• Tuesday-What'sUP January 11 - 12:00 am

Quite a number of Yooper homes have been re-roofed with metal instead of the typical asphalt shingles. In theory - when the sun, warmer temperatures, or heat from within warm the metal, the snow will slide off on its own, saving you the big job of shoveling off the roof. Joyce Tormala caught an avalanche in the process, just waiting for a bit more warmth to send it on over the edge. The next picture shows the disadvantage of a metal roof, when the sliding snow takes out your "less than a year old" chimney on its way down. Thanks to Pasty Cam fan Linda, for alerting me to that photo opportunity.

Some homes here in the Keys have metal roofs...while we don't have a snow problem I do notice the sun takes its' toll ...or maybe it is the salt in the air. Some roofs seem to rust or discolor and some lose their luster.

lol shooting the curl UP style!

Dear UP,
Has any one else lost there chimney due to a metal roof? The old one lasted 6 years befor it fell. Thank you Linda

That first photo is awesome! Looks like the inside of the fall waves on Superior.
I'm sure glad our chimney is at the peak!

Linda,
Never lost a chimney due to a metal roof, but in lower MI my parents had a pole building with a metal roof that almost took out their main electric post that was mounted to the side of the building. What makes it even better is that my Father, like an idiot, decided to go up there and "chip away a little of the ice so that it will flow off". In the process the whole roof let go and buried him up to his chest in snow!! He wasn't hurt, but it made for quite a few laughs for a number of years.

Knowing what I know about metal roofs, it seems like a silly idea to put a chimney on the side of the house like that; a disaster waiting to happen. However, I believe metal roofs are the way to go in a snowy climate like the Keweenaw....

Hoo boy we once had a chunk of ice slide off the roof in a thaw and it slid off the snow bank and right through the laundry room window. It was a very big chunk, probably in excess of 200 lbs. This happened about 6 AM on Saturday. Made quite a crash.

I got a chuckle out of the first pic...and the second photo...well, that would be my luck, eh. Note to self, install fireplace on interior wall.

Sur5er ...mount chimneys/fireplaces on gable end of house..........whenever possible....same for doors.

Tom's got that right-should be rule of thumb, especially in the UP with these snow loads.

Thanks Tom and Marc ;)

About the destroyed chimney, run that little gabel all the way to the peak. It wont be horizontal and will look kind of goofy but it will cut the snow and cause it to shed sideways a bit first. At the peak of this littel gabel you can support the chimney somewhat by actually attaching the chimney to the peak of roof by using the ridge board as a structural member in tension. If you increase the height of that little gabel and possibly the chimney you can help even more.

Good luck

gods art work nice