Step-by-Step on How to Install a Tin Roof

Install corrugated metal panels on strip sheathing, 1-by-4 boards nailed horizontally across the roof rafters or truss top chords. Space strips every 24 inches from the peak to the eave; if one space is less than 24 inches, put it at the peak. Nail strips with 8d galvanized nails and a hammer. Measure spaces with a tape measure to make sure strips are even.

Start installing panels at one end of the roof. Buy panels to fit the roof; panels vary in width, but a typical panel is 26 inches wide with a 24-inch coverage area, to allow for overlapping panels. Get panels the length of the roof, if possible; panels come in lengths from 8 to about 20 feet. Measure the roof with a tape measure to be sure of the number, length and width of panels needed.

Fasten panels with 1 1/4-inch galvanized screws with plastic washer caps. Lay the first panel with the side and end aligned with the bottom of the first sheath strip and the end of the roof. Drive a screw with a screw gun into the second corrugation valley from the end. Add other screws at every sheath strip, in the valleys between the corrugation ridges. Don't install screws on the last corrugation to the inside, to allow for overlap.

Lay the second panel in place with the recommended overlap, usually one ridge and one valley. Drive screws at the edge of this panel through both panels into the sheathing. Add panels to the other edge of the roof. Cut panels to fit, if necessary, with tin snips. Make any cut sides on the edge that will overlap, not on the outside of the roof.

Add a second course of panels if necessary. Cut a panel in half lengthwise to start this course so seams do not align. Overlap the second course at least 6 inches over the bottom course. Work to the peak of the roof, covering both sides.

Place ridge caps, bent metal sheets formed to conform to the corrugations, over the peak. Screw them on both sides of the roof, to cover the peak. Add edge caps along both sides and the bottom of the roof; these should be supplied with the corrugated panels, to match the edges and seal them against moisture getting between the corrugated panel and the sheathing.