Steel or shingle?

tinkerin · August 31, 2006, 11:02:10 AM

I realize this question may not be exactly the perfect fit to this forum, but having perused this board for some time now, I can't think of a better place to ask it. The wisdom and knowledge here is fantastic. So here goes.

I'm getting ready to have a small cabin built here in Central Pennsylvania. It will be on a pretty heavily wooded site so will spend much of the day in shade. I like the appearance of the metal roofs that are becoming so prevalant on cabins, however I really don't know the pros and cons of steel vs. shingle.

This will be a frame cabin vs. log >:(, with cedar siding, with a 10/12 roof pitch. Footprint is 28 x 39. The interior ceilings will be tongue and groove pine. This will be a seasonal usage cabin.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you have on this subject. I don't know enough to know what questions to ask.

leweee · August 31, 2006, 11:39:21 AM

Welcome to the Forum tinkerin

IMHO I would go with steel....lasts a life time & goes on fast.
Shingles get mossy in the shade & take more labour to install.

Just my 1.5 cents Canadian though ;D

bedway · August 31, 2006, 11:57:52 AM

i agree with leweee,,go with the steel. the abundance of shade will invite mold etc. on a shingle roof.

Stephen1 · August 31, 2006, 12:27:23 PM

Steel & Cedar shingle will cost about the same for good quality material. I liked the cedar shingle but but realized my volunteer crew was running out of steam to install it.(very labour intensive) So I have chosen steel which will install in a day and last as long as the cedar :-\

Shotgun · August 31, 2006, 01:50:29 PM

tinkerin,

I imagine that you were referring to asphalt shingles rather than cedar. Anyway I suggest that you go with the steel. Have that on my camp, as do many, many others in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just got back from my place. Had a great time. You'll really enjoy it too. Good luck. 8)

Norm

isawlogs · August 31, 2006, 05:50:09 PM

I went with steel on my camps , I also made the eaves wider ( 24" ) so that the snow coming off the roof dose not pile up agaist the building , come spring time it has a chance of melting and keeping away from the siding .

Patty · August 31, 2006, 06:08:59 PM

My vote is for the steel also. Zero upkeep and they look great. 8) I was gonna mention to make the eves extra wide because of snow sliding off the roof, but I see Marcel beat me to it. It is still good advice.

Welcome to the forum!

Tom · August 31, 2006, 06:21:20 PM

We don't worry about the snow dripping off of the eves down here, but we used to make wide eaves to keep the sun off of the side of the house. Now the gubbinant 'ficials have decided that you should not have any eave at all. They say that it's only good for uplift in a hurricane.

Don't know where they came from, but I wish they would go back.

mike_van · August 31, 2006, 06:25:23 PM

I like the metal too, if it's an easy gable roof. If you have dormers, hips & valley's, you'll need to be a good sheetmetal man, or your going to have leaks, last thing you want on a new roof. It goes up fast, i've done 18 footers alone, a longer run, you'll need some help. One barn I did was 22 ft., I bought 12' and 11' sheets, overlaped a ft., never leaked yet -

exssnelt · August 31, 2006, 06:45:08 PM

I agree with what has already been stated. Another bonus is fire resistance since the area will be wooded. In Maryland and West Virginia some insurance companies will give you a break for a metal roof.

tinkerin · August 31, 2006, 08:24:35 PM

Thanks for all the Welcomes. This forum sure has terrific members. I greatly appreciate all the input. The consensus is clear.

A steel roof it will be. Great advice on the eaves. I would never have thought of that. We'll only have to do that on one side as the other side will have a shed roof over a screened-in deck, which is over a walkout basement. Any snowdrop on that side will be 12 feet away from the foundation.

The only other 'complication' to the roof will be the woodburner flu and various vent pipes. Hopefully that will all be standard fare for the builder. And yep, I was talking about asphalt shingles- I was not clear in my original post

I will look forward to more input on this subject, and any other advice anyone wants to toss my way

.

jus' tinkerin

scsmith42 · August 31, 2006, 08:33:09 PM

Tinkerin - welcome to the forum.

I too vote for steel. Try to stay away from the kind that installs with screws or nails through the steel - eventually it will leak. The standing seam is a much more leak resistant.

Scott

thecfarm · August 31, 2006, 08:38:10 PM

Welcome to the forum.Just like everyone is saying,steel.I hate to see a home that has moss growing on the roof.Not good.

beenthere · August 31, 2006, 11:00:37 PM

Put a galvanize or copper strip exposed at the ridge under the top shingle row and you shouldn't have the problem with moss on the roof.

You can see such an effect from galvanized tin on old barns that have tin cupalos or vents along the ridge, and see the shingles below them are free of moss and mildew.

Same with horizontal siding. Put a strip of copper just slightly exposed every 4-5 rows and it will keep the mildew off (some of the metal washes off each rain). Likely work well with log cabins too, to keep the logs free of mildew.
(Then hope no one steels the copper).

