Now that the exterior guardrails are up, our kids love to run around on the upstairs balcony off the master bedroom. The large Ash tree out front makes it feel like you are in a tree house. Although this is one small piece of the total build the metal railings made a big impact to the character and feeling of the house.

The process of sharing the technical drawings with fabricators to get bids was a reminder of how important it is to get three bids from every contractor. The same drawings came back with three different bids; $9k, $14k and $29k!…. Drastically differently prices with varying timelines and personalities. What is ironic is that we went with the lowest bid, they were able to get it done the fastest of the 3 and they turned out exactly how we wanted them.

Standing seam metal roofs are far superior than any other roofing product out there. It is almost unfair to compare the metal roof with other materials and methods. For example, architectural shingles will wear down within 20 to 30 years. Metal roofs can go 50 to 70 years or more (2 to 3 times longer than asphalt shingles). Therefore the cost benefit of a standing seam roof is justified at 2 -3 times the cost of a shingle roof.

Benefits to a Standing Seam Roof:

• unexposed seams make for less chance of moisture to seep below the roof line
• energy efficient – metal roofing will allow inside of a home to be cooler in summer than asphalt shingles
• metal roofing is 100% recyclable – whereas asphalt shingles are often destined for landfills by the metric ton annually
• Return on investment (ROI) favors metal roofing, coming in at 87%, compared to architectural shingles that are between 70% and 80%
• Metal will last longer than asphalt shingles, anywhere from twice to three times as long
• Metal weighs less than asphalt shingles
• And metal is mildew and fire resistant, plus impervious to insects and animals

As always we documented the roofing process through video and images. It took 3 weeks (compared to 1-2 days for shingle install) to install the roof making the case that the roof is another craftsman trade of many in this house build.