Question: How To Stretch Lifespan of Tin Roofing

I'm looking for ideas on how to prolong the life of a tin roof on a house.

The neighbors told me it was put on approximately 15-17 years ago. There are multiple places where the top layer--nickel? galv??-- has worn off and the material underneath is now rusting through.

I've considered swabbing that aluminum colored tarry stuff that folks put on top of mobile homes. How long would that hold up before I needed to repeat?

Thanks in advance.

RFA in Texas' heat and humidity

Reply to
R Alexander
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More than likely it was galvanized with zinc.

A lot of coatings will not adhere to zinc unless it is treated properly. Also unless you remove or treat the rust, it will just come back. So coating or painting it could be a never-ending chore. POR-15

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makes a good product that's used for autos and marine equipment.

Reply to
hawgeye

honestly once rust has started unless you can remove all of the rust then your fix will only last a year or two

your fix could be harder then replacement

They do have better grades of metal roofing with an epoxy over the galvanized metal.

Thats probably your best bet but if you only have surface rust you should get another 10 years before you need full replacement

try your patch as long as it dosent drive you insane and save for a new roof and maybe a catchment so you can save some of that rain youve been getting lately and put it on a garden

Reply to
<moo

You can use a rust converter product on the rusted areas. If you want a forever coating call your local spray foam insulator or painter. Make sure you get in touch with a reputable contractor. You can coat your roof with a rubber type coating or put a layer of spray foam on and then coat that. Either fix will last for many years. If you receive proper installation techniques advice you could do the coating job yourself. Maybe do a search on roof caotings & contact manufacturer reps for instructions & concerns.

snipped-for-privacy@an> honestly once rust has started unless you can remove all

Reply to
butwhat

Financially speaking, there are different alternatives to "repair/cover" the rust issues. Some work &#39;sort of&#39; and some don&#39;t. From your post & the time factor you state, I&#39;d highly suspect the existing roof is corrugated galvanized sheetmetal. The &#39;sort of&#39; would need to be researched carefully and applied properly as there&#39;s way to many &#39;this&#39;ll work BS&#39; claims out there. You can probably get another 3~5 years of use with a proper sealant/application to "seal in and/or cover the rust".

However, in the grand scheme of things, I&#39;ve seen the (untreated) rusty roofs hold up (no leaks) even though the top surface has severely degraded and you&#39;re left with what is basically the bottom coat of galvanizing.

You have different options here as a way to go;

  1. Attempt a repair. You might try a clean/repaint. (zinc-rich impregnated paints)

You can try to cover/seal it with a asphaltic based material (per your post) Used to be called Kool Seal > I&#39;ve considered swabbing that aluminum colored tarry stuff that folks put on > top of mobile homes. How long would that hold up before I needed to repeat?

  1. Strip the old and replace with new metal roofing.

  1. Re-roof over the top of the existing. This option is more in line with industrial/commercial construction for roof repair but is cost effective given the square footage of most industrial/commercial applications.

Assuming the cost factor will come into play here, I would personally opt to re-roof with removal of the old. You should then be able to look forward to at least 20~25 years of a worry free roof. The nice thing about the new metal roofs are the cool factors built in. Essentially a type of paint that reduces/reflects heat transmission/absorption. Trade speak is &#39;cool roofs&#39;.

One KEY FACTOR in buying/installing a new metal roof is the refutability of both the manufacturer and installer. The best product in the world installed by monkeys will fail. The converse is true relative to installers vs materials.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Deckert

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Depends on how badly it&#39;s rusted -- if it&#39;s just cosmetic so far, the rust converters are probably the most effective solution and can last quite some time. One is at

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but a google search will turn up many others or you may find a local farm supply or other similar outlet locally...

Reply to
dpb

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