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Tin Roof Recommendation
1 April 2016, 10:15,
#1
Tin Roof Recommendation
Just a thought, this drizzly morning, inspired by the surprisingly high volumes of clean water we’re harvesting from our roof.

The thing is, our roof is a bit different to most houses. Its made of tin. High-tech, specially profiled, chemically treated and coated, but a tin roof none the less. We had it installed and have been living under it for a few years now, and first-hand experience of its performance in pretty much all weather conditions that will affect the UK. -20 to +35C Rain, persistent drizzle, hail, snow, ice, hurricane force winds, and dry dusty summers.

Our experience is totally positive and we’d recommend it to anyone looking at a new-build or refurbing and old roof, especially if you expect to have to endure extreme weather conditions.

Here’s why:

Water-tightness
100%. No leaks whatsoever

Wind resistance
Very good, better than any tiled roof I’ve ever had.

Water shedding
Excellent, and the quality of the water is very good indeed as few impurities are introduced from the roof itself. We can successfully rainwater harvest light drizzle, even morning dew in summer ( our roof can capture 5 or 6 litres of dew on a single night in summer)

Snow shedding
Very good. A little too good in fact. In our highland region heavy snow is still an annual feature. Rainwater gutters have to be sited below the plane of the roof ( preferred method on a new-build so that shedding snow does not rip them off.

Heat transfer
The loft has a vapour barrier (Tyvek) and ridge ventilated. Its what is known as a cold loft. Heat and cold in the loft are about the same as under the previous heavily tiled roof. The only difference is the faster temperature fluctuation under the tin roof.

Loft ventilation and drying
As above the roof is ventilated along its ridge, with vapour barrier below the roof surface. This has created a very dry loft space. In fact we have discovered that the loft is now a great place to dry clothes or foodstuffs even when not possible outdoors due to bad weather conditions.

Weight loading
This roof has taken a huge load of our roofing timbers. The sheet weigh less than 10% of the tiles it replaces, and because it sheds snow so effectively, it also reduces the weight of snow loading.

Longevity
The roof is guaranteed for 50 years, which is will probably outlive us.

Noise
There was a lot of speculation about this roof being noisy under rainfall. Well, its not. Yes, there is some noise, but no more than under the old tiled roof. We suspect that some people have had a noise issue on very low pitched roofs as rain would strike at a steeper angle , transferring more energy and noise, maybe. In windy conditions the tin roof is much quieter than the old tiled one as its much smoother to wind-flow. The only noise that we get is as it expands and contracts with heat from the sun. This is insignificant though.

Speed and ease of installation
Surprisingly, the profiled tin sheets are made to measure. Well cut to measure actually. Each sheet is the full length of the roofing surface from ridge to eaves, so there are no joints horizontally across the roof, just vertically between each overlapping sheet. So installation is fast. Sheets are hauled into place, aligned and then bolted to the underlying rafters with special water-tight bolts using electric screwdrivers. Each sheet took 15 to 20 minutes to install on our roof. The complications arise if the roof has complex shape as a degree on on-site metalwork is needed to tailor the sheets to fit. For DIY fit, its best suited to simple, straight apex roofs.

Security:
One of the easiest ways into even the best secured house is simply to lift roofing tiles and enter through the loft. Modern tin roofs are very resistant to this sort of attack, kind of resembling a bolted down scaly lizard skin surface.

Fire resistance:
Pretty much perfect, especially in consideration of any sparks that might get emitted from the chimney. The tin surface is pretty much inflammable and because its air-tight would keep any such spark out of the loft space. Incidentally we also clad our chimneys in matching metal sheet as part of the whole roof refurb. This has the effect of protecting the brickwork and mortar of the chimneys from the weather.

Aesthetics / Appearance
Whenever we tell friends that we have put a tin roof on our house they immediately cringe, at the mental image of pre-war corrugated rusty iron roofs. When they see it they are very surprised, as to an untrained eye the roof appears pretty much identical to normal tiled roofs. See link.

Cost
This is not a cheap product. It needs to be considered as a modern high-tech roofing system that will last, and indeed is guaranteed for the rest of our lives. With that line of thinking, its cost which is pretty much the same as tiles, became more appealing.

Here’s a link to the product:
http://www.ruukkiroofs.com/Roofing-produ...steel-roof
72 de

Lightspeed
26-SUKer-17

26-TM-580


STATUS: Bugged-In at the Bug-Out
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1 April 2016, 10:49,
#2
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
good subject and article LS, more folks than ever are looking at new roofs with rainwater catchements.

I'm also hearing very good things about rolled and crimped Zinc roofs and Copper roofs which actually is actually anti bacterial as well which is a plus for catching water off it.

http://www.rheinzink.co.uk/products/zinc-roof-systems/

http://www.exteriormetalcrafts.com/

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1 April 2016, 12:06,
#3
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
We considered these, but for rainwater harvesting we decided the risk of leached metals was too great.

