HOUSTON — In Texas, you never know what you’re going to get for weather. That’s why Gary Kana, owner of K+T Construction in Magnolia is helping people protect their homes with new metal roofing from Metal Depots.

“There are still some neighborhoods where Homeowner Association rules won’t allow metal roofing, like the new subdivisions with their little cookie-cutter houses,” Kana says. “But we’re finding more and more customers are coming to us, looking for a metal roof for the first time.”

The fiberglass shingles on the Dandy residence in Hockley, Texas, sustained hail damage that caused the roofing system to leak. Homeowner Mark Dandy, a sales representative for Metal Depots, knew what kind of roofing he wanted and he knew who he wanted to install it.

Kana installed approximately 3,000 square feet of Metal Depots’ PBU Panel in 26-gauge Galvalume on the two-story Dandy residence. He says the only challenge was the detail at the top of the first floor, where the metal has to be flashed behind the wall of the second story. The PBU panel is a flexible exposed fastener panel that can be installed over decking, purlins or joists. It can also be used as a wall panel and be installed vertically or horizontally.

“We put the PBU Panels right over the existing shingles,” Kana says. “We cut off the edges at the eaves and along the sides so you can’t see shingles anywhere, then we install new flashing along the eaves. If they want gutters, we’ll install gutters.”

Kana says installing metal over the shingles saves time on removal and saves money because you don’t have to pay to take the shingles to a landfill. He says that saves his customers anywhere from $50 a square to $100 a square, if the roof is steep or time-consuming to work on.

“We call it the Austin look,” Kana says of the Galvalume roofing for homes. “The PBU Panel has a .75-inch rib every six inches; it gives a more residential look instead of making a home look like a metal building. And people here like the Galvalume. The temperature can get to 110 degrees here in the summer and some of the darker colors hold heat more. The Galvalume reflects it.”