Metal Roof Repair in Tucson, AZ
Midcentury ranch, burnt adobe and post war block, most of it re roofed in exposed fastener panel at some point and most of it carrying a swamp cooler.
What metal roofs look like in central Tucson
The city’s older housing was not built with metal roofs. It acquired them.
Through Sam Hughes, Blenman Elm, Rincon Heights and the neighbourhoods either side of the Sunshine Mile, the original stock is burnt adobe and post war block with low pitched or nearly flat roofs, and a great many of those were built up or rolled roofing to begin with. Somewhere in the last thirty years a large proportion got covered in exposed fastener R panel instead, because it is quick, it is cheap and it works.
It does work. What comes with it is several hundred face driven screws per roof, each one sealed by a rubber washer, all installed on the same day and all ageing together in the strongest sun in the country. On a roof that went on in the mid nineties, those washers are long past their service life whether or not anything is leaking yet.
The second thing central Tucson has in enormous quantity is the swamp cooler. It sits on a curb, that curb has a large perimeter, water stands against its uphill side after every monsoon cell, and somebody walks on the roof around it twice a year to service it. The sealant along that joint has been baked every summer since it went in. When somebody here has a leak nobody can find, the cooler curb is one of the first places worth looking, and it is frequently the answer.
Add mature bigleaf street trees, mesquite, palo verde and old eucalyptus dropping debris into valleys and behind parapets where it holds moisture, and you have most of what fails on a Tucson roof.
What we do on Tucson roofs
- Metal Roof Leak Repair
Tracing the entry point rather than sealing above the ceiling stain.
- Flashing and Penetration Repair
Cooler curbs, pipe boots and vents, which is where most of it starts here.
- Screw and Fastener Replacement
Whole field re fastening on nineties and two thousands exposed fastener roofs.
- Monsoon and Storm Damage Repair
Lifted edges and driven rain after a July or August cell.
- Emergency Roof Leak Repair
Active intrusion during monsoon season, taken ahead of scheduled work.
- Rust and Corrosion Repair
Cut edges, fastener holes and the low ribs where water stands on a nearly flat roof.
- Metal Roof Coating and Recoating
For the chalked out roof that is tired everywhere rather than broken in one place.
- Panel and Seam Repair
Torn fastener holes and opened end laps on long low slope runs.
Why a Tucson roof is its own problem
Nearly flat is not the same as pitched
A great deal of central Tucson metal sits at very low slope over what was originally a flat roof. Water does not run off it quickly, it lies in the low ribs and behind anything in its way. Every failure mode that depends on standing water is amplified, and the repair details that work on a steep roof do not necessarily transfer.
The swamp cooler is a roofing component here
In most cities a rooftop appliance is unusual. In Tucson it is the norm on older housing, and its curb is a leak source, a foot traffic path and a standing water trap all at once. Anyone unfamiliar with these roofs will walk past it.
The roofs went on together, so they fail together
Whole neighbourhoods got re roofed in the same decade with the same product. If your street is starting to see backed out screws, that is not coincidence and it is worth acting on before monsoon rather than during it.
Tree debris matters more than it looks
Mesquite, palo verde and old eucalyptus drop constantly, and what lands in a valley or behind a parapet stops water leaving. In a climate this dry the assumption is that everything dries out. Under a wet mat of debris on a low slope roof, it does not.
Tucson metal roof questions
Are metal roofs a good idea in Arizona?
Yes, and they hold up well here provided the details are maintained. The panels tolerate the ultraviolet and the heat far better than most alternatives. What does not tolerate it is everything with a shorter life attached to them, the fastener washers, the sealant and the boots, and those are what need attention rather than the metal.
Why does my metal roof leak around the swamp cooler?
Because that curb is working against almost everything at once. It has a long perimeter to seal, water stands on its uphill side after a storm, it gets walked on during servicing, and its sealant has been through every Tucson summer since installation. It is one of the most common leak sources in this city and one of the most commonly overlooked.
How often should a Tucson metal roof be checked?
Once a year is sensible, and the useful time is late spring before monsoon season rather than after it. Anything marginal in June is what fails in August, and the difference between finding a perished pipe boot in May and finding it through your ceiling in July is considerable.
Who are some reputable metal roofers in Tucson, Arizona?
There are several competent roofing companies in the city, most of them general roofers who work across tile, foam and shingle as well as metal. If what you need is a repair on a metal roof specifically, it is worth asking anyone you call how much of their work is metal and whether they do repairs when a replacement is also available to them. The answer to the second question tells you the most.
Metal roof trouble in Tucson?
Tell us where the water is showing up and what the weather was doing, and we will tell you what it usually turns out to be.
Tell us where the water is showing up
Something went wrong sending that. Please call (520) 555-0132.
Got it, thank you.
We have your details. If you said water is coming in right now, that goes ahead of scheduled work. Otherwise expect a call back during opening hours.