Bear this in mind, if going down this route.

Our system has a kind of acrylic inert surface that will resist acid content of rain. It also resists moss and lichen growth, so the water coming off it is not picking up any secondary contamination.

For drinking roof harvested water we both filter and boil before consuming.

The dew collecting capability has been a surprise to us, and very useful of course. So as not to mislead, the roof is quite large ( in the order of 250 sqm) so it has a good sized area of capture. Also the ability to harvest water from dew is very much location specific, and needs to be considered an opportunist and occasional source rather than a reliable one.
72 de

Lightspeed
26-SUKer-17

26-TM-580


STATUS: Bugged-In at the Bug-Out
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1 April 2016, 12:55,
#4
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
sounds brill and its a huge improvement over delicate slades or clay tiles

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1 April 2016, 20:57,
#5
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
I have picked a tin roof as opposed to tiles for some of the same reasons on my soon to be erected workshop , gone for a pent as this gives me the best southerly orientation for the solar panels I plan to install , the roof will feed into an IBC at the south end of the workshop , I was initially concerned with the condensation/insulation issues but the roof has a drip tray and membrane to help with this , not sure what the harvest is likely to be of a 250sq ft steel roof but I'm hoping once the IBC fills up i'll be able to keep it fairly full , going to insulate the IBC too.
Nothing is fool proof for a sufficiently talented fool!!!!
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2 April 2016, 06:05,
#6
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
Excellent article LS and put together well and you cover all aspects from a practical proof of the pudding point of view , as many are aware , my planning permission has been in place for a few months, the next stage is calcs for the raft foundations and full drawings for building regulations.

When we applied for planning consent we had to give a brief description of overall finishes outer walls,roof type etc. at that early stage (to match existing) was used in order for a smooth ride TO GET permission granted.

As of yesterday (FRIDAY) i have committed to the calcs and full drawings being prepared, i have another meeting next week to finalize specifications and i intend to pursue a (tin) roof for the new build .

From a practical point of view, when i built the triple garage about twelve years back, i built in steel box section ...walls 60mm x 60mm along with the roof of the same section, all was clad in steel profile sheet externally, ALL the internal was insulated with insulation quilt (wool) then hardboard sheet was fixed over that .

This has morphed into my workshop, i have to tell you ....its very warm in winter and very cool in summer , in short its a great place to work (and play ) so i can well understand why LS is a happy bunny on many fronts....it works....and works well.
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2 April 2016, 09:23,
#7
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
(1 April 2016, 20:57)Midnitemo Wrote: I have picked a tin roof as opposed to tiles for some of the same reasons on my soon to be erected workshop , gone for a pent as this gives me the best southerly orientation for the solar panels I plan to install , the roof will feed into an IBC at the south end of the workshop , I was initially concerned with the condensation/insulation issues but the roof has a drip tray and membrane to help with this , not sure what the harvest is likely to be of a 250sq ft steel roof but I'm hoping once the IBC fills up i'll be able to keep it fairly full , going to insulate the IBC too.

Midnight,

Your setup will be fine. Condensation should not be a problem, provided you install the vapour barrier correctly and vent the ridge. PM me if you need a drawing of the venting method on my roof. In fact quite the opposite of condensation, you'll find that you have a great drying system. One caveat: I don't know what you mean by a pent roof, but assume its pitched? if you keep the pitch steep condensation on the underside of it will run down the inner surface by surface attraction and gravity, dripping into the gutters from the underside.

Steve has some experience with condensation under metal roof structure of his workshop I seem to remember. He may be able to add advice.

Insulation: For sure the metal roof will transmit temperatures into and out of the loft space very efficiently! ( exactly the opposite of insulation) Two choices. Make a cold loft by fitting a ceiling with traditional GF insulation above. Or create a warm loft with solid insulation on the underside of the vapour barrier.

One added benefit of a metal roof that should appeal to you: It mages for an excellent ground plane for antennas, and even lets mag mounts be used for a fully demountable solution .
72 de

Lightspeed
26-SUKer-17

26-TM-580


STATUS: Bugged-In at the Bug-Out
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2 April 2016, 09:53, (This post was last modified: 3 April 2016, 18:02 by Lightspeed.)
#8
RE: Tin Roof Recommendation
SS

I think you'll be pleased with that solution...... now you and Mrs SS have a good excuse to come and visit to see how ours is working!:-)

I recommend that you spec in roof hatches adjacent to chimneys, with fixed access steps from them to the chimney itself, as this will be the only safe access you'll have.

Will you have habitable rooms within the loft void of the new house?

BR
72 de

Lightspeed
26-SUKer-17

26-TM-580


STATUS: Bugged-In at the Bug-Out
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