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Owners of vintage homes usually want to preserve their embossed tin shingle roofs. Unfortunately there are no readily available metal shingles that will match the size, texture and shadowing of the embossed tin shingles dating from 1870 to 1930. But there are resolutions that can meet budget constraints as well as appearance expectations.
For these owners of homes with embossed metal shingles, the porch is usually the most challenging. The porch area tends to be the most trampled. Understandably, painters have placed ladders on the shingles. Or children have played on them. As a result, damaged porch tin shingles are a common occurrence. When maintenance is due on metal shingle roofs, the porch roof may be handled differently than upper roofs because of excessive damage.
Here are four solutions:
1. Cover the porch roof with the fully reinforced restoration system
This solution is not often used, but as the owner in the case study described below will attest, this solution is a good one to know about.
2. The use of the standing seam panels has been a popular choice for a porch roof.
The reasons are obvious: Both standing seam and shingles are traditional metal styles of roofing. Also, with the traditional standing seam panels, the metal shingles complement each other quite attractively. The cost of this approach is less expensive than new metal shingles.
3. Coat existing asphalt shingles.
If modern asphalt shingles have already been installed as a solution, every owner will agree the overall house appearance is usually undesirable. On these porches, where tin shingles are visible on other roofs, the least expensive approach may be to coat the porch asphalt shingles with the same acrylic tint as the rest of the metal tin shingles. The color ties in the different roofs.
4. Another inexpensive approach is to install a smooth, rolled roofing installation.
Then coat the rubber or mineral surface roofing with the same acrylic color that has been applied to the embossed tin shingles of the upper roofing areas. One customer coated her porch roof with an acrylic tint that accented the trim of her stone house. For photos of this project, see this porch color story. Another customer coated his porch shingles to buy him time to focus on more expensive renovations.
For example, an historical district owner faced a real dilemma. The enclosed porch roof area leaked into her living room. The local historical society flatly rejected any plan to replace the roof unless the same metal shingles were used. Her budget could not afford to replace with new shingles at this point.
In this situation, the owner had to balance her priorities between satisfactory appearance, performance and budget.
Her strategy was to opt for
1) stopping the leakage into her living room and
2) avoiding a conflict with the local historical society.
To accomplish this decision, the fully reinforced system with restoration green acrylic was applied. This system consists of four layers of acrylic with mesh between two of the coating layers.
For this situation at that particular time, the approach made sense. From the driveway, the porch roof surface looks presentable. Since the back door is the main entrance, the appearance issue seemed resolved for the roof surface. Incidentally, the leakage situation was solved.
See the photos illustrating how to repair metal shingles over a porch roof
that chronicle this case history near Washington, DC.
By working with an experienced contractor in this field, innovative solutions are possible.
Porch roofs present unique concerns. This page was devoted solely to the roofing material on the front porch. Other concerns are addressed on other web pages--concerns such as siding issues.
If you are seeking an experienced company to offer an estimate to preserve your existing roof, one of us would be delighted to visit your residence, discuss the alternatives available and, if requested, submit a quote for restoring your tin roofs. Click here for a map of our geographical work area.
Beyond information about our contracting services, this site is designed for individuals interested in tin roofs. All pictures are from Roof Menders projects. For more details about this company, go to "About Us" page. Just call 610-941-1051 with your questions, or peruse our tin roofing blog for tidbits about the tin roofing world.