New guy shop questions

[manderson6741]

Morning all,
I have a few questions I’m hoping y’all can help me with. We just bought our property and I have a 30x50 metal shop building.
1. The roof of the shop has a few pin holes. Not a major issue but water does drip in during heavy rains. Is there a caulk or sealer I should use to seal the holes?
2. The exterior looks ok but are these building supposed to be painted at certain intervals? If so what paint do you suggest?
Thanks all.

 

[Budweiser John]

There are undoubtably company’s in your area who can spray an elastomeric coating on the entire roof over the last two years i’ve Had all my building roofs coated and the company’s guarantee the watertight seal for twenty years.
As for sidewall paint, my shop. Building is 46 years old and needing paint. My choice is Sherwin Williams paint.

B. John

 

[EddieWalker]

Metal expands quite a bit. It also gets super hot in summer and super cold in winter. With all that happening, you absolutely have to use a sealant designed for metal roofs. Henry is my favorite brand that is sold at home Depot. Read the label and be sure to get the one designed for metal flashing.

Here in my area, Muellers is probably the best supplier for metal buildings and panels. They sell sealant specially designed for sealing holes in metal.

I've never painted a metal building, but if I was going to, I think that I would treat it as a car and look at paints used in the auto world. As with all painting, prep work is 90% of the work. It's going to have to be clean and rust free for the paint to stick. I'm a huge fan of Sherwin Williams, and I would talk to them about it if I was going to do this, but I would also talk to my metal supplier and see what they recommend. Might be the same thing, or you might get two totally different answers, but the only way that you will know for sure is by putting in the time and talking to the experts face to face.

 

[newbury]

Morning all,
I have a few questions I’m hoping y’all can help me with. We just bought our property and I have a 30x50 metal shop building.
1. The roof of the shop has a few pin holes. Not a major issue but water does drip in during heavy rains. Is there a caulk or sealer I should use to seal the holes?
2. The exterior looks ok but are these building supposed to be painted at certain intervals? If so what paint do you suggest?
Thanks all.

Are you sure they are "pinholes"?
How old is the roof?
If the roof is fastened with Metal ROOFING SCREWS the washers may be aging. I've one roof where I've had to go over most of it and for each screw I brushed it off an applied a dab of caulk. That was easy for me than backing out the screws and putting in new screws.

I wouldn't bother to paint.

 

[manderson6741]

Are you sure they are "pinholes"?
How old is the roof?
If the roof is fastened with Metal ROOFING SCREWS the washers may be aging. I've one roof where I've had to go over most of it and for each screw I brushed it off an applied a dab of caulk. That was easy for me than backing out the screws and putting in new screws.

I wouldn't bother to paint.

The building is about 20 years old. The screws could absolutely be the issue. I do know for sure there is one pinhole. Almost looks like a hail dent that made it all the way through.

 

[chim]

I had a small local guy do a few roofs at work. He sprayed a couple inches of closed-cell foam and it worked out great. The roofs he did were metal and two other roofs that were previously done with some sort of cloth / membrane. Cost was about $4/SF. The foam added some insulation value.

The metal roof on our weld shop is about 20 years old and had quite a few rust-throughs. I believe the rust was due to a couple things. First of all, the vapor barrier on the insulation is bad and doesn't keep the moisture from condensing on the inside of the roof in cold weather. Second, the exhaust fans draw harder than the makeup air can replenish it, so the building runs at negative pressure. Since the metal roof seams are only an overlapping joint, the negative pressure sucks air into the building between the compromised vapor barrier and the cold roof. We are considering removing the old interior insulation now that we have the foam on.

 

[Stimw]

Check your screws first.
I sealed the metal roof on an old double wide trailer about 10 years ago with Elasomeric coating from the box store.
The roof had surface rust but no holes.
I pressure washed it and applied the coating with an airless sprayer.
It sprayed really great just like latex paint.
I used to paint semi trailers and containers with (quality) latex paint and airless sprayer.
I could completely paint a 45' trailer in 45 minutes!
And 30 minutes of that was going up and down the ladder and moving it.
Did I say I love airless sprayers?

 

[Fuddy1952]

I have a 40x80 metal 30 years old and had the roof painted professionally last year. I called the company who built the garage and although I saved money painting it would have been only a few $K more to just replace it. I would be most concerned with pinholes. If rust pinholes, replace it, don't paint it.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Very likely have screw washer issues. 10 years seems to be a common number for tightening or replacing screw and washers if your having problems.
For pinholes leaks and similar keep in mind that you can often apply the caulking from inside if you do not have installation in the way. Just make sure you hold the tip of the caulk tube tight agains the hole when you first squirt it out. Keeps the roof looking nice.
Urethane caulks are the way to go. Very adhesive and flexible which is what you need. Many brands and colors available for use on metal. What ever you do avoid silicone products. Acrylic and latex and what not will work but not last near as long as the urethane products.

Pittsburgh paints make a DTM (direct to metal) also called Pitt-tech paint that we use quite a bit. Easy to use and holds up well. Mixed to color of your choice and several sheens available. As usual with painting the surface has to be clean clean clean.