Photos courtesy of Follansbee Steel, Follansbee, W.Va. A view of the main house

Tomas and Meg Bergstrand own a private summer residence in Keene Valley, N.Y., settled in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid. When they decided to expand and renovate the home in spring 2006, they wanted their changes to be energy-efficient.

In addition to being energy-efficient, the roof system also needed to be durable and able to withstand the Adirondack Mountain weather, including heavy amounts of snow and ice and bitter cold temperatures.

Scott McClelland, general contractor for the project, had worked on other projects with Celtic Roofing, Burlington, Vt., and asked the company to install a 7,500-square-foot roof system on the Bergstrand residence, which included a main house, ice house, guest house and pagoda.

A green choice

Celtic Roofing, Burlington, Vt., installed a Follansbee® TCS II® terne-coated stainless-steel standing-seam roof system on the main house, as well as the ice house (far right).

The homeowners took a green approach toward the renovation, including using environmentally friendly materials, geothermal radiant heating, passive cooling and solar panels.

For the roof, they chose a Follansbee® TCS II® terne-coated stainless-steel standing-seam roof system because of its weather-resistant, energy-efficient attributes.

"The homeowners desired a natural aesthetic that would blend well with the landscape of the Adirondack Mountains," says Anne Snelling-Lee, Anne E. Snelling-Lee Architects, Boston, the project's architect. "The decision to choose a Follansbee TCS II roof system was based on reduced life-cycle costs and environmental effects."

The residence was settled on a rocky landscape.

Follansbee TCS II is coated with Follansbee's ZT (zinc/tin) alloy, which is said to be resistant to chemicals and environmental stress.

The existing roof system consisted of 6-inch-thick pine boards, tar paper and asphalt shingles.

"The existing shingles were more than 20 years old and could have been 30 years old in some areas," says Eric Graves, president of Celtic Roofing. "The shingles were in rough shape. They were delaminating, and stone granules were worn away. They were well past their life span."

Metal panels were hand-curved on-site.

The tear-off, performed by the general contractor, was almost a complete demolition. One section of one of the buildings was left standing. New construction included building the pagoda.

Celtic Roofing installed the Follansbee TCS II metal roof system, Grace Ice and Water Shield® and custom leader heads on the main house, ice house, guest house and pagoda. Safety precautions included Vanguard staging and DBI-SALA safety harnesses.

Materials for the project were ferried from Vermont to New York via Lake Champlain.

The main house

"They were delivered to Vermont, and the easiest way to transfer the materials to the Adirondacks was by ferry," Graves says. "We then would drive them about 30 miles to the site."

The project was not without its challenges. A late winter storm in the mountains dropped almost 3 feet of snow during the beginning of the project. Although it did not significantly delay the project, Celtic Roofing and the general contractor needed to shovel it off the roof to keep the project moving.

Celtic Roofing also fabricated parts of the roof.

The back of the main house (left) and the guest house (right)

"We made custom 18-inch valley pieces and hand made all the drip edge pieces," Graves says. "We hand-curved each metal panel individually to install it. It was a unique fabrication process. We did it right there on-site."

A job well done

Graves says there were various unique aspects of the project.

"The project was unique because of the fabrication work performed to create the curved roof lines," he says. "Also unique was the residence's placement on top of a rock knoll."

The homeowners chose a Follansbee® TCS II® terne-coated stainless-steel standing-seam roof system because of its weather-resistant, energy-efficient attributes.

Graves believes the type of roof system chosen for the project works well with the residence's surroundings.

"The residence is located in the High Peak Region of the Adirondacks, and the new roof system fits the building's character and functionality a lot better," he says.

And he enjoyed the group he worked with.

"Working with quality builders, architects and superior roofing products was the most rewarding part of the project," he says.

Krista Reisdorf is Professional Roofing's director of online communications.

Project name: Bergstrand residence
Project location: Keene Valley, N.Y.
Project duration: March 2007-January 2008
Roof system type: Metal
Roofing contractor: Celtic Roofing, Burlington, Vt.
Roofing manufacturer: Follansbee,® Follansbee, W. Va.