The Stallings residence, a 7,500 sq. ft. custom home in Clovis, NM built in 1988, is equipped with many unique features – from a split-level trophy room and home office suite to a lavish outdoor pool and entertainment area complete with cabanas and swim-up bar. But the original green standing seam roof on the house had faded badly and was prone to leaking. “We decided that a metal tile facsimile roof would fit well with the Southwestern look of our home, and we reviewed four different types of products with our contractor, Tim Moyers of Frametek. We eventually settled on a Met-Tile roof as the best choice from a standpoint of both looks and performance,” reports homeowner Ted Stallings.
The products evaluated by Stalling and Moyers included regular and stone-coated metal roof systems. “One feature we especially liked about Met-Tile was the long length of the panels,” notes Stallings, explaining: “The other systems are manufactured in short pieces which don’t offer as much coverage or as watertight a design as the long Met-Tile sheets. We also liked the ability of the Met-Tile system to accommodate rounded corners and small roof sections,” he adds. The roof is built in several different sections, including small separate roof areas over the trophy room, swim-up bar, pool equipment and cabanas, among others.
The project used slightly over 57 squares (5,721 sq. ft.) of 26-gauge steel Met-Tile roofing in a Spanish Red Tile color that complements the home’s stucco finish. Met-Tile panels were manufactured into 3' widths and in various lengths from 3’ to 21’ to accommodate the layout of the roof. The paint finish is a silicone modified polyester (SMP) ENERGY STAR® cool roof paint system manufactured by Becker Specialty Corp. The Red Tile color is also compatible with standing seam red metal roofing that was recently installed on several airplane hangars located on the same property.
Challenges described
According to Tim Moyers of Clovis, NM-based Frametek, the general contractor and installer for the Met-Tile reroof project, “Homes in this high plains area are subjected to some of the most punishing conditions you can find. Temperatures range from 10 degrees below zero up to 110 degrees, which creates a lot of expansion and contraction in a metal roof. Weather conditions may include high wind, snow, and small tornadoes – we pretty much catch it all. So it is imperative that a roof be manufactured, designed and installed to withstand extreme weather conditions.”
With its long-length weathertight panels, fastening patterns that utilize screws instead of nails for more secure attachment, and durable metal construction, Met-Tile was well positioned to meet the challenge.
This was Frametek’s first Met-Tile project, but the installation did not pose any problems. “The panel application is similar to an R-panel or U-panel, and for this project there are no horizontal splices, which helped to simplify things,” says Moyers. “We also put down a waterproof film-surfaced leak barrier, which will perform much better than the 30 lb. felt that was used with the original roof.”
Moyers reports that the installation of the first panel on any run is the most critical. “You have to start out square and the deck has to be straight before you put down the first sheet”, Moyers states. “The product was also installed to allow for proper expansion and contraction. I believe the stepped design of the panel corrugations helps with this by allowing for more flexibility,” he adds.
It took several weeks to install the Met-Tile roof due to constant delays from heavy winds that are commonplace in the high plains of New Mexico each spring. “We completed the installation in May 2010, and it looks very impressive,” says Moyers. “This is a great looking roof that is going to last and not leak. It has already been put to the test: A recent severe wind and hail storm did considerable damage to neighboring properties, but there was no damage to this roof.”
Homeowner Ted Stallings agrees. “My wife and I are very happy with the Met-Tile roof and have received many compliments. The color matches the standing seam roofing on our hangars, yet people often don’t realize that Met-Tile is actually made of metal too because of the tile-like design.” Met-Tile installer Moyers adds that his company has received many inquiries from people who have admired the completed roof
Met-Tile roofing is a product of McElroy Metal.