Metal roofing on a Lancaster County farmhouse and outbuilding

Metal is the right roof for a lot of Lancaster County houses, and farmhouses especially. The roofs are simple, the pitches are decent, and the owners plan to be there a long time. This two-story farmhouse got dark ribbed metal panels over new underlayment, with matching drip edge, gable trim and a vented ridge cap.

Panel roofing is unforgiving of sloppy layout. The panels have to be square to the eave or the ribs drift and the last panel ends up cut at an angle. Josh snaps lines, checks the first panel twice and fastens on the flats with screws and sealing washers at the manufacturer's spacing. Every penetration gets a proper boot, not a blob of caulk.

The same approach works at a bigger scale. The long agricultural building in the second photo got a new metal roof on purlins, which is a day on the ground laying out and a few days on the roof. The owners of barns, sheds and shops across the county call for this work because a metal roof on an outbuilding is the one repair they can make once and forget.