People often choose a metal roof because it is long lasting, but it comes with its own metal roof repair issues to consider. Metal roofs come in many attractive colors and do last a long time, but in climates with more humidity, they can bring an unseen source of roof leaks.
One customer called because the drywall in their bathroom was no longer dry. It was so wet; it was sagging down in a swollen curve. We went up to inspect it, and found a large pond in the ceiling above the bathroom.
Was a leak or gap in the metal roof the culprit? Not this time. What our inspection found was that unfortunately, when the roof had been installed, no insulation had been put directly under the metal roof. At night, when the metal roof cooled down faster than the surrounding wood of the building, water condensed out of the humid air onto the metal just like on a cold metal drink can. On the outside that was ok, it ran down to the ground, but on the inside, condensation dripped down into the insulation. Fortunately a vapor barrier had been installed below the insulation, and it caught most of the water. Some had worked its way through pinpricks in the vapor barrier, wet the drywall, and the weight of the pond of water pushed the ceiling down.
We eliminated the pond of water, fixed the vapor barrier, and everything was fine on that end. Next we brought the source of the problem to the owner’s attention. Adding in the necessary insulation under the metal prevented any future metal roof repair problems from that source.
