Metal RoofingBased in Fort Worth, TX

The Difference

Worth knowing before the inspection.

Exposed-fastener panels, often sold as R-panel or PBR panel, are the ribbed sheets you see on barns and shop buildings across the country west of Fort Worth. The panels overlap one another and are screwed straight through the face into the framing or deck, with a rubber washer under each screw head sealing the hole. They cost considerably less than standing seam and go on faster, which makes them a sensible choice for outbuildings, warehouses, carports and homes on a tighter budget. The weak point is those washers. Years of sun dry them out, and the panel's daily expansion slowly works the screws loose, so an exposed-fastener roof needs its screws checked, and some of them replaced, every ten to fifteen years. When that is skipped, the leaks start at the screw holes.

Metal handles a Fort Worth summer better than its reputation suggests. Modern panels carry factory paint finishes, the better ones based on PVDF resin and sold under names like Kynar 500, that hold their color for decades and reflect a good share of the sun. A light or cool-rated color cuts the heat the roof passes into the attic, and even darker metal sheds its heat quickly after sunset because it has so little mass to store it. The steel underneath is usually Galvalume, coated with an aluminum and zinc alloy that resists rust far longer than plain galvanized steel. Aluminum panels exist too, and they mostly earn their extra cost near salt air. Inland in Tarrant County, coated steel does the job for less money.

Hail is the first question most North Texas homeowners ask about metal. Metal does not crack or shed granules when hail hits it, and many panels carry a Class 4 impact rating under UL 2218, the highest rating that test gives. What large hail can do is dent it. Most dents are cosmetic, meaning the panel still sheds water and the paint is intact, but they are visible in low sun. Thicker panels dent less, which is one reason 24 gauge is often chosen over 26 or 29 gauge in hail country, and a panel with striations or light texture hides small dents better than a smooth flat one. Read your homeowners policy before choosing metal, because some carriers discount a Class 4 roof and some policies exclude cosmetic damage to metal from coverage.

Two worries come up about metal on a house, and neither holds up well. The first is noise. Over solid decking with underlayment beneath, which is how residential metal is normally installed, rain on a metal roof sounds much like rain on shingles from inside the house, and the loud tin-roof drumming belongs to open-framed barns. The second is lightning, and a metal roof does not attract a strike any more than other roofs do. The underlayment is what deserves more thought. Under metal in Texas heat, a high-temperature synthetic underlayment holds up where ordinary felt can soften and stick to the panels. Oil canning, a slight waviness that can show in wide flat panels, is also worth asking about when choosing a profile, since striations and heavier gauges reduce it.

On commercial and industrial buildings, metal is often the roof and the building's outer skin at once. Warehouses and metal shop buildings commonly use exposed-fastener or standing seam panels over steel purlins, and as those roofs age the fasteners rust and the sealant at the panel laps dries out. Leaks around skylight panels and rooftop units usually follow. An older metal roof in that condition can often be restored with a silicone coating over re-secured fasteners, or covered with new standing seam on a retrofit framing system, without tearing the old roof off. We handle metal roofing and silicone coatings on commercial and industrial buildings, and the inspection shows which of those routes a particular roof is suited to and what each would cost.

Replacing a roof with metal follows the same sequence as any replacement we do. It starts with a consultation and a clear estimate, then prep that protects your property and a check of the deck, since a panel can only be as flat and secure as the surface it is fastened to. You choose the panel profile and color, the roof goes on, and the job finishes with clean-up and a final inspection. Metal roofs that are already on a building get repaired too, whether the trouble is backed-out screws on an older panel roof or a leaking flashing where the metal meets a wall or chimney. Call (817) 988-9509 or send the form for a free estimate on a new metal roof or a repair to the one you have.