The original 1004 Central had several layers of roofing upon its demise, including three layers of composition roofing atop what was likely the original cedar shake. For the new house we decided to go with a metal roof.

We have used metal roofs before (our current garage, which we built a few years ago, has one), and really like the look. They are more expensive at the outset than composition roofs but arguably last longer and look better for a more extended period of time. We installed a standing seam metal roof, manufactured by Nu-Ray (1000 series). This specific product was selected in part because it would be compatible with solar panels – we intend to use a clip system (S-5!) that allows for the panels to be attached to the roof without any penetrations to the roof itself.

Benefits of Metal Roofs

Metal roofs have a variety of benefits, including:

Recyclable Material

• Metal roofs are generally made of steel, one of the most commonly recycled materials on earth. Because steel is heavily recycled a metal roof is likely to be composed from a high percentage of recycled material, and is likely to be recycled at the end of its life.
• Steel has value and is easy to recycle so the likelihood a metal roof will be recycled is high (as opposed to asphalt, or composition roofing, which is more cumbersome to recycle).
• Steel is ferrous metal so it is easy to pull out of a waste stream.

Long Life Span

Metal roofs tend to outlast composition roofs. Although there are some composition roofs rated for the long lifespans of metal roofs, the appearance of these comp roofs degrades over time. We felt that a metal roof would perform better in this sense because it would look consistent for longer, resulting in less likelihood that it would be replaced before the end of it’s lifespan.

Roof Water

The water coming off a metal roof is typically cleaner than that coming off a composition roof. Although there appears to be little research indicating issues with the water coming off of a composition roof, we were not convinced that there wasn’t a problem. Composition roofs are made from materials (including asphalt) that are not so benign. In addition to wanting to retain the option to reuse our roof water for other purposes, this water drains to our groundwater… we want to keep it clean.

Roof Color

This is not unique to metal roofs, but light-colored roofing helps to reflect light (and thus heat) rather than absorb it. In addition, we chose a metal roof with a specific coating designed to alleviate the heat island effect by reflecting heat back.

Close-up of roofing around dormer – note the standing seams. Once the house is complete these seams will have solar panels mounted to them via S-5! clips.

Roof from the north side