Metal roof repair is a big part of our work in Coeur d'Alene, because metal is everywhere here: shops, pole barns, lake cabins and a growing number of homes. Metal holds up for decades, but it is not maintenance-free.
On exposed-fastener panels, the usual weak point is the screw. The neoprene washer under each screw head dries out and cracks after years of sun and freeze-thaw, and the screws back out as the panels expand and contract. Water rides the screw into the purlin. We replace screws with oversized fasteners and new washers so they bite fresh wood.
Standing seam roofs have hidden clips, so they leak in other places: at the ridge closure, around pipe boots, at sidewall flashings and where someone cut in a vent without the right flashing. Snow sliding off a metal roof also rips off gutters, bends vent pipes and tears up whatever sits below the eave. Snow guards in the right spots stop that.
Other problems we fix: rust at cut edges, panels lifted by wind, cracked sealant at lap joints and leaks where two roof planes meet. We match panel profile and color as closely as the supplier allows.
If the panels are rusted through or the roof was put on over bad framing, metal roof installation may be the better spend.
