Metal Roofing

I apologize in advance if I offend anyone,but I am happy to say that the volume of pole barn/craplap metal roofing being installed on homes in my area is going down.The last couple years our company has really been trying to educate customers on the differences in concealed fastener versus exposed fastener metal roof systems,and I believe it is finally paying off.

That stuff is not the ag panels they re talking about!

The AG panel has smaller ribs 9 inch apart with 2 or 3 styrations to strength the panel in between the ribs.

The R panel is 26 and 24 gauge it is not available in 29 gauge, the ag panels profile allows for the lighter gauge. I have 29 gauge Galvalume roofs that over 25 years old and still looking good and servicing the customer. When I sell exposed fastener systems I always quote 26 and 29 inform the customer which is thicker and they decide which to choose. I give a ten year labor warranty on my installations and have for years.

Here that is called an R panel Mike. 5V is different.

I use the term EF to describe the whole category of exposed fastener panels: AG, 5V, R panels...whatever else is out there with Exposed Fasteners.

Typically the cheapest option is a 29 ga. or thinner (see Menards) Ag panel. Most modern Ag panels have their ribs 9"o.c. They're only 5/8" high I think. I used 26 ga. Ag panels for the siding on my new pole barn.

I installed 3 26 ga. R panel EF jobs last year. Ribs are 12" o.c.

I am thinking of putting a Snap Lock panel on my house next year. A snap Lock panel is NOT "standing seam" btw

Lefty: What was the configuration of your shop's metal roof that lasted 35 years? 29 gauge, washer head screws in the flats or ribs, on purlins?

Anybody care to comment why we don't just replace the purlins on the old wood shake roofs and install a great energy star rated roof, instead we plywood them and install asphalt shingles?

Wow! Mike, it is what you said! It is called "pole barn metal" AG as in "agriculture" metal, corrugated metal, and probably some things I can't write down. It is light, durable and great if you are working on a straight gable roof. A bit more difficult on a hip and a lot tougher on a cut up valley/hip roof. Details!!

To cut the costs, as Clover said, they are making it lighter and thinner all the time. It is attached with screws or ring shank nails, normally with rubber washers. they deteriorate in the sun and in about 15 or 20 years, you see people up on them caulking all of the nail heads. The thinner the metal, the more they kink when walked on and the more people have to get on them to caulk. It become a vicious cycle.

We use 29 gauge metal over here. You look at it too hard and it dents. It's also common practice to screw 1x3 purlins through the shingles and decking into the rafters.

I'm hoping to build a house in a few years, and I'm thinking about building without plywood just to see how it goes. I don't know of a single place that is setup like that around here. We have a lot of old wood shake roofs over purlins that usually have 3-5 layers of asphalt shingles on them, and I've wondered what the outcome would be of just installing purlins to the rafters and putting metal over that. If ventilation was done correctly, it should work right?

And a bit of info for you from the USA, you can install asphalt shingles over purlins.:laugh: I have a 3-layer tearoff coming up where they didn't re-sheet after tearing off the shakes. My mother-in-laws house was like that too. Makes our job easier.

I call it pole barn metal. My biggest problems are how thin it is, the weakness in it's details, and how cheaply most guys install it.

Thickness: At least it's cheap.

Weak details: There is almost nothing you can't make work, but it probably won't go the distance, and it might not be appealing to the eye.

Cheap installers: I charge more than I do for shingles because it takes us longer to install purlins and metal compared to tearing off and replacing shingles. Most of the time anyways. Maybe we are too slow or worrying too much about the wrong things. If it's straight running, that's a bit different. We also normally bend our own gable trim.

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard "isn't metal cheaper than shingles" I'd have enough to buy dinner at red lobster.

There is nothing wrong with that style roofing. Is there a better metal roof? Sure. Can every customer afford that? No

35 years ago, I put that crap roofing on my office. Lasted till today when I am taking it off only because I am putting solar shingles on.

I am taking off a perfectly good crap metal roofing system, that would last another 35 years. LOL Probably outlast the solar shingle roofing I am putting on. LOL