Corrugated Housing
Comments: 30
Talk about minimalism. This is an old photograph of the front of a house which lives a few blocks away. Everything’s corrugated tin or plastic. The windowless facade is interrupted only by a door which seems to be almost invisible: it’s made from the same tin painted the same colour as the rest of the front wall.
Curiosity is often piqued in inverse proportion to the features of an object. I can’t help but wonder about the teak flooring, the silk-lined walls, the Persian rugs and gold brocade that must adorn the interior.
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Posted to Architecture • 2003.04.02 (Wed) • 12:01
Comments
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2003.04.02, 22:26
I’ve always associated corrugated metal with poverty. Here in the southern US, it’s traditionally been used for garden sheds and other small outbuildings. As such, it’s also used traditionally in the shacks and shanties that house the poor.
Recently, however, it’s become more upscale. Termites have forced people to look at alternatives to wood-framed and wood-sided houses. Corrugated metal is no longer just a roofing material, but being used as siding as well. I think it looks really weird…but I’m considering it for a little studio we’d like to build in the back. After a tree fell through our roof a couple of years ago, we replaced the asphalt shingles with a metal roof. It’s not corrugated, though. I just couldn’t get over my prejudice.
Posted by jh 2003.04.03, 00:01
I’m a big fan of corrugated tin. In Australia, it could almost be considered our national building material (perhaps I exaggerate somewhat, but it’s definitely becoming more “upscale” as you mention). I love the look of unfinished tin, but I come from the land of sheds where they exert a deep psychological pull on the hearts of men.
Someone I knew in university wrote a poem that began “This tin roof memory leaks tonight” —- a beautiful, beautiful line that fills me with a wild envy to this day (how I wish I’d written it!). I can’t remember the rest of the poem. It was good, but that lines a tough one to follow.
Some brilliant architects in Australia are using corrugated tin to wonderful effect these days: Peter Stutchbury, Richard Leplastrier and, of course, Glenn Murcutt.
Tin will play a big part in any house I build, and the roof will absolutely be tin. There’s nothing like the sound of torrential rain on it —- like the fists of the gods themselves drumming you to sleep.
Posted by Kurt 2003.04.03, 13:16
I fall on the side of M on this one. When I took my little photo tour of my neighborhood last year (inspired by you, thanks JH), I was shocked at how many corrugated tin homes there were. I have to admit there was a certain charm in these tiny alleys of corrugated tin homes, but my overriding feeling was one of depression, poverty, dilapidation. I too tend to think of garden sheds, or worse, outhouses like I experienced in my mother’s Finland. But J, you’re inspiring me to take a second look.
Posted by Kurt 2003.04.04, 03:52
jh- well, as you can see, i trackbacked your post, but upon a “ping failed” message I tried again, but see that you now have dupe trackbacks from me (so obviously, delete one (the first, for I changed the title slightly on resubmit))
Posted by jh 2003.04.04, 12:47
Kurt —- Done. I think it may be a bug related to having Auto-discovery turned on in MT (not sure about this).
Posted by sleep 2003.06.05, 16:23
Corrugated tin, I like it. I am building a studio and am considering it as siding and roofing material. Shiny. Silver. Yes, neat. And so easy. Like to hear the rain on tin. Airstreams also turn me on.
Posted by KD 2005.01.20, 07:50
Thanks JH, for your perspective, and especially for the references to the three Aussie architects. I’m designing my own home now and plan to use a variety of newly available and non-traditional materials, including corrugated, which has always had special appeal for me (yup, a California ranch kid). If anyone else can suggest practicing residental architects or builders working in corrugated, I’d would certainly appreciate knowing about them.
Posted by roof_blog 2005.02.06, 12:32
Yeah- corrogated tin ain’t just for roofing anymore but for a long time still people will associate it with the roofing industry.
Posted by POMPOM 2005.04.27, 02:15
Yeah, I guess I can see where this type of roof can be attractive. I remember working on a farm and the buildings all had it. It fit in with the landscape some how.
But I’m trying to repair and or install it on a shed for a freind. It leaks. Where can I find installation/repair information?
I guess this info is worth a few dollars to me.
Posted by simon 2005.10.12, 02:28
I am currently researching a book about the social and architectural history of corrugated iron - yes, its true! Its importance in allowing the colonisation of Australia, New Zealand, South and North Africa and numerous other countries cannot be understated. My particular interest is in the export from Britain of prefabricated buildings and if anyone has any knowledge of structures still standing from the middle of the C19th I would be really pleased to hear about them. However, to the reason I joined this blog - to POMPOM, the commonest mistake that I know of when people first attach corrugated sheet to walls and roofs is that they nail them in the valleys of the corrugations. They should always be nailed through the peaks - the logic is obvious really. Otherwise check this out http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/docs/warr_a.pdf#search=’corrugated%20iron%20repair’
Posted by tin walls 2005.11.05, 16:31
Can anyone point me to a website with info on how to use roofing or ceiling tin as bathroom walls? I’ve been searching but unable to find examples online.
