For those homeowners who are considering purchasing new metal shingles for a porch, below are excerpts from one of my customer's experience. We restored the upper tin shingles; he replaced the damaged porch shingles as he describes below.
...very wise to do your homework before proceeding with the
project.....I dealt with Berridge Manufacturing Company for the purchase of my
Victorian Tin Shingles. They have several styles to choose from and the
Victorian style matched my roof pretty closely. Berridge is an excellent company
who provides timely, quality products. I highly recommend them.
My specific point of contact at Berridge was Dale Burrows at
dburrows@Berridge.com . He was very helpful and provided all drawings,
instructions, and needed material. You will need to provide him with
measurements for shingle square, hip caps, J-clips, and drip edge length and
drip edge angle for your order. Hip caps, J-clips, and drip edge are shipped in
crated 10 foot sections. There are two J-clips for every length of hip cap. You
will also have to specify shingle color.
I removed the asphalt shingles roof on my front porch (about 50 feet x 20
feet with two hips) and restored it using the reproduction Victorian tin
shingles to match the main roof. The tin shingles are superb; well made,
excellent paint work, individually rapped, and well boxed and crated for
shipment. The materials are very expensive compared to replacement asphalt
shingles and so is the installation and shipment. I think I paid about $2500 for
the materials and shipping, $3000 for rip-off of the old shingles and
installation, and an additional $500 when more material and shipping was
required. If I had done the entire house roof it probably would have been about
$35K+ for a 3100 sq ft house. Shipping is very expensive because of the material
weight. Also you must have several folks on hand to unload the truck when it
arrives. Berridge will provide you documents with all material specifications
(color, dimensions, style, quantity) and requires you to sign the documents and
return them. If the order isn't right, you are responsible. Payment is with
check or money order only. No credit cards. Once payment is received and cleared
then manufacturing of the material begins.
My other recommendations are that you get the installation contractor to
provide and certify to you the material requirements in writing. If you end up
short, the additional material shipping costs will be much more than the
materials. Figure out up front who pays if this happens. Also, most installation
roofers are not experienced with installing tin shingles. Make sure you provide
a copy of the manufacturer installation instructions to the installer, they
receipt for it and understand it. It would help if you go over the installation
procedures with them before starting. If anyone has questions, the manufacture
is more than happy to answer them. If it is determined that anything is
installed improperly, figure out who will pay before you start work. My roof was
relatively simple, more complicated roof styles have other problems that must be
dealt with.
I had problems with my installation - not enough material and improper
installation. This had nothing to do with the manufacturing company. Berridge
was very good and did everything I asked. The installer underestimated the
material required and then refused to buy more. They als claimed no knowledge of
the installation instructions when I discovered that the hip caps and j-clips
were improperly installed. However they were more than willing to "winged it"
without asking questions and installed it wrong. So I had to pay for two
unplanned material reorders and shipments. You don't want to pay $6000 and have
it done wrong.
The good news is the new roof looks great now that its been put right, it
matches the original main house roof and will last a very long time.
If you are seeking other ideas for porch roofing to match upper areas that have older tin roof shingles, check Porch problems