Colorado Cabin

by Jonathan McGaha | 8 December 2013 12:00 am

A metal roof, natural materials and wooden logs make for an attractive home

The exterior of a mountain home near Grand Junction, Colo., features a striking combination of natural materials-14-inch diameter logs and metal roof panels from Woburn, Mass.-based RHEINZINK America Inc. The 3,400-square-foot residence doubles as a fi shing lodge for the owners, and features life-like images of a rainbow trout and cutthroat trout pounded from RHEINZINK and mounted on its exterior.

Natural materials

For this house, architects Mike Burgoyne, AIA, and Rehn Hassell, AIA, at Yunker Associates Architecture, Minneapolis, wanted to use completely natural materials. Approximately 8,900 square feet of pre-weathered graphite-gray RHEINZINK comprised the double-lock standing seam roof and select interior applications. Blue-grey was used for the RHEINZINK gutter system. The panels’ life span exceeds almost all other roofing materials and require virtually no maintenance.

“Metal weathers naturally and thus never needs refi nishing,” Burgoyne says. “It is entirely recyclable at the end of its life. It is fi reproof and easy to transport to a remote location for installations such as this. All of these reasons made it the obvious choice for a long-lasting, low-maintenance building element.” Designers initially considered natural copper, but decided not to use it because of a concern about bleeding onto the log walls. Pre-fi nished steel and aluminum were rejected because they don’t weather well.

“We wanted all materials to blend into the environment,” Burgoyne says. “The RHEINZINK fell so naturally into that approach. The patina process begins quickly and the material dulls down to look like it’s been there for a long time.”

Complementing the metal are naturally stained logs from Pioneer Log Homes, Hamilton, Mont., which are very weathered, unlike typical log home logs that are highly polished and stained red or brown. The home was built primarily of solid hewn and dove-tailed Douglas Fir logs, but every surface is wood of some form or another. Additionally, natural stone from Select Stone, Bozeman, Mont., was used for the base and the chimneys. RHEINZINK metal was also used in cabinetry inside where fi shing equipment and raingear is stored. Warm air can be directed through the cabinetry to dry waders and boots for the next round of fishing or snowshoeing.

A lot of snow

Grand Junction is an area known for receiving large amounts of daily snow. “Handling the snow was a huge issue,” Burgoyne says. “The temperature range fluctuates widely during the day so we get a lot of melting and sliding snow. Getting water away from the house was critical. The RHEINZINK system worked very well. And it’s a lot simpler to say that it worked well than it sounds because of the mass of snow that slides down and wants to tear off anything in its path. A system that holds itself together is obviously critically important.”

Metal roofing and flashings are ideal for shedding snow that falls heavy and melts quickly. The material warms with the sun almost immediately, even when it is still below freezing, and separates the snow and ice from the roof surface. Moisture and gravity then remove the snow naturally, allowing the log-work to remain protected until the next snowfall. RHEINZINK’s gutter and downspout component system integrated seamlessly with the roofing system.

Also, snow guards from Morrisville, Vt.-based Alpine Snowguards helped minimize the snow’s effects. “The snow guards used were cast aluminum cleats attached (with bolt compression fasteners) to the vertical ribs of the folded seam roofing pans with long horizontal rods stretching across the roof,” Burgoyne says. “These rods break up the snowfall while letting melt run freely below it, while also breaking up any sliding pieces of ice before they can damage the roof edge or anything else below the roof.”

Installation issues

The way the cabin was designed, there were unique joining conditions between the log walls, the metal roofing and the metal counter-flashings. Unlike most framing systems, logwork is a living system, and constantly moves and settles, which means that every joint must have some flexibility to it.

Fortunately, Burgoyne had an experienced team that could address each condition along the way. “We communicated virtually every day about details, using cell phone communication, as well as digital photographing to record issues under construction and get the images to whichever member of the team needed to provide input,” he says. “Solutions then came very quickly, and little had to be redone because of errors being made without proper information.”

“Because the home was built high in the mountains on the western slope of the Rockies, selective prefabrication was of great benefit,” Burgoyne adds. “The logwork was done entirely off-site. It was then disassembled, transported up the mountain (in smaller vehicles) and reassembled on-site. Logwork has a high level of fire resistance. A metal roof is fireproof, which is critical in the forest fire area of the mountains. They meet both the local association rules and the fire prevention guidelines of the state of Colorado.”

Mullenax Construction & Roofing, Rifle, Colo., installed the roof and drainage system. The fabrication of the roof panels was done on-site. “We used a portable break and also did lots of fabrication and bending with hand tools,” president and owner Greg Mullenax says. “It was a complicated job but a satisfying job.” The owner has been very pleased with the performance of the system and with its appearance.

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Log Cabin, Grand Junction, Colo.

Architect: Yunker Associates Architecture, Minneapolis

General contractor: Rio Blanco Construction, Edwards, Colo.

Landscape architect: Tupelo Gardenworks, Wakefield, R.I.

Logwork: Pioneer Log Homes, Hamilton, Mont.

Natural stone: Select Stone, Bozeman, Mont.

Installer and fabricator: Mullenax Construction
& Roofing, Rifle, Colo.

RHEINZINK distributors: MetalTech-USA,Peachtree City, Ga., and ABC Supply Co., Grand Junction

Metal roof panels, built-in cabinetry, drainage: RHEINZINK America Inc., Woburn, Mass., www.rheinzink.us[1]

Snow guards: TRA Snow & Sun, American Fork, Utah, www.trasnowandsun.com[2]

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/colorado-cabin/

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