This was a big, tedious job, but I’m proud of it in retrospect. We began with an existing flat and angled combination roof at Fort Rucker (now Fort Novosel) over a gym/daycare building.

Plans spec’d a recover, leaving the angled metal and flat membrane roofs intact while we built a new metal structure on top and then clad the top and sides of it with metal panels.

We put mastic under the metal rafters that seated upon the metal roof to mitigate leaks from the fasteners until our new roof was done. Quality mastic in compression like this does a fantastic job of shielding against water leaks.

In the image above, you can see styrofoam thermal spacers we used under the panels. We used spray adhesive glue to attach these styrofoam spacers. Then, floating clips were screwed to the purlins to hold the panels. X-bracing was also used, as seen below.

This was a rough and quick video, but it shows how to obtain some difficult key angles in metal roofing. To find interior angle of hip caps, the angle needs to be perpendicular to the hip line. Thus, it is slightly different than just using 180°-(2)(hip walk angle). On a flat roof, this is perpendicular. But at other slopes, you need to adjust (for an 8:12 slope, you would need 5 1/8 slope [23.13°] rather than 5 11/16 slope [25.36°]).

Please enjoy this video we put together to show the process of curving and seaming standing seam metal roof panels.

Roofing Types, Ranked

After over a decade of service, we provide you a bird’s eye view of our opinion of roof options.

#1 Slate.

There’s no way around it—if you have the budget, real stone slate from a North American quarry looks stunning and should last over a century.

#2 Standing Seam Metal.

This option is half the cost of slate, but can still last 50 years, looks amazing, and is quite reflective, leading to reduced cooling costs. It’s also recyclable at the end of its life.

#3 Copper.

A copper detail dormer can exceed slate’s unit price in some cases, but can also potentially outlast normal metal, and can provide a nice aesthetic.

#4 Asphalt Shingles.

This is the go-to option for most, is pretty durable for a couple decades+, and is more economical.