Roofing matrerial ; a discussion .

[Charles in Aus.]

I have read with interest John in LA's post and responses concerning roofing .

In our street here in suburban South Eastern Australia there is only one house that has a shingled roof , I know of one other within 20km . They are a rarity here .
Both of these are asphalt shingles , many years ago there was one other that had cedar shingles but that was reroofed decades past .

We don't have snow here and rarely if ever does water ice up , I can recall only a few instances during my childhood in the early sixties .
Steel roofs are almost the norm , especially in rural areas , that and terracotta tiles of the Marseille pattern .

I have never understood the popularity of shingles , they do look good without doubt , but seem to need replacement and major maintenance more often than most .
Is it a cultural or historic preference , or do shingles work best in colder , snow prone climates ?
Recently a tree fell on the roof of my hobby farm's house , the sheets of Custom Orb corrugated zincalum roofing that were damaged by the impact were in outstanding condition . I fitted them 31 years ago , they looked new , I used the best of the undamaged pieces to build a new woodshed .

I can't see the logic , besides aesthetics , for using shingles instead of steel sheets am I missing something obvious ?

This post was edited by Charles in Aus. on 09/17/2023 at 03:22 am.

 

[Richard G.]

I am metal all the way Charles.
We get wind, snow, ice and heat here in NW SC and best thing we did for our home and farm buildings was to put metal on them.
No more shingles for me unless they are good metal shingles like the 100 + year old ones I used on my old shop.

 

[brentb]

I live in southeast texas and I live out in the country. We put a metal roof on 20 years ago and have been very happy with it. Before that we
were using shingles and having issues with them blowing off after about 12 years

 

[Tony in SD]

The attraction to asphalt shingles is short term cost. I had asphalt shingles on my house that were hail damaged. I solicited estimates for asphalt shingles and metal roofing. The metal roofing was
about twice as much as the asphalt shingles. I chose the metal roofing. Under normal use, I am confident that I will not need to put another roof on my house the rest of my life. With asphalt
shingles, I would have to replace them 10 to 20 years from now.

 

[Dusty MI]

I have some Lead Head Nails that were used with galvanized steel roofing before the Rubber O-Ring Screws used today

 

[Richard G.]

Used many of those years ago as well as the umbrella head ones.

 

[Keith True]

My dad did roofing all of his life.In the early 60's the Bird shingle rep told him that asphalt shingles became popular after WW2 because of the glut of oil in stockpile when the war ended.Couple that with power plant coal slag there was a dirt cheap material supply to produce a product.I don't know how true it all was,but it was what the rep told him,and it does sound like a reasonable explanation. Like the production of the EZGO golf car came from a couple of guys that got hold of a few thousand B 17 24 volt wing flap motors.A surplus product got them on their feet and rolling.

 

[Stephen Newell]

The asphalt shingles they make today are terrible in hot locations. I put on a roof last fall and I think it was only 90 degrees and mostly shaded yet I had to only work on the roof in early mornings because I was damaging the shingles just walking on them. The old shingles they used to make I don't remember ever damaging them walking on them. The also used to last 30 years or more which would never happen with the new shingles.

 

[RM-MN]

I have metal roofing on a gambrel roof. I don't walk within 10 feet of the house right after a snow. A person could get buried quickly.

 

[redtom]

A few years ago I read an article about all
different things Europeans find odd about
America. One of the things was inferior
quality shingle roofs.

 

[Jeff in ND]

Just had a new asphalt roof put on my house and detached garage. It was about 28yrs old or so and end of life. I had metal quoted and it was probably 3x what the asphalt job ended up at. I am not going to be living here long enough to need to replace it again and the metal unlikely to "pay for itself" with increased sale price of the property.

The new (in 1998) house next door had asphalt roof replaced last year (it didn't look bad yet). Current owners are the 4th ones including the original.

The last comment was to point out folks move frequently and don't want to spend that 3x roof cost that they don't see a benefit for in longevity, me included I guess.

 

[504]

I was thinking about steel,but everytime the wind
blows around here you have to duck for all of the
steel roofing sheets blowing around.I am due for a new
roof now, but I haven't decided what to nail down yet

 

[caterpillar guy]

Steel is the only way to go. Screwed down on at least 3/4 Boards,plywood or chip board(OSB), anything thinner will not hold the screws good enough to keep it on. Screw it on the top of the ribs and you are set to go. The heavier you can get the better also. We get 24 gage steel for roofs with 2or 2.5 inch screws neoprene washes and will be there for decades. I put steel on and will never need to change it in my lifetime. I do beleive the hotter climates would benefit from steel versus the tar shingles almost melting in the sun. Steel would expand a lot also. One of the reasons I would screw it in the top of the rib it would have room to move without damage to the seal of the washer.

 

[Richard G.]

You are exactly right Sir.

