[ale] OT Just bought my 1st & 2nd "lighting-class" LED bulbs

[Michael Nolan]

On Tue, Jul 23, 2013 at 7:20 PM, James Sumners <james.sumners at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'm hoping to replace my shingles with metal some day. Evidently they
> put an insulation under it now that essentially deadens the sound of
> rain. And screw that regular replacement cost for shingles.


If you have any intention of doing this, there is no time like right now.
ALL metal that is used for making metal roofs is now sourced from China and
the price has been constantly rising for the past few years and will
continue to rise. Much like everything these days, the price of "quality"
these days is actually the amount of warranty that you are wanting, and
that's nothing but a prorated insurance plan and it's the paint that is
warranted, not the metal itself.

There are some drawbacks. They are highly sensitive to abrasion (you can't
walk on them often or you'll damage them) and are more susceptible to
thermal expansion and damage than asphalt. (screws backing out and
breaking)  You can't clean your gutters out from on the roof, you almost
have to use a ladder.

The comforting sound of "raindrops on a metal roof" means you have a cheap,
thin gauge roof. Traditionally, the "tin roof" that everyone associates
with rain is a 29 gauge 5V panel that you see on barns and looks like this
/\/\_____/\_____/\/\  and begin to rust after a few years.

Residential metal roofs are 26 or 24 gauge, and make no sound in the rain
with or without insulation. Commercial roofs are 20 gauge or more. The
purpose of the insulation under the metal is to reduce the heat sink
effect. Five tons of asphalt and rocks baking in the sun makes even less
sense.

Source: My girlfriend works at a metal roof company (I keep their computers
going) and I worked there part time long enough to learn how to install
roofs and also learn that it's not something that I want to do for a living.

If anyone has any questions I'll be glad to tell you what I know, or find
out what I don't. Just PM me off list.
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