Metal roofs are a favorite with log home owners

(From Log Home Living magazine - March 2010)

TRADITIONALISTS POINT TO METAL ROOFS almost as a requirement for a log home. And yet they're a manufactured material not a natural one like cedar shakes. Plus, if you've ever driven through farm country where metal roofs are the standard for barns and outbuildings their rustiness would give anyone second thoughts about putting one atop a brand new log home. Still they persist as a common country image.

The good news is that metal roofs topping today's homes rarely rust. In fact, they require little care. Manufacturers bake primer onto coils of metal to create a durable base coating. The finish paint coating is applied to the top and bottom of the coil first by roller then by baking. Contemporary coatings are formulated to resist fading to shed dirt and to block the growth of algae and fungi including mildew. And to prevent rust Metal roofs are durable. Their high strength to low weight ratio keeps them from losing impact resistance with age. They resist cracking shrinking and eroding and can withstand weather extremes including hurricanes tornadoes hail storms and severe cold that causes roof ice dams. Metal roofs shed snow effectively making them popular in regions with heavy snow loads. They're also non-combustible an appeal to people building log homes in areas subject to wildfires.

Metal roofs are also energy efficient Light colored metal reflects sunlight keeping the home cooler but even a dark roof rejects 80 to 90 percent of the sun's heat. Metal roofs come in a variety of styles some of which resemble other popular roofing materials.

Shingle-slate
Stone coated metal shingles made to resemble common asphalt roofing have a smooth uniform look and long lasting strength.

Tile
Metal can be stamped to resemble clay ceramic and concrete tile but it s substantially lighter so roof framing doesn't have to be as strong to support heavier tile.

Shake
Metal shakes that match the look of wood resist mold and fire far better than the traditional material are cheaper to install and require lots less maintenance—as in none. Another advantage they enjoy over wood is that they come in a variety of colors making it easy to blend them with the look of your logs.

Vertical Panel
Once shunned pre-painted vertical panels have improved substantially and are especially popular in colder regions because snow slides easily off them. One of the most popular varieties is the standing seam metal roof which can be fabricated on the job site in just a few days and whose interlocking seams keep water from seeping between panels.

Metal roofs cost more than shingles but most manufacturers guarantee they'll last at least three times longer. The metals commonly used in roofing are steel aluminum copper zinc stainless steel and titanium. Many of the metals have recycled content varying from 25 to 95 percent. Incidentally the term tin roof often applied to metal roofs is a corruption of "terne" an alloy of tin and lead that was used as a plating material for roofs in the 19th century.

Finishes are another important element in metal roofing and affect cost and performance. Coil coating was developed in the 1950s and resulted in durable pre-painted roofs. Further developments brought about more high performance paints for coil coating including polyesters, silicone, modified polyesters, SMP, and Kynar. Kynar costs 15 to 35 percent more than SMP, while polyesters are 15 to 25 percent cheaper than SMP. Performance depends a lot on the home's orientation colors with more sun exposure for example will fade faster.

The question most people have about metal roofing is where to buy it. The Metal Roofing Alliance has a website www.metalroofing.com that can direct you to local contractors who sell and install metal roofs. The site also has information about how installing a metal roof in 2010 can entitle you to a tax credit of up to $1,500.

Before committing to installing a metal roof, take a closer look at existing log homes that have tin roofs. Roofs in general constitute a big part of the look of homes just like the log styles corners chinking and other design features that are a matter of personal preference. Make sure a metal roof is something you'll want to live with because it'll be around for a long, long time.