In our last post, we left you with our challenge on how to install this particular copper roof. As we noted we had a curved convex deck and a curved or convex hip as well as wider panels that our pan machine could make as well as a single lock hand-crimped 1″ standing seam application. The solution was pretty simple: we unpacked all of our hand tools from generations gone by and attacked the problem like our tinsmith forefather’s would have.

Here are the results: these hand made panels are hand-formed, hand-crimped and curved using a tool similar to the tool used on the male end of downspouts so that the panels are curved to match the deck. Simple right? I believe we have the best craftsmen in Northern Virginia!

For more information please visit our website at AlphaRain.com or call us at 540-222-1642.

We were presented with a unique challenge while installing this standing seam copper roof near Charlottesville, Virginia a while back. This actually was a breezeway porch that connected the guest suite with the main house. The challenge was that it had to match the existing single lock panels on the rest of the house and the panels were 22″ wide. Sense no rollformer can make a single lock panel that wide we had to hand form all the panels. The roof also was convex so all the panels had to be hand crimped. As you can see the hand crafted deck also had convex hips for the final challenge. In our next post we will show you how we overcame these challenges.

For more information please go to AlphaRain.com or call us at

434-207-5560

What is a W Valley?  On our roofs that we install they all have what we call a W valley, the reason this is so important is that the traditional valleys can leak.  A W valley will not leak, in fact on over 500 metal roofs installed with W Valleys we have never have one leak, however on less roofs installed with a normal Valley, we have had many of those leak.  We know better than most that normal valleys will leak.  The picture above is a normal Metal Roofing W Valley, and the picture below is a traditional metal roofing valley.  Take a look at the video I did showing samples of both and how the metal roofing fits panels fit into the valleys and the potential leaks that will occur on the normal metal roofing valley.

AlphaRain.com 540-222-1642

Here is the link to the video that I did with the W Valley

On March 12th 2014 we installed a new metal roof on a home located in Culpeper VA.  Before we install our new metal roof, we needed to first remove the 8yr old tin roof that was put on the house.  In the live video that we shot on the job site located below here, you will be able to see the tin roof and how we are removing it. You can watch the video below or click on this link to visit our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbrbCozStjs

We are installing an under roof ventilation system with a standing seam metal roof on an older farmhouse in Culpeper VA from the early 1900s.

I recorded a video on-site that I have put a link to below.  I show in the video the under roof ventilation system before the metal roof has been installed, and how we are able to allow the air to flow through the drip edge that we custom make on the job site.  The ventilation panels are about the size of a sheet of plywood and go down on top of a radiant barrier that we install first over the roof deck or skip sheathing.  The Ventilation panels are called Therma-Vent.  These panels allow for the roof to vent air through channels that run vertically up the panels and then the air escapes through a vented ridge cap.

Please take a look at our video and below and contact us for more information about metal roofing and our under roof ventilation system.

AlphaRain.com

540-222-1642

Here is the video that we recorded in Culpeper Virginia about the on-site job where we are installing the roof ventilation system with a metal roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_68aiR1q0E

Blog By Paul Dysart with Alpha Rain Metal Roofing

 

Showing the most energy efficient Metal roofing ventilation system on a Standing Seam Metal Roof in Charlottesville, VA Contact us at: (434) 207-5560 or visit our site at www.alpharain.com

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56y6ofoH168&feature=share

Alpha Rain has developed a new innovative Energy Efficient Roof Ventilation System for Metal Roofs in Va, we are putting this patented roof on many homes in the Charlottesville VA area.

Metal Roofing Charlottesville VA

There are 3 ways to transmit heat:
• Direct heat transfer-think of a tea kettle on an open flame
• Convective heat transfer- think of a turkey in an oven where the hot air cooks the turkey
• Radiant heat transfer- think of popcorn in a microwave

Our new Radiant Therma Vent roofing system addresses all three. The Radiant Therma Vent panel acts as a thermal break to stop the direct heat transfer. The air ventilation we introduce into the radiant Thema Vent system stops the convective heat transfer by ventilating the hot air out of the ridge and pulling in the cool air from the eave area. This system even vents the hot air from the attic. The use of a Radiant barrier stops the radiant heat transfer. This radiant barrier is so intelligent that in the winter it stops the radiant heat from leaving your house!

This system is only available from Alpha Rain, your metal roof specialist. We will be happy to show you a prototype of this system and actually take apart a portable mock up of a section of roof. We will also show you on a digital photo what your home will look like with a metal roofing. We can even show you different roof colors so you won’t be guessing what color will look best. See all these new technologies on our website at AlphaRain.com (434) 207-5560

What are thermal breaks? They are any form of solid insulation that doesn’t allow cold or hot to transfer to an adjacent surface. To demonstrate how this works I took a Styrofoam cup and filled it with boiling water. Then I took a temperature reading of the water with a laser thermometer. The temp of the water was 185 f. The temp of the Styrofoam cup was 94 f. I slid a card board sleeve on the cup and due to air ventilation under the sleeve the temp was around 72 f.

When we install our Therma vent insulation system this same principal is at work. On one test we did the temp on the roof was 165 f and the temp in the attic was 150 f. After installing the thermal breaks the temp in the attic was reduced to 103f. We thought that was amazing.

This is a video describing our custom ventilation system and its built in thermal break:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX_l3e1qPMw

For more information visit us at Alpha Rain.com   (540) 222-1642

Alpha Rain has developed a new innovative Energy Efficient Roof Ventilation system for Metal Roofs in Va, we are putting this patented roof on many homes in the Orange VA area. Come and check us out at the link above!

Patented Metal Roofing System Arlington VA

Alpha Rain has developed a new patented metal roofing system for Metal Roofs in Virginia, we are putting this patented roof on many homes in the Arlington VA area.  Watch the video below to learn more about why you should choose us to put on your metal roof if you live in the Arlington VA area, or click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UJU9XAgoZA&feature=share 

Metal Roofing VA Oil Canning

What in the world is oil canning? In the vernacular of metal roof installers oil canning is when a metal roof, particularly standing seam metal roofs, has bulges and ripples in it. This phenomenon occurs for a plethora (I always wanted to use that word in a blog) of reasons. The main culprit is the roof deck. Think of it this way, the deck of the roof is the bones and the metal roofing VA is the skin. However the bones lay, that is how the skin is going to lay. If the deck has as little as a 1/8 inch deflection then that panel will not lay flat. Here are some more reasons, if the master coil is slit with more tension on one of the decoilers then it will keep that tension in that coil and the panel won’t lay perfectly flat. Add to that humidity and when the humidity around the roof is different it will oil can.

These types of roof also expand and contract with heat or cold weather. A 50 foot panel will “stretch” as much as ¼ of an inch between the summer and winter months. In these panels we actually use clips that allow the panels to expand and contract. If you compare the new steel panels with the old tin panels you can see that we have made some headway on reducing oil canning. However we don’t think we will ever be able to eliminate it altogether.

For more information on oil canning and other elements of standing seam metal roofing VA please visit us at AlphaRain.com or call us at (540) 222-1642