Faron · August 31, 2006, 11:32:22 PM

Scott is right about the standing seam being a better roof, but around here at least, it is awfully expensive. If I were putting on a regular roof, I'd sure use screws instead of nails. After going through a tornado in my new building, I can see the point of having no overhang as far as wind is concerned. Ours has no overhang, and I can envision having lots more damage if it had one. I still like the looks of the overhang, though.

rebocardo · September 01, 2006, 12:07:02 AM

I vote steel too. Though there is one drawback, if you are in the shade of a large white oak, the acorn drops can keep you awake because they sound like a constant hail storm 24x7 for at least a month and when the dead branches hit the roof they can make quite an impact.

DanG · September 01, 2006, 12:28:15 AM

Welcome to the Forum, Tinkerin! Sounds like you already discovered the value in this place. ;) Stick around and tell us more about your project. We like pics. ;D

I'm going with steel on the new house. I figger in 20 years, about the time shingles will be curling up and blowing away, I'll be 80 years old and won't likely feel like walking on a 12/12 roof too much. :

jack · September 01, 2006, 12:46:32 AM

Steel is nice,,,but NOISY.....i just bought a pallet of 50 sheets of a corrogated fiberboard, 40yr life..
Lowes had a pallet that was slightly damaged. got it for under 1/2 price. the edge had a 1/8th inch nick that ran down the whole edge of the pallet. not visible when installed and not a bother in anyway. Im putting it on a small cabin.
I look forward to the thick material and the quiet.
Jack
Welcome to the FF.

Patty · September 01, 2006, 07:45:03 AM

Yes, steel can be noisy if you don't insulate. Our office is in a steel building. When it rains the unfinished side sounds like there is a terrfic hail storm outside, but on the finished and insulated side, you hardly hear the rain at all.

We finished the ceilings with drywall, and then shot loose insulation in above. The thicker you insulate the warmer and quieter it is.

Minnesota_boy · September 01, 2006, 10:01:52 AM

Quote from: Tom on August 31, 2006, 06:21:20 PM
We don't worry about the snow dripping off of the eves down here, but we used to make wide eaves to keep the sun off of the side of the house. Now the gubbinant 'ficials have decided that you should not have any eave at all. They say that it's only good for uplift in a hurricane.

Don't know where they came from, but I wish they would go back.

Those gubbinant 'ficials only see the once in a decade event and plan for that only. They don't stop to think that the sun shines on the wall nearly every day while the hurricane that would possibly lift the roof may only come once in a lifetime. If I feel like I want a roof with a wide overhang, I don't see what business it is of the gubbinant 'ficial. >:(

tinkerin · September 01, 2006, 12:23:27 PM

I was wondering about the noise factor. At this point, I am planning to use blown insulation between the TNG ceiling and steel. Hopefully that helps a bit. Realistically, at least for a number of years I won't be there all that many days a year so the noise may not be that much of an aggravation. Of course, we have named this place "Camp Scattered". That's because anytime the weather forecast for the area calls for scattered showers, they really mean "tinkerin, look up, the only rain in 30 miles is right over your head".

I shall be making inquires on the standing seam style roof and see what the cost factor is around here.

If I did this right, there are two pictures on the post. One is of the current state of the ground and the other of a cabin some miles away that in fact looks very much as ours will when completed. Per DanG's request I will try to upload to the gallery as well and keep it up as we go along this fall. <Clearly I'm not doing this right. I studied the DanG's page on how to do this, but no joy- I'll keep working on that though :P>

(Any Pennsylvanians here that would be interested in the 75-100 trees that I've got to cut in the next couple of weeks? Mostly red oak I believe. 6-9 inch diameter mostly, with a few bigger ones. I have a couple of pictures that show those better. I hate to turn it all to firewood if there is a nobler use for them)

Again, I surely appreciate all the input. Thank you.

mike_van · September 01, 2006, 12:31:06 PM

6 - 9 inch red oak is like the perfect firewood size tinkerin - On that roof, if your going to have it fastened to plywood, and blow insulation in, make sure it can vent somehow. Mine are all on 2x4 purlins, open to the inside in the barns, they are noisey when it's raining hard. If you insulate, have air space etc, I don't think the noise will bother.

pigman · September 01, 2006, 12:54:44 PM

Your cabin is going to look just like this cabin of mine. :D Just kidding, I stole your picture from your gallery.
Sounds like you are going to have a fun project.
Bob

tinkerin · September 01, 2006, 01:30:03 PM

Hey Pigman thanks for posting that for me. I did manage to get a couple of pics to the gallery, but they are so small one can hardly see any detail. I'll keep pluggin' away though.

My son will be of driving age in a year. I've been trying to tell him that at the going rate of camp firewood out there ($3.00 for approx 1 and 1/2 pieces of 9" dia x 16" L quartered) that he can rent a splitter and make enough next summer to buy a car. I get the "what planet are you from?" look :

. I was hand tending, harvesting and selling an acre of vegetables at that age to make money. Firewood is pretty easy by comparison!

Hmmm... just talked to a fellow while posting this who said they are getting $200.00/face cord, stacked, here in the 'burbs. A face cord! Darn, that's real money!

thecfarm · September 01, 2006, 08:02:20 PM

I went and looked too,but I didn't steal a picture.

You got the hard part done.Now it should be easy to put a picture in here.We will all look forward to it.If you are having trouble,somebody will help you.