Anybody done this?

I have seen a couple of cabins with this, and it looks pretty good.  As I started searching the web, they make some stuff that looks REALLY good.

I'm curious what the cost of the material is (roughly) per SF for the better quality/custom color type stuff, and what the installation costs would be.

Any pitfalls I need to be aware of?

I have it on the house I just built. What specific questions do you have? I can post some more specifics when I'm not posting on my phone.

I would rather have a metal exterior house than any other type of exterior.  Nearly maintenance free and super durable.

I posted this in another thread.  

Metal sided exterior. Maintenance free (or nearly so aside from a yearly washing), fire resistant, and good looking. Same type of metal as a typical barn or shop. We just finished building a house like that and did a couple extras to make it more energy efficient. The metal siding requires purlins (2x4s mounted horizontally on the exterior studs) to attach the metal to. We covered the purlins with 1 inch rigid foam sheets and then screwed the metal over that. With 2x4 studs, 2x4 purlins, and combined with the 1 inch exterior rigid foam, we have the same thickness as a 2x6 wall with traditional OSB. But, our walls are MUCH higher R value. A typical house with 2x6 walls has R19 but about 20-30% of the wall surface is studs which are a thermal bridge for heat....so the true thermal performance of a traditional 2x6 wall is probably more like R14-15...less if it's not well air sealed. Covering any wall with rigid foam drastically cuts that thermal bridging down. We then used damp spray cellulose in the walls. The cellulose in a 5 inch wall cavity (3.5 inch 2x4 with 1.5 inches of 2x4 purlin) gives us a true R19 with good air sealing (damp spray cellulose doesn't allow nearly the air movement in the walls that fiberglass batts allow). Then, add the R4 for the rigid foam EPS and our main walls are at a true R23 and are also better air sealed.

What is an approximate cost per SF for materials and installation?

I'm comparing it to the cost of cedar or cypress plank siding.

Unfortunately I can't answer that. I would say it's probably cheaper but didn't price out the difference because we were going with metal anyway. It should be less labor so probably a bit cheaper.

I had a builder do the dirt work, basement foundation, structure, and exterior. I finished it. My final cost per sq ft was under $60.

Wood siding has to be stained/sealed every few years. With metal you just pressure wash it once per year and that's it.

Be careful here.

Resale value can be adversely (or favorably) affected by the "mere" aesthetics of your siding.

I'll post more pics after this weekend, but what I am finding is steel is surprisingly close in cost to cypress and Western Red Cedar.  I think steel, in a vertical plank style look, looks really good..kind of like wood siding from a distance.

Someone said something pretty poignant, in that, if you're going for a wood type look with metal siding, you will be disappointed.  He has a point to consider.  

I'm going to keep doing some research.

I think you're looking at $1 a square foot for the metal, plus all the trim pieces.


We used these guys: http://www.abmartin.net/metal-roofing-panels/abm. Check out the trims and colors.  A supplier near you will have the same setup.