Archive for the ‘Standing seam tin roof’ Category

Charcoal Timberline shingle roof with standing seam copper porch

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

There are many houses in Arlington and Alexandria that are virtually identical to this one, most were built  50 to 70 years ago; this house was probably on its third or fourth roof. As you can see, the existing light gray shingles are old and worn and are at the end of their life. The Owner of this house will soon outgrow it, so it was important to install a new roof that will protect the property but will also add some curb appeal when the day comes to sell it and move on.

Click on any picture to enlarge:

Shingle roof in need of replacement

Here you can see the pitted and cracked shingles from the side porch.

deteriorated roof shingles

First: Off with the old roof; once the old shingles are removed we inspect the roof deck for rotted or split boards.  Generally these houses are really solid, most of them have old growth 1×6 pine or sometime oak roof decks; the density of the boards resists rot even when the roof is neglected for years. This house needed a few deck boards replaced because of cracking and a little warping; so far these boards have had at least 18,000 roofing nails driven in and pulled out of them and they look like they can take 18,000 more.

old roof removed

When replacing a roof we have to act as if it’s going to rain any minute-even with bright blue skies, we work quickly to cover the house from rain. That’s why we focused on the main house roof first before working on the lower porch roofs.

new Charcoal Timberline shingle roof

The main house is covered first

Once the main house was waterproof I started on the lower porch, to add some curb appeal the Owner opted for a standing seam copper roof on the small front porch. When installing an accent roof like this symmetry and scale are of the utmost importance. I made these 16 oz copper panels in the shop, they divide the roof into five equal segments; if you look around you’ll see metal roofs that were installed from one end of the house to the other, without evenly dividing the roof you wind up with a full size panel on the left and a little skinny panel on the right. Asymmetrical layout can look ridiculous or it can be just a little off , bothering anyone looking at it-even if they don’t know why.

To keep the roof as compact and graceful as possible I turned the standing seam panels up the wall in one continuous seam, the technique takes time and practice but it looks perfect. The panel is never cut into, I fold pleats into the copper and then double lock the seams for a completely waterproof joint that requires no sealant or solder; its taken years to perfect this technique and no I won’t show you how to do it.

wall detail standing seam copper roof

Double folded upstand in standing seam copper roof

At the end of one very long day we have a finished beautiful roof.

charcoal Timberline shingle with copper flashing and standing seam copper roof

Charcoal Timberline shingles with a new standing seam copper roof

standing seam copper roof and shingle roof

Timberline Charcoal with Standing seam copper roof front porch

If you have a house that needs a new roof or a boost in curb appeal give me a call; I’m sure we can figure something out.

PS: Check out Thumbtack, you can find all sorts of businesses there. You can read reviews and find just what you are looking for:
Roof repair and replacement

Thanks for reading,

Tom

703-299-8888

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Posted in Alexandria VA roof repair, Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Arlington VA roof repair, McLean VA roofing contractor, Northern VA roof repair, Roof leak alexandria, Standing seam copper roof, Standing seam tin roof, VA roof repair, VA roofing, Virginia roofing contractor, arlington VA roofing contractor, metal roofing, northern va roofing, roofing contractor northern virginia, standing seam | No Comments »

From metal to membrane- low slope roof replacement

Monday, March 7th, 2011

This is standing seam tin roof, probably around 40 years old.  During high winds the eave edge of the roof was peeled back and flipped over on itself; the owner did his best to push it back and laid bricks across it to hold it down. When the panels flipped over it split the metal along the seams, there was really no repair option, the roof needed to be replaced.

The majority of the roof is a charcoal asphalt shingle, this area was the only one with metal. This portion of the roof has a very low slope, too low to replace the metal roof with shingles. This area is also invisible from the ground so there really wasn’t any reason to install another metal roof. My client chose TPO membrane, TPO is a bright white material that will perform perfectly in this application.

The pictures below will take you step by step through the job, click on any to enlarge.

wind damaged metal roof

We removed all of the old metal roofing and found that the roof decking was all in great shape. The panels you see being laid out is 1″ thick polyisocyanurate rigid insulation board; it has two functions, first it protects the roofing membrane from the rough bumpy roof deck and it also provides good R-value.

polyisocyanurate insulation board

We fastened the insulation board with plates and screws, the round silver plates act almost like washers, giving more surface area for the center screw to clamp the insulation tightly to the roof.

fastening iso board

insulation being fastened to the roof deck

TPO membrane comes in a variety of widths to suit most common applications. To keep seams to a minimum we chose a 10′ x 100′ roll of TPO; it is secured to the roof with screw and seam plates; these are smaller than the insulation plates but perform the exact same function.

TPO roofing

TPO membrane being fastened to the roof

The second course of TPO is installed  and the overlap is welded with a hot air welder; once welded the seam is as strong as the field of the membrane. This seam requires no glue, no caulk or sealant and no maintenance.

single seam in TPO roof

The one and only seam in the roof

The edges of the roof are secured with drip edge, it’s an L shaped piece of painted aluminum that waterproofs the roof edge and secures the membrane at the perimeter. You can also see a TPO pipe flashing installed and welded to the membrane.

