Metal roofing is a great lifetime roofing solution that offers great weather protection, reduces cooling expenses, and most of all – when installed correctly – metal roof will be a beautiful, maintenance-free roof. The most popular type of metal roofing is Standing Seam. In this guide we will walk you through entire process of standing seam roof installation.
Snap-Lock Standing Seam Metal Roof introduces a unique interlocking seam for a true standing seam roof. This roof system offers an intricate interlocking design that provides a positive panel interlock and is quick and easy to install. This roofing system provides a complete weather shield and also adds structural strength to your roof.
Snap-lock system makes roof installation much easier, compared to a traditional mechanical lock, which requires special crimping tools, and a lot of additional labor, which will make the overall cost of metal roof significantly lower.
Please first watch the ATAS Dutch Seam installation video below, to familiarize yourself with the whole standing seam metal roof installation process.
Does Roof Safety Awareness Really Make You More Fearful?
People have a love-hate relationship with all matters related to working at high places. Roofing is one of the professions where workers are always high up above the ground. While some have no issues with height at any level, most people feel scared out of their wits when they are even a few meters off the ground level. It is for these that height safety solutions have been designed. The fact that many people perceive heights with marked differences depending on their eye sight can make a great difference in their personal perception of working at heights. Becoming aware of the pros and cons of height safety can have an interesting effect on the fear level of most people in 2 main ways;
Those where fear is lessened
Since most people generally like to see solutions to problems, height safety awareness for them is very beneficial. This is because, the more they know about any perceived problem, the more powerful they feel to tackle it at any level. For them, the more the information, the better. When it comes to working at heights awareness they feel less fearful when they hear about all the possible setbacks that come about as a result of working at heights and also the various gadgets that have been designed to tackle them. They are more positive in perception and pay greater faith in the ability of the solutions to deliver as promised. If they were working in high places, they would not create resistance to using the set solutions to make their work safer and easier. Most people fall in this category
Those whose fear is increased
Human nature is very diverse and interesting because a small majority becomes more fearful as a result of this new awareness. The reasons for this may be a bit complicated because they may fall in the category of people who think that “what you do not know will never hurt you”. This means that, the less they know about roofing safety awareness, the better they will feel because their thinking will not be clouded by excessive negative thoughts. These people are more negative in temperament and tend to see all the things that could go wrong, like safety equipment failure. If they are working in high places, they would probably take much longer than the rest in adapting to new changes and taking more risks.
Roof safety on a standing seam metal roof poses special challenges due limited options of safety equipment and slippery roof surface, combined with steep roof slopes. However, the roofing industry has created several USABLE options that are OSHA approved and easy for roofers to use – see one of the examples below:
Think “Roof Safety”
It is important to appreciate the importance of these 2 levels of thinking when designing solutions for workers who need to perform at heights. Since it is critical that safety awareness be made the first concern in these places, training should be tailored to be very interactive so that participants are allowed to clear any doubts they may be having regarding their conditions and special equipment’s. This way, accidents can be reduced since all workers are operating from the same script.
Mandy Simon is an occupational health and safety auditor from Adelaide, South Australia. She inspects height safety equipment to ensure that roof safety is kept at optimal levels always.
The Roof as we all know is the umbrella of a home and is considered as one of the most important protective part of a home. Can you imagine a house without a roof? I can’t either, but we can just simply associate to our body without skin, this might sound exaggerated but IT’S TRUE! It is one of the reasons why the condition of a roof is one of the top priorities that a buyer or seller needs to look at because aside from the mere fact that it protects the framework of the house, it serves as a gear for people living inside for protecting themselves as well. So, it is very necessary to be aware if the roof needs to be replaced.
This is part 2 of our Roof Pitch guide. In the first part, we’ve review what is a roof pitch and how tou can use it to measure and estimate roof size and roofing price.
Roof pitch is essentially a measurement of roof slope / roof steepness, and is used by US and Canadian Roofing contractors when measuring roofs.
Check out these two helpful guides, that can be of interest to roofers and homeowners alike:
How to calculate roof pitch using level and a tape measure:
To get the roof slope with a level, you will need to get up on the roof, or working of a ladder, place one end of the level so it touches the roof, and the other end is in the air, away from the roof surface. Make sure it is leveled horizontally. Now measure the distance between the level’s end which is in the air, and the roof bellow it, placing a tape measure straight down, until it touches the roof.
Let’s say the distance you get using the tape measure, between level and roof is 12 inches, and your level is 2 feet. Your roof pitch will be 12 in 24 or 6 in 12 (divide both numbers by to, to get to the 12″ base run). If you get 10″ rise in 24″ run, then your roof pitch is 5 in 12 or simply 5, and so on. Read the rest of How to Calculate Roof Pitch
The best phone for roofers is Samsung Galaxy Note – it has 5.3″ screen, stylus (S-pen) note taking, great camera, and it’s super fast! Watch this “quick” video to see how Galaxy Note stacks up against iPhone and HTC Inspire 4G, and how I use it in my daily roofing work (video is 10 minutes long):
Updated Jan 25, 2012 – Galaxy Note will be available on AT&T on Feb. 18 (rumored release date) for $299 + tax, with 2-years contract. Your monthly bill on AT&T will be over $100.
However, I recommend getting the unlocked European version, and using Galaxy Note on Straight Talk with a $45 Unlimited plan – unlimited minutes, 4G web and SMS text messages!
Straight Talk (ST) is essentially an AT&T network, so you get the same coverage and save at least $50 / month. To get Galaxy Note to work on Straight Talk, basically all you do is buy an ST Nokia e71 phone for $49, pull out the SIM card and put it into the UNLOCKED (European) Galaxy Note – and enjoy great cell coverage, speed and savings!
