Rusty Roof

[Gus]

My roof is about 10 years old. I noticed while cleaning it that virtually every fastener has rust around it. Also, the bottom of every panel (just above the rain gutter) is rusted. I have no idea who installed the roof as I bought the house 18 months ago. Any suggestions as to what, if anything, to do?

[GoingFeral]

Power wash, apply Ospho to each fastener head, apply Gaco silicone paint (the type for catchment system - available at HPM)

[terracore]

Our roof is older than yours and has none of these problems and I'm interested in troubleshooting the cause. What is your roofing material exactly, and can you tell us more about your climate and location, and exposure to vog?

[kalakoa]

I'm curious about the specific fasteners. There are two kinds: the ones they sell at HPM, and crap.

An expensive solution would be to re-roof the house, but save all the old roofing and use it to build a carport or other "less-critical" structure... Crazy overkill? Sure, but do you want to deal with it in 10 years, or install something that will outlast you, so you can do other things with your life?

[Gus]

The former owner, I have found, would save a buck wherever he could, so I'm sure the roof, which appears to be galvanized steel, has the crappiest components available. Re-roofing, especially with solar panels on it, would be expensive, and I really don't think I'll be living here in 10 years. Also, I already have both a carport and a large separate garage, so would have no use for the panels. I think the Ospho and silicon paint is the way I will go. Terracore, as to location, I am about 3 blocks from your weather station, on 39th.

[randomq]

Never get the fasteners in the back corner of Home Depot near the PVC roof panels. They are allegedly galvanized, but started rusting on me in under a year. Agree with Kalakoa, the stainless steel and enameled fasteners at HPM are expensive, but way better.

[Rob Tucker]

Regular galvanized steel roofing doesn't hold up to the acid rains we've had. I had to replace one roof on my farm. Galvalume is higher quality and holds up fine.

Galvanized metal is a sheet of steel that has been coated with a thin layer of zinc oxide. ... Galvalume metals are made with steel panels having a coating of corrosion resistant aluminum-zinc alloy applied by a continuous hot dip process.

[Hunt Stoddard]

Replacing all the screws with stainless from HPM isn't all that expensive a propositions. You're looking a few hundred dollars, depending on the size of your roof, of course.

I've had good luck with steel brushing rust, then using Rust Destroyer primer from HPM. It's the red, expensive primer, $26 a spray can at HPM or $20 on Amazon. You can also get the brush-on variety, but I find the spray convenient. You have to let it dry for a few days. It's an ugly blood red, so you'll want to top coat over it. The key to actually stopping rust is to clean nearly down to bare metal, no loose stuff. THEN prime and paint so no water or salt gets in. If you just paint over loose stuff, you're doing precisely nothing.

[Obie]

Try Albany County Fasteners :

https://www.albanycountyfasteners.com/

Fast Priority mail shipping, great people to deal with.When mailbox cluster boxes were being stolen nearby, I secured all of our cluster boxes with these. Locktighted in place.

https://www.albanycountyfasteners.com/Tr...s/1254.htm

I replaced all of my roofing screws with stainless.Used stainless deck screws too.
Alas they weren't lava resistant.

[Rob Tucker]

Screws and bolts get a real break on shipping with USPS. A flat rate box can weight up to 70 lbs. That's a lot of screws and bolts. Online prices for screws and bolts are way cheaper than local.