Posted by Valerie 2005.11.06, 01:39
I’ve been trying to figure out what material to use on my bathroom walls as a tub surround. I used t&g pine on the rest of the walls. Last night, while trying to fall asleep, I decided that corrugated tin would look cool. So I decided to look online for how this would best be done. This is the first site I found and loved seeing that someone else thinks it’s a good idea too.
I’ve never worked with tin, so it’ll be fun to learn.
tin walls, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Posted by Valerie 2005.11.06, 01:59
http://www.finishing.com/133/88.shtml
have you seen this, tin roof?
Posted by William Felts 2005.11.24, 02:48
I live in Dodge City Kansas and we have more wind than any other city in the USA. My 40 x 80 tin rounddtop has never lost piece of tin in over 50 years. We can see the 7’ marks on the walls from the flood of 1965 and the charring on the inner ceiling from a electrical fire during the flood. I consider it as sound as the day it was put up. Every newer building in the neighborhood has lost at least a some roofing or siding material, but not mine. I recomend corrugated tin sometimed used with fiber or polycarbonate for any construction project inside or out. It is cheap easy to work with and very durable. If the piece eventualy gets rusted or damaged, replacement is quick and easy. I notice another coragated tin building built right outside of town in which the owner built his home, garage, shop, and horse stables all in the huge building. Recent high winds and large hail destroyed hundreds of “pretty”roofs in the areas and confirmed my choice of materials for my new shop right beside my current.
Posted by Peter 2005.12.22, 09:15
Simon. In reply to your 10 December posting on the history of corrugated iron housing. There are a number of prefabricated iron houses, the majority imported from Britain, that are still in existance in Australia. There are three prefabricated working man’s cottages in Melbourne in the State of Victoria, that have recently been nominated for listing on the Australian National Heritage List. It is believed that these may be the only surviving iron working man’s cottages left in the world. The nominators statement of history and significance of the cottages can be found at the following website: www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=placedetail;placeid=105828. There are also a number of more substantial iron houses still in existance in Australia - ‘Corio Villa’ in the town of Geelong in the State of Victoria, and ‘Wingecaribee’ near the town of Berima in the State of New South Wales, are both outstanding examples of prefabricated iron 19th century ‘gentlemen’s residences’. Dr Miles Lewis is probably the pre-eminent expert on prefabricated housing in Australia,and he has a comprehensive essay called ‘The Portabel House’ in Robert Irving’s book “The History and Design of the Australian House” published in 1985 by Oxford University Press. You might also look at the chapter on imported prefabricated buildings in E Graeme Robertson’s book “Victorian Heritage: ornamental cast iron in architecture” published by Ure Smith, Sydney, in 1974. The history of prefabricated buildings on a worldwide basis is also comprehensively covered by Gilbert Herbert in his book, Pioneers of Prefabrication: the British contribution in the nineteenth century” published in 1978 by John Hopkins University Press in Baltimore. I hope this is of some help.
Posted by Rae 2006.07.04, 23:49
There’s a lot of exciting prefabricated housing in the South West USA.
Does anyone know any interesting contemporary or historically important prefabricated houses in the North East USA? I’m travelling through Upstate NY and up to the Canadian Border at Maine.
Posted by Kerry 2006.07.05, 13:57
Am also looking to use the tin in my bathroom, it’s kinda dark in there and am hopiong that the light will refelct and brighten it up. LAos thought it’d look pretty cool since there is an island feel coming thru for me for that particular room. didn’t see any responses to the above questions re: use of tin in bathrooms. Is there anyone out there who may have already had some experiences w/using it on the walls that I should be aware of?
Posted by Peter 2006.09.01, 20:31
Corrugated Iron is well and truly part of the Australian Landscape and currently I am working on some Trophy/Awards and I want to use some corrugate diron as part of thier design. Obviously ordinary corrugated is the wrong scale and really Mini-orb is still on the large size………
Does anybody know of some tin, zinc, brass, aluminium etc in a smaller curve than mini-orb?
Thanks and Cheers.
*BTWCorrugated Iron is well and truly part of the Australian Landscape and currently I am working on some Trophy/Awards and I want to use some corrugate diron as part of thier design. Obviously ordinary corrugated is the wrong scale and really Mini-orb is still on the large size………
Does anybody know of some tin, zinc, brass, aluminium etc in a smaller curve than mini-orb?
Thanks and Cheers.
*BTW< I only skimmed the blog but there didnt seem to be much mention of the corrugated iron outback dunny
Posted by jane 2006.09.08, 09:37
…..am also looking into using corrugated metal as a tub surround. I Googled it and found an article in Southern Living Mag., Aug. 2000, titled “Expect The Unexpected” . It gives a how-to, but couldn’t find any pics. Hope this helps!
Posted by joann 2006.09.11, 00:37
I cannot find basic price information about various metal roofing and siding options. I only find advertisements that require that you send in name, email etc/
Price per ft, sq ft etc.
comparison prices?
