Corrugated Metal Roofing
Exposed-fastener metal for outbuildings and agricultural work.
What corrugated metal roofing involves
Corrugated panels screwed through neoprene washers at the pattern the profile calls for.
The economical metal option, and the right one when the building suits it.
What matters on corrugated metal roofing
Movement is the design problem
Metal expands and contracts with temperature across the whole length of a panel. A metal roof that was pinned down rather than allowed to move will oil-can, work its fasteners loose, or tear at a fixing point. The clip and fastener strategy is the engineering.
Where metal earns its keep
At elevation, where snow sits for months, a metal roof sheds load instead of carrying it. That single property is why so much of the high country is metal.
How the system goes together
Intake and exhaust have to match
Attic ventilation is a balance, and most of the failures we find are unbalanced. Ridge vent with the soffit stuffed full of insulation is exhaust with no intake, so the attic pulls its air from the house instead and drags moisture up with it.
How it shows up
Frost on the sheathing in January, a hot attic in July, curling shingles on the upper courses, and an ice dam at the eave that nobody can explain.
Baffles are cheap
Keeping the insulation off the soffit with a proper chute fixes more roofs than most people would believe.
Standing seam versus exposed fastener
Standing seam hides its fasteners under the raised seam, so nothing that holds the panel down is exposed to weather. Corrugated and other exposed-fastener panels screw through the face with a rubber washer at every screw, which costs less up front and means those washers are a maintenance item down the road. Both belong on roofs up here. They just have different lives.
Panel movement decides the detail
Whichever system, the panel has to be free to expand and contract or it will work its own fastener holes open.
What we check
- Panel profile and gauge against the snow load
- Clip spacing and room left for movement
- Underlayment rated for the heat under metal
- Trim at the eaves, rakes and walls
How we approach it
Look first
We get on the roof and read what is actually happening before quoting anything.
Say what we find
Photographs and a plain explanation, including when the answer is that you do not need us yet.
Built in sequence
Crews we hire and run, working the right detail in the right order.
Leave it clean
Magnet over the yard, container gone, walked with you.
Dust storms before the rain
Ahead of a summer cell the wind arrives dry and full of grit off the open ground west of here. That grit gets driven into every horizontal surface on a roof, then the rain lands on top of it and packs it into a paste in the valleys and the gutter seams.
Grit is an abrasive
It grinds at the mat under foot traffic and it holds moisture against metal long after the surface has dried.
So we clear twice a year
Once before summer, once after the leaves are down.
Runoff volume off a steep pitch
When the melt finally comes, a steep roof hands its whole surface to the gutter in a hurry. Pitch does not make water, it concentrates it, and a gutter sized for a gentle slope overshoots on a steep one. The water lands at the foundation instead of going down the leader.
Undersized is the usual answer
Bigger trough, a second downspout, and a deeper gutter apron so the overflow does not run behind the fascia. That is a cheaper fix than a wet basement wall.
Where roofs go wrong
The shortcut we see most
Panels fastened tight at both ends with no allowance for movement. The roof oil-cans in summer, works its fasteners loose over a few seasons, and tears at a fixing point.
What good looks like instead
Clips and fasteners that let the panel move with temperature, and terminations detailed for the expansion the metal will actually see.
Signs worth a look
- Fasteners backing out or their washers cracked
- Panels oil-canning visibly along a run
- Seams opening at a termination
- Rust starting at a cut edge or penetration
What to expect
Lifespan against cost
Metal costs more up front and lasts considerably longer. Whether that is the right trade depends on how long you intend to be in the building, and we will talk through that honestly rather than push the bigger job.
Snow behaviour
Metal sheds snow, which is an advantage at elevation and a hazard over a walkway or a door. Snow retention gets designed in where the building needs it rather than added after somebody gets hit.
Noise and insulation
Over a solid deck with underlayment, a metal roof is not appreciably louder than asphalt. The drumming people remember is metal over open purlins on an outbuilding.
Related work
Metal covers more than one job, and they are not interchangeable. These are the others in the same family, each on its own page.
Questions we get asked
Not the question you had? Call the shop and ask a person. We would rather talk it through than have you guess from a website.
(801) 382-8898Is metal worth the extra over shingles?
It lasts considerably longer and sheds snow well, which matters at elevation. Whether that pays back depends on how long you plan to be in the house.
Is a metal roof loud in the rain?
Not over a solid deck with underlayment, which is how we install it. The noise people remember is metal over open purlins on a barn.
Do metal roofs dent from hail?
Heavier gauges resist it well. Any metal can mark in severe hail, but a dent in a panel is cosmetic in a way that a bruised shingle is not.
How do I know when a roof is getting close?
Granules collecting in the gutters, tabs lifting or curling at the edges, shingles that look bare in patches, and daylight or staining in the attic. Any of those is worth a look.
How long does a roof replacement take?
Most houses in this valley are a one to two day job once the crew is on site. Steeper pitches, multiple layers to strip and complicated roofs with a lot of valleys take longer, and we tell you which yours is before we start.
What happens if you find bad decking?
We show you. The decking is only visible during a tear-off, so that is when soft sheathing gets found and replaced. We photograph it rather than just add it to a list.
Ask about corrugated metal roofing
Call (801) 382-8898 or send a note. We will look at the roof and tell you straight what it needs.