We wanted to install a metal roof prior to installing solar panels. We contacted several roofers and asked 4 to come to the house. One never showed, another rescheduled, and only two showed up as originally scheduled. Castle was one of the two to show up on time. They were also the only ones that had much experience with metal roofs. The quote from Castle was the middle price of the three bids we received. However, we felt that they had the best experience with metal roofing and the examples of the work we looked at were attractive and seemed well installed. (My husband works in construction so he has a better eye than most for a job well done.)
John worked closely with our solar installer (Technicians for Sustainablity) to make sure that our roof would be ready for attaching solar panels (with the standing seam metal roofing, solar panels can be clamped onto the metal seams if the roofing is installed with solar panels in mind. We now have solar panels and the only penetration into our roof for the solar is the single hole for wiring.)
When it came time for roofing the crew showed up on time every day. They were careful of our property and at the end of each work day they circled our house picking up any trash that had fallen off the roof. They did not know I could hear them talking on the roof, but I frequently heard them discussing how to make the installation as attractive as possible. When I would go on the roof to watch the work they were polite and we had some interesting conversations. (Despite how chatty I am, they finished half a day sooner than expected.) I have done enough home renovations that I can also tell when someone knows what they're doing and these guys were clearly experienced with metal roofs.
One part of our roof was more challenging than the rest. John was there when the crew was ready to install that part. They took a fair amount of time discussing how to go about it. They had clearly practiced the cuts and folds that they thought would be necessary. However, once they were on the roof, they realized that they could do the install without clipping the seams to bend it. They opted to avoid clipping it to keep our metal intact. Although they had arrived with a plan, the on-site reality was different than they expected and they had a better outcome than we all expected.
It turned out the roofing manufacturer did not send enough metal panels of the right length, but they did send ample shorter ones. The crew made our roof temporarily water tight with the shorter panels and John had the manufacturer send out the correct metal panels. They arrived faster than anticipated and John personally installed those sooner than we expected.
We did find a small scratch on one panel. Not sure if it happened during install or if it was caused by one of our kids (metal roofs are VERY slippery. We let our kids use them as a slide in the area where the slanted roof terminates on a large, flat porch roof. The kids could have caused the scratch.) John ordered us a paint pen that matched our paint. He offered to bring it out and paint it on when it arrived, but we asked that he just mail it and we applied it. We had it within a week.
I have had roofs installed by other roofers in the past. Castle was the best experience I've had. I can highly recommend them. Of course, now that we have a metal roof it is unlikely we will ever need to install another roof (metal costs about twice the price of shingles, but it lasts 3 to 4 times longer.) If you can afford a metal roof, have Castle install it for you. (Then cover it with solar panels.) read more