Metal Roofs with exposed fasteners are rubbish.

[HonorAndHonesty]

Our house has a sunroom with a metal roof with exposed fasteners, I estimate it to be 20 years old, many of the fasteners are failing and I have had to replace many of the fasteners due to the rubber seal deteriorating.
I am putting sealant on the new fasteners as recommended by some installers. Our section of metal roof is relatively small and has over 300 fasteners in it.

It just seems like complete foolishness to take a roofing material, out it in and drill 1000s of holes in it.....
A house near us just had a new metal roof put on with exposed fasteners, no sealant, thats alot of little rubber washers baking in the sun getting ready to fail some day.

Rant over.

 

[IveBeenRued]

Most quality screws for metal roofs use EPDM rubber washers and have a life expectancy of about 50 years.

 

[dblshock]

snow and ice particularly hard on the fasteners, I can spot the leak from inside my building go up and pull the bad ones from the troubled area in a hot dry period, shoot the hole with GE silicone and replace with oversized rubber washer screws...sht gets old.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Yeah the same weakness with metal roofing is the same weakness with tin roofing. It all relies on those seals.

The best solution is Ames Maximum Stretch Rubber roof coating.
So expect 40-50 years, which is what the paint is good for, then after that roof coating(that has rubber) to seal and protect.

 

[Lubener]

Most quality screws for metal roofs use EPDM rubber washers and have a life expectancy of about 50 years.

They won't last that long. No credible testing has proven their longevity. OP is right, good metal roofing has no exposed fasteners. To have a roof fastened in a similiar fashion as the siding of a pole barn doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

 

[Cujet]

The exposed fasteners also trap pine needles, debris and so on, leading to a dirty looking roof.

However, standing seam metal roof setups may (depending on quality, number and type of clips) not be as hurricane/windstorm resistant. On some designs, the fasteners are hidden on one side and the other side simply "clips" on. When wind gets underneath, the distortion releases the clips and the entire panel pulls up. Here in Florida, a standing seam metal roof is not something you want to cheap out on. Put another way, there really is a reason the good ones cost a fortune.

The less expensive 5V crimp metal roof (with external fasteners) can have as many fasteners as the installer deems necessary. Especially at the ends of the panel. Leading to an extremely wind resistant setup. Homeowners can even add fasteners 'after the fact' if necessary.

 

[Driz]

Ive put up a three barns with tin roofs. I tore one down that was 25 years old and the galvanized screws and seals were in such good shape that I could have reused them. I put the first one up with the screws on the seams (PITA to start them) and the other 2 with screws on the flats. Never a leak or issue with anything as long as I didn't miss the purlin. The neoprene seals under the washer are about as soft and usable to my eye as they were when I put them in. They might not be as "purdah" but for ease of installation strength and wind resistance I don't know what's better. Looking at that picture and seeing how it peeled makes me wonder if they left some off along the most crucial areas, the edges. If it can't flap its going nowhere but if not it becomes a big sail. Don't even get me started on shingles in windy areas.

 

[Greasymechtech]

It depends on the location and the installer. Roofs are only as good as the installer.

Over/under-driven screws is a common problem. Incorrect screw size/length/material is another.

There are rusting metal roofs in town that are older than most members here and they have no leaks.

If need be, the o-rings seals are considered maintenance and can be replaced 'as needed' and life depends on weather conditions.

Basically, you get what you pay for.

 

[pburchett]

Our house has a sunroom with a metal roof with exposed fasteners, I estimate it to be 20 years old, many of the fasteners are failing and I have had to replace many of the fasteners due to the rubber seal deteriorating.
I am putting sealant on the new fasteners as recommended by some installers. Our section of metal roof is relatively small and has over 300 fasteners in it.

It just seems like complete foolishness to take a roofing material, out it in and drill 1000s of holes in it.....
A house near us just had a new metal roof put on with exposed fasteners, no sealant, thats alot of little rubber washers baking in the sun getting ready to fail some day.

Rant over.

Someone used the wrong screw. Use these.

 

[RedVic]

There is nothing wrong with a properly installed exposed fastener metal roof, the screws used to fasten them today are much better with shoulders on them to help protect the EPDM washer. We went through Hurricane Ian here in Florida and around me the exposed fastener metal roofs came through unscathed while a handful of standing seam metal roofs were damaged. One shopping plaza has a metal standing seem roof and they had to put one of those entire roof wraps on it until they can get it replaced.

In fact an exposed fastener roof having more points of attachment allow it to survive the hurricane force winds better than a standing seam metal roof that only have 1/3 the number of faster screws securing it to the roof structure.

We had a shingle roof and lost a good number of shingles but did not lose any of the underlayment and did not have any leaks. We ended up going with an exposed fastener metal roof as have a lot of other homes around us that are having roofs done after Hurricane Ian damage.

Further here in Florida they passed legislation that allows the insurance company to drop your roof coverage if it is 15 years old since it was last replaced. You can get a one year extension if you have an engineer come out and certify that the roof has another 5 years of life left in it.

Sadly when they passed this legislation they did not seem to separate the difference between metal roofs, tile roofs and shingle roofs so it is going to be interesting when metal roofs hit that 15 year mark considering metal roofs can last for 40 to 60 years.

 

[jonnied1]

Someone used the wrong screw. Use these.View attachment 53520

These are what I used on my metal roof.

 

[tyman]

Our house has a sunroom with a metal roof with exposed fasteners, I estimate it to be 20 years old, many of the fasteners are failing and I have had to replace many of the fasteners due to the rubber seal deteriorating.
I am putting sealant on the new fasteners as recommended by some installers. Our section of metal roof is relatively small and has over 300 fasteners in it.

It just seems like complete foolishness to take a roofing material, out it in and drill 1000s of holes in it.....
A house near us just had a new metal roof put on with exposed fasteners, no sealant, thats alot of little rubber washers baking in the sun getting ready to fail some day.

Rant over.

Yup. My in-laws lake house had mold in two rooms because the fasteners broke or wore out. They just got insurance to spend $35k on a new roof a few weeks back.