Why Metal?
Like pretty much everything else in at Sheepdog Hollow, the 100-year-old farmhouse we’re renovating, the roof needs to be replaced. With decisions now made about what type of windows and front door we’re going to install, it was time to look upward. Moreover, since our goal is to renovate this house as greenly, but also as economically as possible, I began checking out the different roofing options.
Metal Roofing Has A Long Service Life
My first inclination was to go for a metal roof. My grandparent’s 19th-century farmhouse in Meadow TX has one – it’s the original as far as I know. (The farm and home, by the way, are named Lone Jack, because the property was reportedly won in a card game with a lone jack.) The metal roof currently on Monticello, the elegant country home built by Thomas Jefferson in the 18th century, is also tin, restored to look and behave just like the one the great intellect and statesman had installed toward the end of his life.
Green Building
Since ensuring that things last for generations is part of the goal of green building, I was ready to put in a standing seam metal roof, if only for the romance of it. Fortunately, it turns out, the vast majority of roofing materials that qualify for the Energy Star rating – which can help earn you a federal tax credit – also are metal.
The Energy Star Rating
The reason, according to the Energy Star website, is their ability to reflect the sun and keep unwanted heat from entering the house: Why choose ENERGY STAR reflective roofing for your building?
• ENERGY STAR qualified roof products reflect more of the sun’s rays. This can lower roof surface temperature by up to 100F, decreasing the amount of heat transferred into a building.
• ENERGY STAR qualified roof products can help reduce the amount of air conditioning needed in buildings and can reduce peak cooling demand by 10–15 percent.
Americans spend about $40 billion annually to air condition buildings — one-sixth of all electricity generated in this country. The website also has a handy calculator to help estimate how much money installing an energy-efficient roof can save. I was sold, but then I ran smack into Martin’s considerations. He didn’t want a metal roof. “They’re ugly,” he said, “plain and simple.” “I like plain and simple,” I said, hoping he’d forget the Doric columns I’d insisted on for the side porch. “No, a house like Sheep Dog deserves a cedar roof. It will look beautiful,” he said.
Research
Since I had won the debate about a new front door – with his grudging agreement, we opted for an energy-efficient fiberglass door with foam insulation – I decided to checkout cedar shingles and their green qualifications. It was clear that none of them win any Energy Star points, so I had to look for other sustainable attributes in cedar. Obviously, they’re wood, from a tree, which can be regrown. However, I’d also heard they were far more expensive than regular shingles. I was leery about them. So, I decided that while researching them, I’d also check out other green roofing options. After all my research I came away with the winning opinion. Metal wins hands down! So metal roofing it is.