 

[Texasmark]

3 years ago I needed a new roof. Steel was certainly an option until I realized that my house is 44 years old and of frame, pier and beam construction, built with the time money I had at the time and I am 82........why should I get steel? I opted for a 30 year with 25 being the minimum available but the shingles are pretty crummy and I bought the better asphalt-glass shingles.......I don't want to outlive this roof!!!!!

 

[hurleyjd]

We had our roof replaced last year. We opted for the best shingle out there a high impact one. Farm Bureau gave us a 20 precent on our roof because of the better shingles. Cost for the roof $4500 above on what Farm Bureau gave us for hail damage and roof replacement.. When we turned in the invoice we got back $1500 for the next few months on the policy and $1800 each year as long as we own the house. The extra cost for the shingles will be paid off very quickly with the reduction of premiums.

 

[showcrop]

Many people put on standing seam metal roofs which will last pretty much indefinitely. Most people put on asphalt shingles. because they last 30 years and are a lot less money than the standing seam. A lot of people put on plain old steel because it is a lot cheaper than asphalt, and they think that they are getting the equivalent to standing seam roof. What was it that PT Barnum said?

 

[john in la]

I pretty much agree with showcrop.

People say a metal roof will last a lifetime.
I say bull at least in my area.
Yes the metal panel may last a lifetime but the roof will not.
To get even close to a lifetime metal roof you need to get no exposed screws.
And then the cost gets to much to justify it.

A regular R panel will leak over time no if ands or buts about it.
If you put the screw in the flat the screw washer will wear out.
And a R panel does not have a big or flat enough rib to install the screw on top the rib properly.

And I do not care what kind of metal roof you have.
Metal sweats in a humid climate.
Nothing you can do about it.

The best roof for my area is slate.
But no one wants to pay for it so asphalt shingles is a tried and proven cheaper alternative.

 

[DanielW]

I'm all for steel. If you put steel on and have to replace it within your lifetime, you've done something wrong. True, if it isn't strapped/vented underneath properly it will sweat into the sheathing. And back in the day there were issues with holes enlarging due to expansion/contraction,
but that hasn't been an issue for 20-30 years. It was the old profiles and thicker steel that caused the issue: It would expand/contract in the heat and the fastener holes would enlarge. Now the steel's a little thinner and the profiles are such that all the expansion/contraction is taken
up between the ribs. It's even better now they've modified the washer profiles a bit and recommend screwing on the flat rather than on the rib. Every house, barn and shed on my road (except one of mine) has steel on it. Every one's at least 30 years old. I haven't heard of any problems from
any of them, and have no reason to suspect any will need to be changed within the next 20-30 years.

We used to see what was mentioned below with panels blowing off in heavy wind, but that was back when they used either lead-shielded nails or the old #8 roofing screws with small, fine threads. No longer an issue with new screws. In fact, they might hold down a little too well sometimes: I
have a friend at work whose barn steel had nails, and he'd lose pieces in heavy winds. He went up and put in a pile of screws to help hold it down. Last summer when we got some crazy wind storms instead of ripping the roof panels off, it took the whole roof instead (rafters, bracing, upper
bent). It would probably have been better to tear some panels off and let the wind through. Now the barn's slated to be demo'd.

My favourite type of roofing, however, is the interlocking aluminum shingles I have on one house. No exposed fasteners and no chance of rust. There was a company that specialized in them near me. They're out of business now unfortunately: There was never a problem with them leaking, but
there was with the colour: Anodizing the shingles would have been too expensive, so they used an aluminum powder-coating and later a paint, neither of which lasted. Within 10 years the colour was running off, and folks were filing class action suits against the company. It doesn't bother
me: Now all the colour's gone from my roof I have bare aluminum, which reflects a lot of sun and keeps my house a lot cooler.

Because I own two shingle mills, I have a soft spot for wood shingles - possibly one of the longest lasting roofs out there (if installed correctly, which it seldom is). Lots of New England cottages have cedar shingles that are 50+ years old. Because everyone here heats with wood however, I
don't sell many for roof jobs - usually I sell them for decorative siding jobs.

 

[dhermesc]

Those lead washer nails don't last that long either. My dad built a machine shed back in the 1950s. 16 on center walls and trusses - all 2X4 construction on a concrete foundation. Surprisingly it had aluminum sheets shaped exactly like conventional corrugated metal roofing. Nailed down with lead washer nails. By the late 70s the roof was a leaking everywhere and the aluminum panels were in pretty rough condition between the cold winters, Kansas thunderstorms and 10 year old kids backing machinery into the shed it was beat - roof and walls. The lead washers were of little sealing strength after 20-30 years of the metal expanding and contracting. They are either as tight as the day they were nailed or they leak - nothing in between. My brother bought the place and pulled the roof off and screwed down conventional metal panels. The aluminum did sell for a fairly high price to offset the cost of the new roof.

The shed I built in 2004 had the walls nailed down and the roof screwed on. As of last week there are still no leaks. The biggest issue I have is the condensation on the bottom sides of the metal roof early in the morning.