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.

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

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

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

Metal Roofing Va Energy Efficient roofing system

Radiant Therma Vent

Metal Roofing VA introduces ventilation to the roof and attic. It reflects radiant heat with the use of a radiant barrier and it stops the conduction of heat in the summer and cold in the winter into the attic space.

How it works: the drip edge at the lower edge of the roof has an air gap below it where air can enter. As the air under the roof is heated by the sun, and as hot air rises exiting the vented ridge vent then cooler air is drawn in at the eave. As long as hot air rises (we don’t think a law can be passed to stop that) then this becomes an automatic air ventilation machine. There is a Styrofoam panel with grooves in it to enhance the air movement and to create a thermal break where cold or heat cannot be conducted into the house.

The home above is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and you can see how the panels are being installed right on top of the foam panel. The radiant barrier is under the panel and the air pathway is under the panel as well.

We will be happy to show you a prototype of this system where we actually disassemble a model of this unique but effective approach to ventilating older homes.

For further information please call 540-222-1642 or visit our website @ AlphaRain.com for Metal Roofing VA.

Metal Roofing Ventilation Charlottesville VA

This is a two-part blog about metal roof ventilation system for Charlottesville VA.  One thing that I have noticed is that not too many contractors or roofers understanding the importance of ventilation for attics or for roofing systems.  In this part, on the blog, I’m going to focus on ventilation in the attic.  Have you ever wondered why some attics are a lot hotter than others in the summer?  Most of this is due to poor ventilation if you have ridge vents in your roof which allows a way for the hot air in the attic to escape, but no way for the air to enter at the bottom of your attic you are doing a disservice to yourself.  For air to escape you must have a new way for air to enter, Hot air always rises, so as the hot air heats up and rises you need a way for the fresh cooler air to enter.  The proper way for this is through a soffit vent or through our custom metal roof vent which is placed at the bottom of the roof when the roof is installed.  Our custom metal roof entry even allows for fresh air to enter below the metal roof and flow into your attic.  This is very important to many old houses that do not have any soffits or way to vent air into their attics from the bottom of the roof area.  We have made a video what I have linked to it below that shows a sample and that I will explain exactly how this process works.  In Part two I will talk about Vented J Channel and how we installed a complete patented roof ventilation system in addition to venting the attic.

Check out our website AlphaRain.com or call us at 540-222-1642

Metal Roofing VA – Warrenton

Metal Roofing Warrenton VA we have made a description of our metal roofing patented energy saving ventilation system, we want to talk about Warrenton VA and the metal roofs we are installing in that area.  We have been working on a new patented roof ventilation system that can save a lot on energy saving by basic air movement.  The test example that we did was on a house that had little or no ventilation, no ridge vents, and no soft vents.  We installed our ventilation system and had amazing results. Check out the video below to see what we did!

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