Boilerdad

Metal Roofs are Cool Roof’s

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:30:51 -0500

Our roof was damaged in a severe hail storm here in Austin. March 25th has gone down as a very erie date for the area. Three record setting hail storms (by the amount of severity and damage) have hit Austin on that exact date three years in a row. It’s hard to believe, and I wouldn’t if mankind had even the smallest control of local weather.

When we discovered we needed to replace our roof, I wanted to at least look into getting a metal roof. I’ve known about their superiority over composite shingle type roofs, but the cost is usually 2.5 to 4 times the cost of a traditional roof. As most of you know, I research everything until all questions are exhausted and little doubt about remains about almost anything. I gathered even more fodder for justifying the higher initial cost. Since we were at this fork, it was time to get bids to see if it was even possible. After a lengthy bidding process, it turns out metal prices had plummeted from their record highs about 18 months ago. Additionally, composite shingles have experienced their highest price in history due to the relatively recent hurricanes, and the high number of severe hail storms in the Mid-west. This meant the price difference was less than 1.5 times the cost of shingles. The material costs were nearly identical and the difference in price was strictly labor.

There are so many advantages metal has over composite shingles, I thought I’d list at least the major ones I ran across:

• Longevity. First and foremost, a quality metal roof will last 50+ years, and most are warranted for 25-30 years. Galvalume roofs, like the on we installed currently exist on homes that are 80+ years old. FYI, Galvalume, some times called 55% Galvalume is a licensed coating made of a blend of Aluminum and Zinc. They call it 55% because by weight it’s a blend of 55% Aluminum and 45% Zinc. This also means that somewhere near 80% by volume of the coating is Aluminum. Aluminum holds up extremely well to the elements and shows little signs of degradation over time. Even a “30 year” shingle roof only lasts on average 10-14 years down here in this heat.

• Strength. Category IV rated. Hail as large as baseballs may dent it, but it’s not gong through it. Hurricane wind rated.

• Weight. Or the lack thereof. A metal roof weighs about a third of a composite roof.

• Discount. Some insurance companies give a discount of up to 15% because it won’t damage with most hail and it’s not flammable.

• Energy Efficiency. Saves 30% - 40% in air conditioning cost. A new metal colored roof reflects about 65% of the suns energy, and after a few years the sheen will degrade to only reflecting about 58%; only a white metal roof is better, but it’s too plain. This is compared to ALL COLORS of composite shingles that reflect only 4% of the suns energy. Consequently this means they ABSORB 96% of the suns energy. Additionally, the shingles act like refractory, or bricks. They slowly dissipate heat all night keeping your attic nice and warm. This means after the sun goes down, your AC unit works for hours to remove that heat that keeps pressing down into the living space. With any color of metal roof it dissipates heat very quickly, cooling off as soon as it doesn’t have the sun’s impingement. This is the reason a metal roof is called a cool roof.

Cool Roofs are a large category, and it should be clarified that a metal roof is only one type of cool roof. It’s likely the best choice for a pitched residential roof.

Pflugerville Triathlon

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:16:55 -0500

Jenn did another triathlon here in Pflugerville. She did really well. She even beat her Danskin time by 7 minutes. The swim was shorter for this event. The day hot, but again windy so it helps. I think the only reason she wanted to enter this one is to ride her bike again. She did mention shortly after she was done she “passed several fit men” on the bike portion.

Anna and Colin really like going to the lake so they can play by the shore. The inevitably, accidentally fall in.

Jenn bests her time!

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 19:10:47 -0500

Jenn completed another Danskin with her best time: 1:49:12. It was a hot day which would have been unbearable if the wind wasn’t blowing like crazy. Thankfully it was blowing the faces of the finishing runners! It’s about as nice of a finish as you could possibly have.

These are a few additional shots of Jenn running by that I thought came out great! Below are a few iPhone shots of the morning when the sisters arrived on site.

That’s Jenn topping off her bike tires in case you can’t clearly see that. Our friend Kris also participated and completed her first triathlon. Congrats Kris!!

I really like her fans in the background of the shot on the right - the ones with their hands and cameras up! Way to go!!

It’s so hard for the little ones to wait in the heat... Can you see the unbridled enthusiasm Anna has waiting for her favorite triathlete? It’s so, so contagious!

It was gorgeous at Lily Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:55:14 -0600

Our kind friends drove us up into the mountains a few miles from their suburb home to see the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. It was glorious up there, albeit a little windy. Here are a few more shots from that beautiful day.

Farm Tour - through the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 11:15:02 -0600

Yesterday, I was able to attend a tour of our favorite farm here in Austin, Boggy Creek Farm. They do a lot of things right. They are all organic and have been for years, even before it was cool to be “organic”. They start nearly all of their plants from seed, organic seed, with some obvious exceptions. They grow beautiful fruits and veggies on a 5 acre lot and have sales at their farm twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday. The food you buy was literally growing only a few minutes to a few hours ago, and harvesting continues though the sales day. I have always known that it is back breaking work, literally, but today I got to see how labor intensive it really is.

Jump Rope for Heart!

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 13:11:10 -0600

Can you tell Anna was completely giddy when I showed up! I missed jumping since she was chosen to jump first, but after a few minutes it was her turn again. Below are a few pictures of the action. More importantly, Anna raised $26 for the American Heart Association. I wasn’t able to stay for very long and I think this was also good for my sanity. Every two minutes they would change jumpers. This was preceded by the entire gym of 100+ second graders screaming the count down displayed on the timer - 10, 9, 8, 7...... you get the idea.

Sunrise

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:49:06 -0600

Really Good Friends

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:56:27 -0600

We just left some friends today after having such a good time. Last night was so much fun for us. I can only hope that our friends, our Really Good Friends had an equally good time. I believe the title for the shot above was “happy”. I’ve attached and labeled the intended shots with their respective names. For me this was a really fun part of the evening. I love to take candid shots of people, usually to their dissatisfaction, but catching the moment is golden. The shots in-between the title and therefore posed ones are my favorites. David and Deedra thanks for having us!

“serious”

“semi-serious, left-tilt”

I sure hope Spindle-top is ok?

...like that!

BAAAAAH!

and the final shot. Jennifer appropriately named Muppet Face.

Tree Planting

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:43:43 -0600

Today the kids and I volunteered to attended a tree planting to plant trees in a city park at the lake which is devoid of trees. If interested take a look at the rest of the pics here. We planted a Cedar Elm and a Bur Oak ourselves. Anna dug a hole largely by herself and quit once she discovered fire ants in her shoe. It’s amazing these things could even move in the 40º weather. I got to help several others with planting and digging. The City Forester does a fantastic job of organizing and managing these events.