Anyone know a site that breaks it down?
thanks
Posted by Carolyn 2006.10.29, 10:20
I love corrugated iron and have enjoyed reading your posts and also those of others. El Caminito in La Boca, Argentina is well worth the visit but make sure you wander beyond the tourist strip in this colourful barrio.
Posted by Chris 2006.12.26, 22:55
I wonder if anyone can help me. I’m considering corrugated metal (of the roofing variety) as a ceiling treatment in a 24 x 30’ post and beam greatroom. I’m wondering about the acoustics. Will this room sound like a public indoor swimming pool?
Posted by Randy 2007.01.07, 10:27
We are considering using corrugated metal in our boys bedroom as a ceiling. Anyone ever did this? How do they like it if so?
Posted by POLF 2007.01.19, 07:36
Another liberal feelgood word for what we bums call our homes. ” Yeah I live in corrugated housing”
Posted by Janice 2007.01.24, 01:35
I am wanting to use the corrugated tin as roofing, but all I am hearing from the builders is that it will leak. Does anyone know of any sites that shows or tells how to put the tin up so that it will not leak? I to look to hear the rain on the tin roof.
Posted by audrey 2007.04.26, 11:34
I have lived in the same house since 1962. There was an old shed on the property with a corrugated tin roof. The shed is collapsing. It was a large shed, but now I want to have a much smaller shed built on part of the same “footprint ” to use as a studio. I also have extra rolls of corrugated metal which had been left along side the shed. I would like to use some of the weathered wood as a facade for the new shed, and would like to reuse the corrugated tin roof on the new shed. Does anyone know if this could be done and how I would do this as I understand that there now has to be newer/different attachments ( nails with some type of washer attached to them )? I have no idea as to how to go about this, and the few people I’ve asked about this give me looks as if I’ve asked an absolutely foolish question. I live in the Northeast and the only thing we’ve seen with corrugated is the few old sheds still standing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Audrey
Posted by audrey 2007.04.26, 11:35
I have lived in the same house since 1962. There was an old shed on the property with a corrugated tin roof. The shed is collapsing. It was a large shed, but now I want to have a much smaller shed built on part of the same “footprint ” to use as a studio. I also have extra rolls of corrugated metal which had been left along side the shed. I would like to use some of the weathered wood as a facade for the new shed, and would like to reuse the corrugated tin roof on the new shed. Does anyone know if this could be done and how I would do this as I understand that there now has to be newer/different attachments ( nails with some type of washer attached to them )? I have no idea as to how to go about this, and the few people I’ve asked about this give me looks as if I’ve asked an absolutely foolish question. I live in the Northeast and the only thing we’ve seen with corrugated is the few old sheds still standing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Posted by audrey 2007.04.26, 11:39
I have lived in the same house since 1962. There was an old shed on the property with a corrugated tin roof. The shed is collapsing. It was a large shed, but now I want to have a much smaller shed built on part of the same “footprint ” to use as a studio. I also have extra rolls of corrugated metal which had been left along side the shed. I would like to use some of the weathered wood as a facade for the new shed, and would like to reuse the corrugated tin roof on the new shed. Does anyone know if this could be done and how I would do this as I understand that there now has to be newer/different attachments ( nails with some type of washer attached to them )? I have no idea as to how to go about this, and the few people I’ve asked about this give me looks as if I’ve asked an absolutely foolish question. I live in the Northeast and the only thing we’ve seen with corrugated is the few old sheds still standing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Audrey
Posted by audrey 2007.04.26, 11:42
I have lived in the same house since 1962. There was an old shed on the property with a corrugated tin roof. The shed is collapsing. It was a large shed, but now I want to have a much smaller shed built on part of the same “footprint ” to use as a studio. I also have extra rolls of corrugated metal which had been left along side the shed. I would like to use some of the weathered wood as a facade for the new shed, and would like to reuse the corrugated tin roof on the new shed. Does anyone know if this could be done and how I would do this? There now has to be newer/different attachments ( nails with some type of washer attached to them )? I have no idea as to how to go about this. I live in the Northeast , U.S. and the only thing we’ve seen with corrugated is the few old sheds still standing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Audrey
Posted by audrey M 2007.04.26, 11:43
I have lived in the same house since 1962. There was an old shed on the property with a corrugated tin roof. The shed is collapsing. It was a large shed, but now I want to have a much smaller shed built on part of the same “footprint ” to use as a studio. I also have extra rolls of corrugated metal which had been left along side the shed. I would like to use some of the weathered wood as a facade for the new shed, and would like to reuse the corrugated tin roof on the new shed. Does anyone know if this could be done and how I would do this as I understand that there now has to be newer/different attachments ( nails with some type of washer attached to them )? I have no idea as to how to go about this, and the few people I’ve asked about this give me looks as if I’ve asked an absolutely foolish question. I live in the Northeast and the only thing we’ve seen with corrugated is the few old sheds still standing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Audrey
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