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In the latest issue of FIB NOV. 2000, INSTALLING STEEL ROOFING, by John a Tore Jr. does an excellent job with “snap, standing-seam panels, however, I’ve got a problem with a roof that uses the through fasteners system of securing the metal panels on a 58″ plywood roof. The problem/I are the screws have worked themselves out. Some are as much as 14” out, leaving the screw hole unsealed with the neoprene washer. Our weather is fairly extreme. 100 degree summers, 0 degree winters, 50m.p.h. winds. My hunch is that with all of the preceding over time the screws loosen. THE QUESTION IS: HOW IN THE — DO I KEEP THEM FROM BACKING OUT? SILICONE? EPOXY? PRAYERS?
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If you find a way...let me know. Personally, I would never put on a metal roof that uses exposed fasteners. It's not a question of whether it's going to leak, but how soon !
*Exposed fastener metal roofs are being used on more and more homes in all parts of the country, and I don't believe that they all will leak; I think it's more of getting down the proper installation practices and techniques than just completely giving up on them. I've installed only about 15 metal roofs, half were the snap-lok standing seam, the other half were exposed fastener style. Here are some things we could probably look at, because I also have seen the screw pullout on SOME roofs:1. Is the substrate sound? I know you're using 5/8" ply, which I'd prefer over OSB, but I wonder in how many instances of screw pullout if OSB is being used (just my personal little opinion that screw holding power is better in ply). Is felt being used under the panels? Wondering if condenssation couldn't be loosening the areas around screws. Is the building vented? I've noticed that on utility buildings we've done without venting that heat buildup seems to cause the panels to contract more.2. What kind of panels are you using? The cheaper panels I've seen in the past seem to "oil can" more than the better ones. On residential, we use Metal Sales ProPanelII, which seem to be thicker. So perhaps thicker, better profiles, lighter colors, and shorter spans might help. I've also noticed on some panel profiles that we can actually "stretch" them a little, I'm sure that this tightening doesn't help (particularly when they heat up). Anyone else seen this?3. Finally, I know you can get better screws. The ones my lumberyard stocks (National Nail), come with a small, 1/4" washer, and little guard above it. They seem to work okay, but when I was working with a guy last week, the screws he had had much bigger, thicker, washers. He said that they had washers made out of something other than rubber, and that they allowed more expansion and contraction than the ones I was using. I can find out who makes them, because I'm certainly going to give them a try. The other thing we do is to predill all of our panels with a slightly larger drill bit. This not only helps line up all the heads, but I think that it allows the panel to move a little without affecting the screw. I hope this helps somewhat. I'm certainly not pretending to be an expert, but have a lot of similar questions. It almost seems that every time we do this, what worked before doesn't work now or vice versa, and I'd love to hear more ideas and comments. Also, there was an article in JLC about a year ago about installing exposed fastner metal roofs. I'll dig that article up and post the date/number.
*May, 2000 was the JLC edition that carried an article on installling residential exposed fastener metal roofs.
*DocI build steel frame homes and erect pre-engineered steel frame buildings. The biggest problem I come across is having an employee not adjusting the clutch properly on the screw gun and stripping out the screw. If you are using the self drilling/tapping screws to go thru the metal and into the wood, you are using the wrong type of screw. Just like sheet rock screws, coarse thread screws for going into wood and fine thread for going into metal, you need to be pre-drilling your metal panels and then use a coarse thread screw into the plywood. If you are using wood screws, then apparently your installer stripped the screw/s. As for how to keep the ones that are backing out to stay down, take out the screw/s, take some small slivers of wood (tookpicks work fine), insert them in the hole, break them off flush with the plywood, inset screw/s and hand tighten.vince
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In the latest issue of FIB NOV. 2000, INSTALLING STEEL ROOFING, by John a Tore Jr. does an excellent job with "snap, standing-seam panels, however, I've got a problem with a roof that uses the through fasteners system of securing the metal panels on a 58" plywood roof. The problem/I are the screws have worked themselves out. Some are as much as 14" out, leaving the screw hole unsealed with the neoprene washer. Our weather is fairly extreme. 100 degree summers, 0 degree winters, 50m.p.h. winds. My hunch is that with all of the preceding over time the screws loosen. THE QUESTION IS: HOW IN THE --- DO I KEEP THEM FROM BACKING OUT? SILICONE? EPOXY? PRAYERS?