a really good product. In my neighborhood roofs are about 50/50 concrete tile/stone coated steel. Ours looks like new after 12 years.

I’m noticing a lot of copper colored metal roofs around here lately. I like the look.

Thanks for all the input so far. Very helpful!

I plan to call a local roofing supplier this week to talk about this and will share what they say.

I like the idea of a light grey colored gavalume to help with heat deflection.

Also - what sticks in my mind is a statement I heard on talk radio once about the few big investments we make in life. A roof being one of the few big ones. Sorta frames it in a particular light, huh?

When Irma was threatening to scrape up the coast, trust me, I was sooooo happy I put a metal roof on my house.

It is a solid move.

Thank you, coffee had not kicked in yet this morning. I woke up at 5:30 to pee and could not get back to sleep so I just went into the gym early and I was still foggy when I finally got into the office.

Seriously consider having the hurricane strap retrofit done. I was quoted $1000 to do my house while the roof was off, which makes access much easier from what I understand. Worth it to have a contractor do it.

After the roof is done get a new windstorm mitigation and your insurance will drop.

Hey Baz you live about 45 min south of me. We just recently put a shingle roof on my mothers house and a metal roof on my wife’s commercial building. If you live close to the beach you will need to have all stainless fasteners on the metal roof which will make a huge difference on the price of the roof. Architectural shingle will last longer and aesthetically look better for resale. Also get several quotes as we found they varied greatly.

Quick update - current thinking is to go with Aluminum standing seam panels. Painted white for optimum reflectivity.

I have obtained some more information about suppliers and will talk to them this coming week.

I'm still thinking I will remove all existing shingles down to the wood and start over basically. I'm going to do a small section myself (tear off) just to see how laborous it is.

My roof is very low slope and only 1 story so not a big safety risk. I would do the job in the winter when it's not so hot also.

We'll see.....right now though the aluminum sounds like the best choice given my proximity to the coast.

https://www.englertinc.com/blog/steel-and-aluminum-two-great-metal-roofing-materials-each-have-their-strengths/

Galvalume has been used on commercial buildings for years. I completed several projects with it. Good stuff and will handle anything Florida throws at it IF it is attached properly.