Read more details about this at the end of this article.
Why Roofing Contractors need Smart Phones:
In the 21 century, if you as a contractor cannot communicate with your clients, suppliers and employees in real time – and I don’t just mean phone calls – you are behind the curve, and your competition is beating you. You NEED a smart phone!
As for me, I felt the need for a true smart-phone ever since I became a roofer (no – not those ridiculous and useless HP / Compaq PDAs or Windows 6 phones). Since I am a geek and a roofer, I look at smart phones from a perspective of both – a roofing contractor and a phone geek. Three years ago I felt a real need for a smart phone. Following a friend’s advice, I got a Nokia E71 on AT&T. Unfortunately, AT&T really crippled this phone and also the small non-touch screen limited it’s internet capabilities, making it rather useless for what I was looking for – an ultimate phone for full internet access, easy email communication, ability to send and receive pictures, PDF and DOC files (to review the roof blue prints and photos of roofs).
Two months later I got rid of Nokia and got an iPhone 3GS, which at the time met ALL my requirements and had REAL competition. Existing Android devices (at the time – summer 2009) were not ready for me. Later that year, when Nexus one came out, it pretty much matched the iPhone 3GS and surpassed it in some areas, but I was already under contract, and did not want/need to switch.
My iPhone 3GS and Inspire 4G side-by-side (both running our Roofing Calculator App)
Restorative coatings are among the best solutions for advancing the life of your roof.
Why use roof coatings?
A fair amount of research has gone into the development of roof coatings. Several facts have come out of the research regarding their characteristics. One of the most desirable qualities is their ability to expand and contract with the roof, while staying intact. Another is their facility to deflect UV rays, the most influential environmental impact a roof has to endure, followed closely by excellent water repellent qualities. They seal the roof in a way that taped and mechanically fastened roof seams cannot.
Moreover, owners of buildings with flat roofs find themselves in dire circumstances when leaks occur. It’s often next to impossible to find a leak on a flat roof, because it’s not perfectly flat and there is no attic to reveal the location where water first penetrates the surface. The suggested solution lies in taking steps before leaks occur with these coatings, resulting in extending the life of the roof beyond its expected life cycle. It will also facilitate necessary replacement, as needed. Read the rest of Roof Coating Materials – Extending the Life of Flat Roofs
This roof estimating guide is a continuation of our two-part series for roofing contractors, on how to measure and estimate roofing prices. See part one of this guide to learn how to measure a roof.
Calculating roofing materials and estimating roof prices:
For the purposes of this guide, I will use asphalt shingles as a default roofing material, but the same principals can be applied to a metal roof, slate, etc. Cedar shingles/shake will be slightly different as the waste factor is higher.
Calculating roofing materials First – you need to know how many sq. ft. or squares of shingles you will need. You should take your total roof square footage and divide it by a 100 – this will give you the number of roof squares. Round the number up to the nearest square. Most shingle roofs will have 5-10% waste factor, and if during roof installation you use most pieces, waste can be reduced to as little as 2-3 percent. If you have valleys / dormers and side-wall flashing, use 15 percent waste factor. See our roofing square guide, to learn how roofers and builders measure roofs.
In our previous article, we reported on a large price increase for roofing shingles, that took place in 2011. Due to these price increases, the overall roof installation costs have also gone up, as roofing contractors have to pay more for the shingles and roofing accessories. We updated our main roofing calculator (which estimates overall roof installation price) and roofing shingles calculator, which estimates the cost of roofing materials and accessories needed to replace your roof (including shingles, roof underlayment, drip-edge, nails, ridge vent and ridge cap shingles, etc.).
We’ve already updated our roofing materials calculator about a week ago, and now we rolled out the update for the main roofing calculator.
Summary of price updates for Roofing Calculator:
Base installation price for 30 year architectural shingles went up by $25 per roofing square – this accounts for $19 increase in shingles prices and about $6 / square increase in accessories cost. Base price now is $275 per square, installed.
It’s been widely reported and discussed on various roofing forums that roof shingles manufacturers are drastically raising the prices of their roofing shingles and accessories that go along. Some roofers report getting letters from their roofing suppliers that shingles prices are going up as much as 30%. Keep in mind that in the spring of every year, most roofing manufacturers raise their prices by 3-8% on average, so this new increase in the cost of roofing materials is something out of the ordinary.
Most small roof leaks can be fixed fairly inexpensively by yourself or if you hire a roofing contractor to do it for you. Most roof leaks are also very typical, so unless you have a really cut-up / complicated roof, finding and repairing a roof leak should not be a big deal.
A typical roof repair job will cost you about $50 in parts / material costs, plus your time and risk of falling off the roof. It will cost about $200-300 for you to hire a roofing contractor to repair these roof leaks, and there are roofing contractors that specialize in just roof repairs.
Ice Dam Prevention - learn what causes Ice Dams, and how to prevent them.
DIY Roof Repair - learn how to repair simple roof leaks - missing shingles, leaking pipe or chimney flashing - with tools you and accessories you can get at local home improvement store.
Roofing Prices Guide - learn how roofing contractors price their roof installation / replacement, and why some roofers may be much higher or lower than others, in their bids.
Roofing and Construction Directory - If you own a roofing website, get featured in our roofing resources directory for contractors, manufacturers and other firms working in the construction & home improvement field.
iPhone roofing calculator app is available for download on App Store!
Roofing Calculator for Android The roofing calculator app for Android phones and tablets has been released and is available from the Android Market. Get it today, or try our free demo version.
Roofing Calculator on BlackBerry This app will be released as soon as RIM makes Android virtual machine available - coming to tablets near you this summer!
