A Bermuda-style Roof Composed of Aluminum Includes Intricate Hips, Ridges, Vents and Gutters

The crew did a similar treatment in the valleys. “We have a perforating machine in the shop, so we made a perforated J channel receiver that installed over the valley pans and a snap-on cover to conceal the J’s and leave a nice clean finish,” Fergusson adds.

To create a more contemporary look for the roof, Kersting specified that the aluminum be installed up and over 2 by 4s at all hips and ridges.

To create a more contemporary look for the roof, Kersting specified that the aluminum be installed up and over 2 by 4s at all hips and ridges.

As the roof was being installed, the team realized the plumbing penetrations were detracting from the overall beauty of the roof. Fergusson’s crew then custom-fabricated vents that were placed over all the plumbing pipes. “We made them out of the same sheet metal that the panels were made from,” Fergusson explains. “We had to design them to fit over top of the existing panel, so we were able to put those in place without penetrating the sheet metal. We made it with a cleat on the front of the vent that would lock over the face of the panel and slide up underneath the panel behind. It was a lot of work!”

There were two different types of gutters on the project. The Bermuda roof areas have a fabricated sheet-metal box gutter and the EPDM roof sections were all constructed with a built-in gutter at the eave. “There was around 150 linear feet of that built-in gutter,” Fergusson recalls. “We had to fully adhere the membrane down into it and snap on a very small sheet-metal coping at the leading edge. It took the crew twice as long as I thought it would.”

The white fascia box gutters were less challenging. “These were probably the easiest part of the entire project, but the owner has since decided that he wants them to match the roof in color, so we just provided pricing to install a dark-bronze aluminum cover plate to mount over the gutters already in place,” Fergusson adds.

GOOD ROOF, EXCELLENT CREW

Had this roof been the asphalt shingle reroof Fergusson originally bid, his four-man install crew would’ve completed it in a few days. Instead, the Bermuda-style aluminum roof with hips and ridges that became a design feature, concealed downspouts, hidden plumbing penetrations and additional EPDM flat-roof sections required more than six months of intermittent work. Fergusson says the preplanning and mockups probably added another month to the project, but he’s proud of the work that was done.

The Bermuda roof areas have a fabricated sheet-metal box gutter and the EPDM roof sections were all constructed with a built-in gutter at the eave.

The Bermuda roof areas have a fabricated sheet-metal box gutter and the EPDM roof sections were all constructed with a built-in gutter at the eave.

“I’m glad we installed a good roof and have a happy architect and customer at the end of a job, especially on a project that made me so nervous initially,” he says, noting his crew deserves all the praise. “I had an outstanding install crew; they are perfectionists. I also had a great superintendent on the job and sheet-metal fabricator who worked really closely with the superintendent to get all the pieces of trim made in a manner that would be easy to install in the field. There were many changes and curve balls, and we had to rethink so many things during the course of this project, but we managed to find a good solution to every problem and it all came out almost better than expected. The crew just worked really well together as a team and that’s all you can ask for.”

Photos: Chris Fisher, unless otherwise noted

TEAM

Roofing contractor: Highland Roofing Co., Wilmington, N.C.

    ▪▪ Project Manager: Iain Fergusson
    ▪▪ Roofing Superintendent: Richard Hill
    ▪▪ Sheet-metal Fabricator: Michael Mai
    ▪▪ Installation Foreman: Marvin Mungia

Architect: Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, Wilmington
General contractor: Andrew Roby Inc., Charlotte, N.C.

    ▪▪ Project Superintendent: Scott Miller

ROOF MATERIALS

Aluminum roofing: Englert Inc.

    ▪▪ 0.032-inch, 16-inch-wide coil in extra dark bronze

EPDM membrane: Firestone Building Products

    ▪▪ 90-mil RubberGard Platinum EPDM

Ice and water shield: TAMKO Building Products Inc.

    ▪▪ 40-mil TW Underlayment

About the Author

Christina A. Koch
Christina A. Koch is editor in chief of Roofing.

Be the first to comment on "A Bermuda-style Roof Composed of Aluminum Includes Intricate Hips, Ridges, Vents and Gutters"

Leave a Reply