The Roof, the roof, the roof is on... the house!

The roof is being installed! Look at all that glorious winter sunlight on that south-facing beauty. Obviously I'm hinting at solar panels, but first let's talk about roofs. There are a lot of options, but the conversation usually boils down to: asphalt or metal, and what color?

Pros and cons of asphalt versus metal can be found on all the roofers websites, and they're all pretty much true so I'm not going to repeat them here. I chose metal because of several benefits:

Environmental friendliness: metal roofing is 100% recyclable, and is made from very high recycled content. Not only that, it lasts 2 or 3 times as long as an asphalt roof so the waste of production is reduced. Asphalt roofing goes to a landfill - very little of it can be recycled. Even if parts of the metal roof need to be replaced, the old stuff will get recycled.

Money: We've discussed my innate cheapness before, such as when I wanted to manage construction myself, or live in a camper instead of renting a cottage, or when I spoke approvingly of my grandfather's shack that rolled down a hill. But this is where we separate the faux-penny pinchers from the faithful descendants of Scottish misers.

A metal roof costs almost twice as much as an asphalt roof due not only to materials but to the skill required to install it. I called around and verified this, both for this cottage and for a house I used to live in a decade ago. So you'd think that my cheapness would lead me to prefer the asphalt roof, but my cheapness is patient, and the cheapness-over-time value of a metal roof won out. 

It's a very close call, and it truly is hard to add such a big expense to the build budget. I was pained and thought briefly and longingly of just going up there with some tar paper and a staple gun. But in the end the metal roof won out because of environmental factors, and because it will probably last twice as long, and it will save me money on home insurance, and it won't cost me as much time to maintain, which brings me to...

Maintenance: I think a lot about my future self, and I hope to live a long and healthy life, unplagued by being leaked upon by rain. Metal roofs usually require less maintenance and are more resilient in storms. And sure you read that in brochures for metal roof companies, but my insurance company also gives a discount for having a metal roof, and if there's one thing I trust in life, it's an actuarial table. (That's to say, a nerd at the insurance company figured out that they'll pay out fewer and/or cheaper claims on metal roofs, which to me means it's a sturdier product.)

Solar: I talked to a few solar panel installers and got opinions on roof types, as well as to Unity Homes to find out their opinions. Unanimous consensus said that standing seam metal is best. It requires very little maintenance, so you don't have to move panels around to get to it, and it maintains the integrity of the building envelope (by that, they mean you don't have to put screws into the roof structure to hold the solar panels on, so you don't create any holes for air and water to get in). You can put solar panels on other kinds of roofs, but this is clearly the best option for solar if you can swing it.

And here are some things I considered but am not worried about. I mention them because you might decide they matter for your build.

Noise: I heard this from a lot of people - won't you go a little nuts hearing the rain on the roof? (or from some goofballs - oh nice you'll hear the rain on the roof all night.) I won't really hear rain on the roof because that roof has about a foot of insulation. One of the weird benefits of very well insulated buildings - mentioned in several interviews with homeowners - is that you hear almost no outside noise.

Appearance: I spent an entire day driving around the lakeside communities, gawking at peoples houses. Sorry, future neighbors, that was me cruising super slow past your cottage, staring at your home like I was casing the joint!

I highly recommend this activity. It will give you an idea of what your roof might look like, and will help you choose a color, as well as see some house color combinations in the wild. It also gives to a good look at what your roof choice will look like in a few decades.

I ended up going with a kind of dark grey color. I got a sample and held it next to the siding color and it just seemed like a nice combination. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's a cozy looking roof for a little house. I wanted it to blend a little with the trees.

Well, there's the roof. I'll come back later with more to say about solar panels after my solar consultation in a couple weeks.