steel roof???

[Tdoggy187]

Guys I had a contractor come out and tell me it would be a good idea to put up a steel roof on my house. I have 4 layers of shingles that are like mush. He wants to go right over them. Is that a good idea? Also it looks like just shingles and no plywood down.

Are steel roofs safe? Aren't they bad in fires?

Please help thanks all :thrasher:

[Mr T]

Show him the door!

Is there signs of water in your attic? Any known leaks? Any rotting? If you just slap another roof over this, you are trapping in the moisture, and the damage is still there.

In most places you cant have more then 2 layers of shingles on your roof.. Hiding it under steel doesnt exempt you. If you sell the house and a home inspector see's that it may kill your deal or cause you to pay for another re-roofing with a total tear off.

I think the shingle limit is partially for fire code (not sure).. but if you do have a fire thats present in your attic, the first thing the fire dept is gonna do is get the chainsaws and axes out. You probably got quite a bit of weight up there too with 4 layers.

Are you sure it's 4 layers? With the way shingles overlap you may only have 2 layers.

[Tdoggy187]

Yeah Iv'e been up there. Its actually 4 layers. The roof is very old. And I'm already worried about structure damage. Yeah this guy didn't sound to good. I'm no contractor but the idea of putting a steel or metal roof right over 4 "damaged" layers of shingles didn't sound like a good idea to me. He's coming back Monday. But I have another Contractor coming this morning. Lets see what he says. Thanks for the advice as always. I'll keep you posted about the second contractor coming. The first one sounds bad. :thumpdown:

[Bismarck Jack]

Some are sneaky just to get the job, but this one stands out in a crowd! Wow! I am with Mr T.

this guy is :bird:. Show him the door :secruity:

Just curious, how did you come across his name? reputable business? friend of a friend? ugg

I will be watching this thread to see how your situation pans out.

[Bumblerazz]

I also have to agree with MrT.

As for steel roofs, I don't think there is any drawback when wondering about fires. The only thing is for steel to pay back the cost, you would have to be in the house for more than 15-25yrs (the usual lifetime of tar shingles). Steel will last for a very long time, but difficulties with installation and the cost of the steel itself can limit it's viability.

We put up steel on the cottage since we will never sell the place. After 18yrs it still looks good, no rust spots or leaks and the animals can't get through it (around it is a different matter! :hmpf:).

[Tdoggy187]

This guy is a local contractor. He had done a lot of work in the area. Yeah guess he just wanted to do a quick fix job. I had another contractor down who called him crazy, lol I had to agree. Looks like the structure needs some more wood before anybody puts up a new roof. Also this "new" contractor said that shingles and metal or "steel" roofs cost about the same these days. I guess thats good if the metal or "steel" roofs last longer. We plan on being in the house for a long time. So we might go with the metal or "steel" roof. I found a handy man at my job who wants to come down and look at the roof. He did my boss's roof and many others in the area. Hoping he will give me a break and do it.

The "new contractor" wanted 13,500 to do the job :-(

[bubblefish]

There are many companies do this business. For example,
American Steel Building Company, Inc. has been manufacturing building systems since 1953. All building designs are certified by in-house professional engineers. American Steel provides a wide range of buildings and components and is the leader in the innovative design of single- and multi-story self-storage systems.

For more info, you can check
http://www.findprefab.com/manufacturers/american-steel-building-company-inc/about
This website (www.findprefab.com) provides different companies attached to different needs of building homes, including their websites, telephones, addresses and brief descriptions.
Hope it would help you. Good luck!:smile2: