I know I keep talking about the hailstorm that hit earlier this year, but that dang hailstorm seems to have led to a lot of other things…like rustic beams instead of fake ones, a quick sale of our old house, and now a practically free metal ceiling in our living room.
Since day one Adam and I have planned to put a metal ceiling on the living room and master bedroom of our house. We have always loved the look, and we were so sure about it that we even had the sheetrock crew leave the ceiling bare when they did the rest of the house.
That being said, we had no idea what direction we wanted to head besides “metal”. Did we want old rustic stuff? New stuff? DIY or hire it out? Either way it was going to be an expensive, time-consuming project…we were basically putting a second roof on our house, just upside-down.
Sooo (stick with me here)…
On our new house we chose to mix two types of metal roofing, standing seam for the main part of the house and corrugated for the porches.
Here is a closer view…
When the hailstorm hit we had to completely replace the (very new) roof, and thankfully it was covered 100% by insurance. So when the roofing crew came we asked if we could keep the metal, thinking that we could possibly use it for the ceiling in the house (probably the master, since it is smaller), or if not we could at least use it for various other projects (like a chicken coop and whatnot). They said yes, but only the corrugated could be reused since the standing seam had to be cut off and was destroyed in the process.
Turns out it was more metal than we thought it would be, and was juuuuust enough to cover the living room ceiling…which meant that the huge investment that was going to be our ceiling was now FREE. And since the material cost was zero we happily ponied up the funds ($2,400) and hired someone to install it, since it sounds like a torturous DIY project, Adam isn’t a fan of heights, and I’m eight months pregnant and zero help at all.
The results? See for yourself…
We still have plenty of projects to do involving the ceiling – the center beam needs to be skinned in barn wood, we need metal trim around the beams and fireplace, regular trim where the metal meets the wall, the recessed lights need to be reinstalled, etc…but for now I’m pretty thrilled with it. It also really brightens up the house, all the windows combined with reflective metal means I won’t ever have to turn on a light during the day. We also had our exposed metal AC pipe installed after the ceiling, which means that the whole house is now air-conditioned and not just the bedrooms. Life is good.
As for the hail damage, you can barely see the dents. They are visible if you know they are they are look really hard, but I don’t mind it at all. Actually, kinda the opposite…I like the character and the story.
Oh my goodness Ashley, your house is massively huge. Everything looks fabulous. The metal ceiling reminded me of when I was growing up in Puerto Rico. All the houses there had metal ceiling and when it rained the noise from the drenching rain was fabulous. Enjoy your beautiful house with God’s blessings and much happiness.
http://www.http//.frugaliciouschick.blogspot.com Millie
Thank you Millie! And yes, it looks embarrassingly huge in photos because the ceiling is so high.
Did you finish your concrete foundation floors yourself or have a professional do them? I love the color, shine…ok everything about them!!
Thank you! We did it ourselves, but we just pressure washed the foundation and applied the cheapest concrete sealer from Home Depot. We plan to put wood flooring down one day, but it’s so expensive that we decided to seal the concrete an live with it for a few years while we finish the rest of the house.
Looks cool! Do you think the metal reflecting the light will also add more heat?
No, the house actually stays pretty cool… the spray foam does its job well. Plus the ceiling doesn’t get any direct sunlight, all the windows in the main living space (except for those little square ones up top) are under deep porches. I was worried about the metal making the house really echo-y and loud, but it hasn’t made it any louder either. That being said its not the quietest house, but there also isn’t anything soft in it yet (carpet, rugs, curtains, etc).
That is incredible-looking! What a lucky break that hailstorm turned out to be.
The house is starting to look very comfortable. Are you enjoying living in it at last? How do the little guys like their new home?
I can tell that it is going to be an awesome house, the floor plan functions really well and everything seems so be proportioned just right. However, there isn’t really a place to put things yet (shelves, closets, etc) so it’s a little bit chaotic. The main problem is that we can’t seem to close on the freaking construction loan, the lender keeps telling us that the house isn’t finished so we can’t close, and I don’t see why they care since we are only borrowing a quarter of it’s value. The builder is finished, we are living in it, everything functions and there are no safety issues…who cares if we are missing some trim, or light fixtures, or carpet? UGH.
I was wondering how that all works. As we build, I was hoping we can do much like you and live it while finishing it out. Did you have to ask for permission to live in it while you haven’t closed on it yet?
No, we aren’t in any city limits so we don’t need a certificate of occupancy or anything. And we know plenty of people that have closed on houses that are much more unfinished than ours…we just ended up with a really picky inspector/lender.
What a pain! How many things need to be done for him to be satisfied?
What is the material on you floor? Cement?
Yes, it’s just the foundation that we sealed. We plan to put wood down in the future, but for now (and the next few years) it will be concrete.
Have you decided on a color for the walls? I think it will look amazing with something besides the white against it.
The walls are already painted :) I agree that the metal would look great against a color (and the white isn’t the most sure I’ve ever been about a paint choice) but we have so many other architectural elements still planned that I think anything other than a light neutral might be overwhelming.
Don’t you just love when the Lord does crazy miracles like that! How fun :-)
Lovely! Unique and very inviting~
Are your railings high enough to deter kids’ climbing?
OMG. It’s all so absolutely fabulous! You guys are great!
Holy crap! That looks AMAZING!
Never in a million years would I have thought about putting metal on a ceiling in my house, but DANG!!! It looks amazing. I actually really love it. We may have to do that when we finally build our dream home in a few years! Just look at all the cool stuff I get to learn from y’all! :)
Looks amazing! We are building in North Texas.. I was looking for feedback on those darn clay colored windows and came across your blog. We went to pick out windows yesterday and they only had those three color choices, my builder is checking on an oil rubbed bronze color but if we end up going with the clay color I now know it will look great like yours. I our design is more of a craftsman/ country/rustic with rock, vertical Hardy , Hardy shake and cedar gable brackets. I am still deciding on the 4 over 4 for windows or the two over two like yours. Thanks for blogging!!
I can’t wait to see your place when it is done! That looks fantastic! Our To grandma’s house we go link party just opened this morning, we would love to have you!
It sounds like that hail storm was really bad. The ceiling is super high in your new home. I’m sure as you say no one would notice if they weren’t looking for the small dents. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.
Wow, that looks beautiful! I love that you were able to re-use the corrugated metal from the roof. Can’t wait to see what else you do!
I love everything that you are doing with this house, the wood beams look great with the corrugated metal ceiling. Great inspiration, thanks for sharing!
I love the look of the metal roof! Thanks for sharing all the pictures!
have you notice if the metal makes the room louder , thats one of my wifes concerns, thanks
Insulation will keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, you and your family will stay comfortable all year round, without having to rely on extra blankets, fans, or other ways to stay happy.