DIY and Repair Guides

If one has the patience to stand up on a roof under the sun for long hours, and the temerity to stand heights, steps on how to install a metal roof are easy for almost everyone. Just have carpenters do the roof frames. Then, the job of mounting metal roofs itself can be done by the house owner.

Equipments and Materials Needed

Prepare the following tools for a simple way on how to install a metal roof: hammer, hoisting equipment, ladder, and nail pouch or containers. The materials needed are metal roof sheets, umbrella nails, lead washers, roof sealant, metal roof gutters, and metal ridge rolls, and metal fascia covers. With these things ready, it should be easy mounting metal roofs.

Two persons should do the work: one acting as an assistant on the ground handing roof sheets to the one on the roof. The other person is on the roof, installing the roof sheets. A hoisting device should be ready in case there is a need to lift several sheets at a time, or for complex ways of lifting them. The installer should know the basics in how to install a metal roof.

Make a ladder always ready and firmly standing for going up and down the roof. Wear a nail pouch attached to a belt for a ready supply of nails always within easy reach, or a container for nails to accompany the installer anywhere on the roof.

Start With the Gutter

Install the roof gutters. This is the first step on how to install a metal roof. Nail them to the roof rafters and on the purlins. Make sure the main gutter wall rests on a fascia board. Simple roofs have two sides installed with gutters. The other sides are fixed with metal fascias. Gabled roofs often have 4 sides installed with gutters. Mounting metal roofs is easier with a simple two-sided roof.

How to Install a Metal Roof Sheet

After the gutters are in place, put roof sheets over them. These sheets should protrude over the gutter by 2 inches. Lay a row of sheets to cover the length of the gutters. Next to this row, install a second row of sheets over those covering the gutters. There should always be an overlap of 4 to 6 inches each when doing this. This means, the tail end of a sheet to be placed should cover the top of the sheet already installed by at least 4 inches, but not exceeding 6 inches. Affixed roofs using umbrella nails with lead washers.

Metal roofs have corrugations. The sides of a single roof piece should overlap at the sides by 2 and a half corrugations. Overlaps at the head and tail ends and at the sides should go on until the installation reaches the top of the roof, or the apex. Finally, the apex is covered with a hard ridge roll, often with gauge 26 type.

The last step is to cover all umbrella nails with a roof sealant.

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