Metal roof fix

[Gene Michael]

Our new house (metal roof on for 2 1/2 years) had a problem with many of the screws backing out. This occurred in the areas that have the widest changes in heating and cooling from sun exposure. The roof decking is standard 7/16 OSB. The company that did the install would never return my calls, so turned to SMC for advice.

One SMC'er recommended using silicone in the screw holes, but I was concerned that in this application, silicone wouldn't have sufficient holding power. And, once silicon has gotten into a surface, nothing else seems to bond no matter how well you try to get the silicon off. I had already looked for a product that I'd used many years ago to repair screw holes in a wooden boat transom (it was an epoxy specifically for this purpose), but apparently it's no longer made.

Ended up squirting Titebond III into the holes with a used hyperdermic needle, then replacing the screws with new ones. Titebond III is said to be waterproof and so far it's holding up well. We're 6 months down the road, have had beaucoup rain and no more screws have backed out.

[Matt Ocel]

This is what I use proffesionally.


http://www.geocelusa.com/php/oic/products.php

[Peter Quadarella]

Is this a common problem with metal roofs? I will need a new roof in the next 2 years or so and have been considering metal since people say they last forever and I didn't think they required much maintenance.

[Steve Knowlton]

Gene, My experince is that if you only are putting screws into 7/16 you will have a problem. You need more than that thickness to get holding power. Our plant has a metal roof on it. We had to rescrew a lot of the roof because of short screws. We have high wind hitting us all winter. Just my thoughts.

[David G Baker]

There is quite a bit of expansion and contraction in metal roofing. I have a small barn that has metal over blue foam board over very old Tamarac pine boards on the roof(this may not be a good thing but it is done that way and I will have to live with it) The movement of the metal is wearing on the blue board and causing particles of foam to fall like blue snow on occasion. The creaking and cracking of the metal gets real spooky once in a while. The reason for the lack of OSB underlayment is the barn is very old and the roofer didn't think the roof support would hold the weight.