Metalfest! (revised)

Dear Friends: (This is Elsie narrating)
We have started on the metal roofing process! Some of you may of seen Anna's earlier post from afar, for she and Seth are in North Carolina for the month of January. I thought I would edit it and elaborate on some of the photos. My dad and sister, John and Edith, so kindly came over for the day to help us get started on roofing our big barn. It was also great to have Seth and Tyler's mom Chris over for the day who we have to thank for these great photos. She also made us the best applesauce cake I have ever had in my life at the end of the day. Thanks to all for helping out.

Here we have Tyler working the shear on the roofing machine, where he is cutting the panel off at the right length. The metal goes into the roofing machine flat and comes out with both sides bent up to create the standing seam.






















It is hard to see in this photo but it was the best one I could find to show how both sides of the panel are bent in the roofing machine. The top edge of what we call the low side (the left side of the panel in this picture) is bent into an upside down L. And the top edge of what we call the high side (the right side of the panel in this picture) is bent into an upside down U.






















The low side of the panel receives the cleats which are what attach the metal to the roof. That is what Tyler is doing in this photo. Then, the high side of the next panel that goes on will cover up the low side of this panel and the cleats. Then the whole thing will be put through the seamer which will bend the seam over twice to create the double lock standing seam.






















This is what the finished product of the seam looks like (taken on a later snowier day).

That is my best explanation of how it is done! Standing seam metal roofs are the best kind of roof you can have living in a snowy area. They have no surface fasteners (nails or screws that puncture the metal that could lead to a leaky roof) and they shed snow much better than a shingled roof. Spoken like a true standing seam sheet metal roofer's daughter!

In this picture I got to use the electric shears! (compliments of my dad) This was the alternative to making a cut 180in long (the length of the panel) through 24 gauge metal by hand with the straight snips, which look like a giant pair of scissors. It very nicely saves your hands and wrists from being quite sore the next day. Instead of making a single cut in the metal the sheers take out a small strip entirely. As you can see when it does that it produces a pretty little curly-Q. Edith is being my helper and cutting the curly-Q off when it got too long. This process is only necessary for the panels that go on the edge of the roof.

















And here we all are listening intently like we're in sheet metal roofing class learning from the master himself.