Roofover or Pole barn roof

[steelworkersgal]

This question is geared towards JD or Greg.

We are contemplating a different roof at the moment we have the original metal roof. My question to you both is, which would be more feasible we hopefully do not plan on living in our single-wide mobile home forever and would like to order a modular or double-wide. This is our first mobile home and I've read a lot of the postings on this site. We are looking for the heating /cooling aspect of the new roof plus it would give us an overhang so we don't have to worry about water getting in between the metal siding and our walls. Because we're newbies and you both have years of experience and knowledge of these homes I'm sure you would be able to direct us in the right direction.

[Harry]

Hi

Just wanted t show you some roofovers in a park near me. All the MHs in this park have this roofover.



Harry

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. There are some factors to weigh before making any choices.

First is your home. Will the construction support a roof over with out major modification and extra support? What condition are your trusses in? Do you own the land or are you in a park?

Keep this in mind also, When we bought this new in '91 we only planned on 3-4 years here. It was great plan on paper, but we're still here!!

JD has much more experence in this area than I do. I'm sure he will add his thoughts as well.

Mark's book covers this as well. Greg

[JD]

If it were me, I would be looking for a roof-over, because price would a another major factor. A pole barn roof would have some additional benefits, but weighing them against price and possible permit and code issues, I don't believe the value would not be there.

A roof-over would be a lot less expensive. Done properly, it could last 20 years or more. You would not have building issues like engineering trusses and then getting them lifted over your home. A roof-over can be a two-man job and take around 4-7 days for DIY people to install. An experienced pro crew could be done in a day or two.

Neither roof style will address damaged trusses. But a pole barn roof would not care if your roof and ceiling has a bow in it. With most roof-over plans, it would be a good idea to repair damaged trusses. The roof-over would conform to the shape of the current roof. Even building up the bowed areas while putting the purlin style slats on the roof would probably not last. If the trusses are damaged, they would probably continue to sag more.

With a roof-over, you could include a couple of inches of polyiso foam board, which would give you an additional R-16 or so. With a pole barn style roof, you would be shading the existing roof and adding some airflow between the two roofs, which helps a lot with summer heat, but I would still opt for the insulation, which works all year. If you are in snow country, it would be even more important to repair damaged trusses, if there are any.

Many other forum members would have ideas and experience with these roof types. I hope they will chime in and give us their thoughts too.

Hope this helps,
JD

[phurst]

I am going to chime in but not with an answer but with an added question, how does one determine if your home will withstand the additional weight of a roof over? I am thinking in the furture for my home.

Pete

[JD]

The sure way to find out is with an engineering report or better and cheaper, ask your local building department. You shouldn't have a problem getting approval for a roof-over like the one in Mark's manual. I imagine the roof over weighs about 1 LB per SF, so it is not considered heavy as new roofs go.

There are some other factors though, like is there a second roof already, how much weight in sealants are already on your roof, and the condition of the trusses and other framing of your home. Any of these issues could result in getting turned down for a permit and would mean that it is not safe for your home to add a second roof. Another thing to consider is if your home meets the requirements of the live roof load in your area. It is possible to have a home in an area that is not up to code. The main point being that additional weight would not be good for a home like this.

If your home is built for the live roof load of your area and is in sound condition, the added weight should not be a problem. a mobile home will be built for a 20LB, 30LB or 40LB roof load. Generally, there is enough leeway in between the tested roof load and the roof load requirement for the one pound / foot or so roof-over.

Asking your local building inspector or pulling a permit is the right way to find out.

JD

[dandjbarrett]

We just redid the roof on our 25 year old doublewide. We used the recommendations from Mark's book and ended up putting in 3/4# insulation and a tin roof. We had no problems getting the permit (the contractor who did the roof for us got it). We showed the contractor the pages in the book and the roof is great. While he was putting the roof on, four folks who live nearby stopped in and asked for his card. We are quite pleased with the roof and find it to be much quieter and very pleasant. The appearance is superb. We did use aluminum trim along the outside edges and it really makes the house look a lot better. Thankfully we no longer have to worry when heavy rains come. Our roof was original to the house and had been coated several times, but we just never knew when/where it would start leaking again.

[Greg S]

How do the two different styles of roof effect resale.