Drip edge and TPO pipe flashing

TPO pipe boot and drip edge

After the drip edge is installed we cover the fasteners with white TPO cover flashing. This entire roof system is designed to overlap and enclose all exposed fasteners, this will make a roof virtually maintenance free.

We use matching shingle ridge caps at the peak of the roof, this will look perfect from the street.

All done; this roof will provide good service for a least 20 years with minimal maintenance from the owner. The bright white membrane surface and insulation board will also keep the upper floor cooler in the summer and a little bit warmer in the winter.

TPO roof

TPO roof

completed TPO roof

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Posted in Alexandria VA roof repair, Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Arlington VA roof repair, McLean VA roofing contractor, Northern VA roof repair, Roof leak alexandria, Standing seam tin roof, VA roof repair, VA roofing, arlington VA roofing contractor, metal roofing, northern va roofing, roofing | No Comments »

Standing Seam Copper Roof

Friday, September 10th, 2010

This is a covered porch on the rear of a house we completely re roofed a few years ago. The structure was built by Harry Braswell, Inc. and is designed to give the owner some covered outdoor space.

The main house roof is covered with GAF Timberline asphalt shingles in Charcoal with a few lower accent roofs in standing seam copper; keeping with the same scheme, copper became the obvious choice for the new porch.

Copper roof layout One very important note here; you’ll notice that the rosin paper and felt are secured with copper nails; I have seen many jobs where the underlayment was installed with steel nails, cap nails or even staples. Using anything but copper nails will lead to a failure; copper is soft, steel nails and staples will eventually wear through the copper panels as the panels expand and contract over the nail heads and staple crowns. If you are considering installing a metal roof ask your contractor how he installs his felt and paper, if he says staples or cap nails you should find another roofer.

The black paper is 30# asphalt felt, it provides temporary waterproofing if it happens to rain before the job is finished; the pink paper you see is Red Rosin Paper, its job is to isolate the copper panels from the asphalt felt. I could write pages about why copper needs to be kept away from felt paper but I’ll save that for another post.

standing seam copper roof eave detail As the panels are laid out across the roof they are locked to each other and then are folded over the copper drip edge at the eave edge of the roof. This curved eave end detail you see here is virtually unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Although this detail is barely visible from the ground I think it adds a “hidden jewel” aspect to the job.

“Can you show me how to do it??” Sadly, no; the only two people I’m teaching this to are currently in Kindergarten and Pre-School, and they are going to have to wait at least 12 more years to learn it.

Snow guards on standing seam copper roof After the eaves and seams are completed we installed new snow guards. These bronze guards clamp onto the standing seams and keep ice and snow from sliding off the roof in large sheets. There are many different designs for this purpose, guards can be casted to look like eagles, pineapples, fleur de lis, and clovers.

Copper gutter and standing seam copper roof And finally a copper gutter to carry the rainwater away.

If your house needs a hidden (or not so hidden) jewel you should call me, I’ll be happy to help.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Arlington VA roof repair, Northern VA roof repair, Standing seam copper roof, Standing seam tin roof, VA roof repair, VA roofing, Virginia roofing contractor, arlington VA roofing contractor, falls church roofing contractor, metal roofing, northern va roofing, sheet metal, snow guards, standing seam | No Comments »

Standing Seam Terne Metal Roof

Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Standing seam roof to shingle roof

Standing seam roof to shingle roof

This is TCS II; it has a core of stainless steel with a zinc/tin overlay. Look at a dime; copper in the middle and shiny nickel/chromium on the outside; TCSII is bonded and laminated in very much the same way.

Why laminate the stainless you ask? Well, stainless steel stays bright and shiny forever, thats not the look most architects are looking for. The zinc overlay on the stainless core starts out shiny and then develops a patina; a light gray color. By marrying these two metals together you get the best of both worlds; you get the longevity of stainless steel and the beauty of zinc.

TCSII standing seam roof

TCSII standing seam roof

TCSII is one of the most durable metal roofing products available in the world, during corrosion tests it has surpassed all other metal roofs; even copper.

TCSII skylight flashings

TCSII skylight flashings

Because it lasts virtually forever, TCSII demands precision, all the flashings and transitions must be mechanically sealed; that means that all overlapping pieces of metal are folded over twice to make a waterproof  joint.  Caulk and sealant will only last a few years, so any detail that relies on it will fail long before the roof is ready to give up.

There isn’t one drop of caulk on this entire roof.

The shingles you see on the other areas are GAF Timberline Weathered Wood; great shingles.

The zinc coating over the stainless will form a patina in about a year; the final patina will be an even cloudy gray. The panels are shipped with a light protective varnish; the blotches you see are places where my knees and tools have worn  the varnish off’; these spots will disappear in a month or so.

If you would like to learn more give me a call or you can visit http://www.follansbeeroofing.com/products/TCSII.aspx

Follansbee TCSII standing seam roof

Standing seam metal roof with skylights

Follansbee TCSII standing seam roof

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Posted in Alexandria VA roofing contractor, Standing seam tin roof, Virginia roofing contractor, arlington VA roofing contractor, flat seam roofing, northern va roofing | 1 Comment »