Shingles vs Metal Roof on 14 x 18 Sugar Shack with 7/12 pitch roof?

[claystroup]

I am in the process of drawing scaled plans for a 14' x 18' sugar shack with a 7/12 pitch roof and a 6' long cupola centered on the building. I will do all construction myself other than footings and flatwork. I can shingle the roof myself as I have shingled before but have never done metal roofing. Is there much of a chance for shingles to catch on fire due to sparks out of the chimney stack? I plan on the chimney stack to be approx. 1/2 way between the cupola and the end of the roof about 2' off center of the building. It should be about 3' from the cupola and 3' from the end of the building. Flashing around the cupola and the chimney stack I can handle myself with a shingled roof but not quite as sure with a metal roof. I also like the idea of it being easier to work up on a shingled roof vs steel in the future painting the cupola, etc. Thoughts? I want to do as much of the labor myself to keep costs down.

Clay Stroup

[wiam]

I would not put shingles if burning wood. Around here the price of materials is about the same and steel is quicker and easier.

[Biz]

I ended up using asphalt shingles on mine. When I see glowing embers drifting around, I have to think there is a better chance of the surrounding dried grass catching on fire (especially this year) than the asphalt shingles. Am I living dangerously? :) Been good for 20 yrs. At least I have sap to douse it with if there is a problem.

[RileySugarbush]

I have asphalt shingles and wish I had a metal roof every thi I boil. No problems in 20 years though.

[MISugarDaddy]

We used shingles for our roof as you can see from the pictures in the link in our signature and have had no problems with sparks.
Gary

[Pibster]

I have shingles on my roof also. No problems after 5 years. Have you ever tried to burn a fiberglas roof shingle? You need a hot fire or gas to get them started.

[GeneralStark]

I suspect this is a regional thing (like burying pt posts for structural supports) but the cost and ease of installing metal, and its longevity seems to make it the ideal solution IMO. I suspect it also depends upon how much snow you receive, what time of year you end up building your sugarhouse, its size and how you boil. I have installed metal on several buildings alone in considerably less time than it would have taken to install asphalt, but that said I really don't like being up on a roof. If you do like it, asphalt is probably the way to go.

[Tmeeeh]

Our sugar house is 45 years old. We had shingles when they got old and started to fail we put metal right over them. I think the metal will last longer and was easier to install. I have heard that sometimes you can get condensation dripping from the underside of a metal roof if you don't have a hood over the evaporator or sheathing under the metal roof.

[Maple Ridge Farm]

Steel will last you lifetime, you won't regret it.

[Mel]

We have shingles. Camp is 40 years old, they've been redone a couple of times. We had only 1 episode involving smoke on the roof, and that was in a spot of moss buildup in a valley, on a warm dry day. Shingles won't catch, but debris on shingles can.

Having said that, I don't think I will ever use shingles on a roof again. We got 15 years out of the '30 year' shingles on our house, and they should have been redone a couple years before that. We put steel on over the shingles, should last way longer than shingles. Only one downside to steel - very slippery when wet. That could be remedied by permanent roof ladders in needed locations.