Metal roof questions

Sasquatch · May 02, 2007, 01:40:09 AM

I find myself spending more & more time on this site as I plan my home renovations. I'm beginning to consider knocking the old cinderblock house down & starting over from scratch!

I've noticed that a lot of owner-builder homes discussed here have metal roofs. I believe the Firstday cottages are supplied with metal roofs as well. Even my current home has a metal roof (albeit very cheap and badly damaged), which is a big plus in our fire-prone Socal mountains.

What I'm wondering is this: is there any particular type or make of metal roof kit that is more DIY friendly and/or affordable that folks here know about (or that Firstday uses to supply their kits)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

glenn kangiser · May 02, 2007, 02:03:46 AM

Our local lumber yard supplies it - most probably do. There are several different methods but since location affects availability it may be best to see what is available from your local supplier.

My mom and dad put it on and it was custom cut for their house in Oregon.

I don't know where you are in CA, but Borga in Fowler. CA is a local supplier - maybe not the cheapest.

Any of them can cut to length and supply proper trim and screws.

May 02, 2007, 03:58:11 AM

I found it easy enough, as long as there was no wind whatsoever, to fix the sheets on the trusses myself, using tech screws and a power drill- eight foot long, on a 45 degree pitch, using a step ladder tied to the ridge line to fix the top sections, it went up much faster than I thought it would, but I had to pay to have the ridge capping fitted, on 45 degrees it was just too dangerous.
Not a job for the middle of the day in hot weather, either.

Daddymem · May 02, 2007, 05:14:36 AM

FirstDay cottages currently come with ABC metal roofing roofs: http://www.abcmetalroofing.com/abcroofing/ Their colors also seem to match other metal house items out there such as carports and awnings. Lots and lots and lots of screws. We did one whole side first, then started the ridge cap on the first panel of the other side and attached it as we went along. The hard part was the last one. My buddy lowered himself with a belay, screwing as he came down the roof (he's got a lot of climbing experience).

glenn kangiser · May 02, 2007, 09:32:03 AM

Most of the time I walked on the purlins, then put one sheet on at a time. I also used one of the ladders with 4 folding sections - one folded down over the opposite slope roof - and a forklift platform emergency catcher platform at eave height below.

May 02, 2007, 11:32:37 AM

QuoteMost of the time I walked on the purlins, then put one sheet on at a time. I also used one of the ladders with 4 folding sections - one folded down over the opposite slope roof - and a forklift platform emergency catcher platform at eave height below.

I'm trying to picture that ladder config in my head - not sure I've got it right. But the platform... I savy that just fine! We'll have to see if I can get a forklift when the time comes.

Daddymem - I was thinking of doing something similar to your buddy. Time to put my climbing experience to work for me. Thanks for the info on ABC. I'll be pricing materials in a few weeks - from what I've seen of all the local suppliers, Southern California mark-up is much higher than other areas. I've seen some materials sell for 2x what they do in other states!

I'm in the San Bernardino Mountains, near Big Bear. I'm really hoping the large lodgepole pines on my lot will provide some decent shade. The summers up here keep getting hotter - even at 7000' ft.

Of course, at this time all of this discussion is just "bench racing" of sorts.... the county doesn't seem in any hurry to grant permits these days. Gives me time to plan better!

Thanks, everyone. Great info!

glenn kangiser · May 02, 2007, 11:45:37 AM

The ladder is just the one folded as a scaffold above with only one end folded down and hooked over the ridge to keep it from sliding down - my sheets were about 10 feet. Colored -painted sheeting would require a padded 2x4 or something under the ladder to protect the finish.

Black tape wrapped around the tips of your fingers will prevent your fingernails from scratching the paint as you are clawing and scratching and trying to hang on while sliding off the roof -- hopefully there is a platform below. (I may have been kidding about the last tip).

glenn kangiser · May 02, 2007, 11:50:14 AM

Note that our member, cedarglen is just up the hill from you.

Daddymem · May 02, 2007, 12:59:37 PM

http://schluterhomestead.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
Saturday 09/02/06 (last post)
and
http://schluterhomestead.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html
As you can see we were 100% OSHA certified

May 02, 2007, 03:24:26 PM

Fortunately, OSHA has no jurisdiction over self-employed people, owner builders (with no employees) or owner operators.

It has jurisdiction over employers and can weasel in on some of the above if they are working on a job that has other people employed by leaning on the job contractor.

Union boys turned in a complaint on me because they lost a job to me, and I verified the above at that time.

The OSHA rep said I was correct and liked the way I did business as his dad did it the same way in the past.

Not to say that they don't have a good purpose sometimes. Many times it is rather counterproductive, and I find that most of the accidents - not all - are drug or alcohol on the job related.

So -- looks good to me.

Progress on the place is looking great too.
Thanks for the update, Daddymem.