The Metal Roofers

Setting & Architecture

This is Tennessee’s take on mid-century mountain design. The big move is simple geometry doing real work. Two steep planes meet like an A-frame, pulling daylight down the glass while the chimney holds the center. The little entry gable sets human scale at the door, then disappears back into the larger roof. Materials are honest and regional: cedar shingles, stacked stone, painted wood, black fascia. From the patio you see planes and lines, not decoration.

The inspiration is the Southern lake-and-ridge house of the 1950s and 60s. Architects borrowed the clean forms of mid-century modern and paired them with lodge cues from park buildings and cabins. Large roof fields protect glassy rooms, deep eaves shade summer sun, and the chimney remains the anchor in plan and elevation. This house follows that playbook. The roof is the architecture. Walls sit back as infill between structure, so proportion and alignment matter more than trim.

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Roof & Detailing

We installed a black classic-wave through-fastened panel, vertical from eave to ridge in full lengths. Screw rows are snapped straight, side-laps are stitched, and every fastener is color-matched with sealed washers. Z-closures and fitted foam finish the ridge so the profile stays clean. Eaves are hemmed with closure foam and drip for a tight shadow line. The small entry gable carries the same wave spacing so the pattern never breaks.

Stone and skylight areas got custom metal. Behind the chimney we built a welded back-pan and a tight cricket, then stepped and counter-flashed into the joints so the metal reads like part of the masonry. The skylight sits on a new curb with step flashing on the sides and a high-side diverter that keeps the wave coursing. Inside corners use dead-pan where planes pinch; outside corners are folded and stitched so there are no caps to distract the eye. In the woods the black finish reflects the canopy and the roof reads as one disciplined skin over a true mid-century form.

From The Crew

“We liked this roof because the planes do the talking. Steep slopes, a stone chimney right in the middle, and a small entry gable that has to land clean. First day was layout. We snapped reference lines, set a control course, and checked the classic-wave spacing so the pattern carries from the big fields through the entry break without drifting. Panels were cut long, run eave to ridge, and fastened on straight rows. Side laps were stitched tight so the waves pull flat and read even in the sun. The chimney and skylight were the tricky parts. We built a welded back-pan and a tight cricket for the stone, then stepped and counter-flashed into the joints so the metal reads like part of the masonry. The skylight got a new curb, step flashing on the sides, and a clean diverter up high to keep water moving without breaking the wave. Inside corners use dead-pan where planes pinch. Outside corners are folded and stitched, no cap plates to distract the eye. It is a mountainside site, so staging mattered. We set the lift at the drive, padded the cedar and deck, kept branches clear with hand cuts only, and tied off on the high runs. The site was magnet-rolled every afternoon and again at finish. When we stepped back the lines were straight, the reflections were even, and the roof looked like it was made for this house.”