My buddy has a pretty good sized steel shop (approx 20' x 30') that has an issue. The center roof cap that covers the corrugated roof panels has openings along the entire roof line for ventilation, which is fine, but ...

The cap only overlaps each side by ~ 8" and allows dust and leaves to blow in. The shop is about 10 years old and everything inside is covered with dust and debris. To me, it's a crappy design and I would have contacted the manufacturer or installer many years ago but that's not an option now.

What's the best way to take care of this problem?

Getting on the roof to do repairs doesn't sound good unless you used a man lift(s) and/or scaffolding. The sheet metal is too thin to walk on.

Any thoughts?

The rafters that hold up the roof metal will support a man's weight.

Most buildings I have seen either the cap matches the roof panel to eliminate any big gaps or they use a die formed foam gasket to transition and seal in between the panel and ridge cap.

Maybe he could use expanding foam in the gaps from inside the building at the peak.?

They make cut foam rubber strips to match the corrugation patterns now. They push right in, and fit the metal.

https://www.corrugatedmetal.com/accessories/closure-strips/

I'd probably do it from a tall ladder from the inside? Or a lift.

I'm sure they will but they're spaced too far apart to walk on without taking giant steps.

- "Maybe he could use expanding foam in the gaps from inside the building at the peak?"

That could work but then vents would have to be installed.

- The "die formed foam gasket" would also work.

Same as above though. The few I looked at on the website were made of closed cell foam.

How'd they put the roof on?

YOu either want air in or you don't. If you get air in almost any form, it brings dust... dirt... maybe not leaves but at least dust and dirt...

One of our roofs has 3 foot purlin spacing, you just walk screw line to screw line. 3 foot steps is not a big deal.

If the span was more, then get a piece of something to cover the span like thin plywood, on a rope, pulled from the other side as a safety if it is needed..

Hellifiknow.

Besides, I'm an old man that isn't very stable on my feet and especially on sloped or uneven surfaces. My days of working on roofs are done unless a neurologist can figure out, and fix, what's going on with my feet, legs, and balance. I'm trying to get a referral to a neuro doc but haven't succeeded yet ... this year. I luv obammycare.

I would say that was left open as a vent. If I was going to repair without getting on roof I would plug on inside. With the gasket or metal. Then I would cut in wall vents as high as possible on gable ends of building, as high as possible. Simple covered vent.

This ^^^^^^^

I typed lowered not covred

Louvered...?

I do not understand why what I type on a Kindle changes. Just put louvered vents in ends.

If you need to maintain ventilation but stop debris you need something like this product, but in bulk that you can cut to size. All water feature product companies sell this type of material in mattes. Maybe you could find a manufacturer and buy in bulk???

https://www.chewy.com/tetra-prefilt...Novt1kEI6ncgBoCe7Lw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

One of those great designs that engineers partially thought out. One of our office buildings was similarly designed. Got about 14" inches of blowing snow one night. The wind carried it up the roof, through the gap, and into the attic area. A real mess when it thawed. Foamed it all in and put in end vents, soffits if possible, and maybe a powered vent fan.

Spell check can be a curse sometimes.

A vent fan will move more air than vents 10x the size.

They make tin roof peak trim.

if it's a metal shop in this part of the world there's no way
i'd seal it totally unless i were sealing a leak when it rains. it gets
way too hot here to seal it up totally. a lot of folks that bought
conex boxes are now figuring that out when some of their stored
stuff melts or gets mildewed from sweat and trapped moisture.




a quality push broom and a big nice shop vac

My shop gets dirt and crap in it everyday. I leave the doors open during the daytime.

Most blows right out the door with the leaf blower.

Better than having an oven for a shop...

I used a product similar to this and had good results with it, easy to install and has worked great for at least 15 years - http://www.plyco.com/P/QuickVentFoamVent/97

drover

Rent a scaffold and close the opening from the inside.

That's what I was imagining with my post, and there it is in finished form.

Fishhead I've built a pile of pole barns, there is a product designed specifically for the peak trim on the roof. It's not solid foam but more of scotch brite type of product in 3' sections formed to the shape of the tin. It allows air to flow out and keeps a good percentage of the dust and snow out. I'm guessing your erectors left it out. Find a pole barn company with similar metal and purchase some. If the roof pitch is less than a 4 use a damp rag to wipe your shoes occasionally and walking on the metal won't be an issue. Stay off the high parts of the corrugation!

Here's one example.


http://www.bestmaterials.com/detail...bW0lllsA7HLQbTAi15QPPJLPrWmKsBoCq1Pw_wcB

This is probably what your buddies shed monkeys did, notice no ridge vent open cell strips between the ridge cap and the metal roofing. It's WFO to birds, bugs, dirt, snow, etc etc. How clowns like this stay in business is beyond me.


https://youtu.be/CAFGCB1aGnk