Minneapolis Contemporary — Standing Seam Metal

The home sits in a quiet block off Minnehaha Parkway in south Minneapolis — a 2005 custom contemporary with Cor-Ten steel accent panels and large fixed-glass sections that face southeast toward the park. The architecture called for a clean roof plane rather than a traditional profile, which is why the original builder had specified a TPO membrane on the 4/12 main field and a narrow 8/12 shed section over the kitchen addition.

The TPO had done its job for 18 years, but seam integrity was failing and the owners had dealt with two slow leaks in the past three winters. They wanted a solution they wouldn't have to revisit. Standing seam metal was the right answer — the 4/12 slope is comfortably within the low-slope application range for mechanically seamed panels, and the charcoal coating coordinates with the Cor-Ten accent work.

We used 24-gauge Galvalume with a matte charcoal PVDF finish, 18-inch panel width. On a low-slope system, thermal movement management is critical — the panels expand and contract more than on a steep-slope install, so we specified floating clips rather than fixed clips throughout the 4/12 field. The 8/12 shed section over the kitchen used fixed clips, which is standard at that pitch. Panel transitions were soldered and sealed with a butyl tape backup at every penetration.

The job ran five days, complicated by a custom skylight curb that needed a new aluminum curb adapter to marry with the new panel system. That was a day of custom sheet metal work. The finished roof is flat-seam clean — no exposed fasteners, no penetrations in the field. First Minnesota winter under the new system came and went without a call from the owners.