12-22-2009, 10:52 AM
The Elephant dance is the expansion & contraction of all metal roofs due to temperature. It is very evident here when there is a drastic change from sun to no-sun (like clouds or rain coming on a very sunny day... even one very dark cloud can bring in an elephant or two. This is very normal for metal roofs here.
Pre-planning ways to really diminish all metal roof noises would be to not have a metal roof, or go with a very heavy roof deck (some of the very quiet systems I have seen here use a roof deck of T&G 2x4's , 3/4 plywood, then the roofing metal... this is a very heavy & $$$ way to go, but it is pretty quiet....) most of us just go with the flow of the elephants (how else do you know when to quickly pull in the wash that WAS hanging on the line in the sun???) Thermal insulation is not designed for limiting acoustics, and most just dampen the thud of the elephants paws & the dance of the lead footed rain fairies.... to eliminate the noise of their dance you would need to add acoustic insulation, which might not be that easy & would cost a bit...
Pre-planning ways to really diminish all metal roof noises would be to not have a metal roof, or go with a very heavy roof deck (some of the very quiet systems I have seen here use a roof deck of T&G 2x4's , 3/4 plywood, then the roofing metal... this is a very heavy & $$$ way to go, but it is pretty quiet....) most of us just go with the flow of the elephants (how else do you know when to quickly pull in the wash that WAS hanging on the line in the sun???) Thermal insulation is not designed for limiting acoustics, and most just dampen the thud of the elephants paws & the dance of the lead footed rain fairies.... to eliminate the noise of their dance you would need to add acoustic insulation, which might not be that easy & would cost a bit...