One of the biggest challenges in home renovations—and building in general—is the weather. With seemingly never-ending rain forecasts and sulky gray clouds constantly loitering overhead, it’s apparent that our weekend efforts to make progress on the farmhouse won’t always coincide with favorable weather. To speed up renovation and take full advantage of days when the sun decides to shine, my father-in-law enlisted help from family and friends to get the roof sheeted, felted and covered with metal while my husband and I were away working during the week.
When roofing a house, it’s not always necessary to put sheeting below the metal, but my husband and I opted to go this route in case we decided to switch to another roofing material later. It’ll also serve as an extra layer of insulation. Using a backhoe loader, the guys hoisted sheets up to the roof and secured them in place.
The team, with our help on the weekends, managed to get the roof sheeted and felted before the ever-present Doom’s Day clouds finally unleashed their fury, pelting the house with torrential rains and even some hail. But that wasn’t the worst of it: Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph peeled the stapled felting right off the roof and sent it flying into nearby trees and the neighbors’ field.
Down but not completely out, we waited out the weather to reapply the felt, when confident in our timing and ability to get the metal on—roofing felt might not be the most expensive material we’ve purchased for this project, but that doesn’t mean I like buying it to decorate the trees and grass.
Vertical seam panel is one of the most cost-effective and common types of residential metal roofing, and our roof of choice. It comes in two main styles: thru-fastened (aka 5-V) and standing seam. We chose 5-V, as it’s used extensively in the Southeast. (It also happened to be the same style and color of the horse shelter’s roof … bonus!)
To minimize the chances for leaks, we chose a ridge vent system, which allows air flow to the attic by suspending the metal just above the roof’s peak. Traditional venting systems would have required us to cut through the metal and sheeting to install vent caps. Because any opening in the roof has the potential to leak, we opted for a system with minimal access points. I also think the ridge ventilation makes for a pretty roofline, but that’s me.
Photo by Stephanie Staton The tree isn’t quite where I wanted my roof to end up, but the weather had different plans. |
I’d like to assure you that securing the metal was the least of our roofing issues, but I probably shouldn’t lead you to believe it was that simple. We got the metal sheets in place but weren’t quit able to finish the edging before another nasty storm blew through and bent a piece of not-quite-completed edging on the front of the house into a snarled mess.
I might need to have a chat with the weatherman before this project is all said and done …
