Before settling on a roof for his weekend getaway cabin, Cincinnati-based architect Paul Muller had one request: a roof that appeared both aged and modern. He chose Follansbee’s second generation Terne-Coated Stainless Steel, TCS II.

Before settling on a roof for his weekend getaway cabin, Cincinnati-based architect Paul Muller had one request: a roof that appeared both aged and modern. He chose Follansbee’s second generation Terne-Coated Stainless Steel, TCS II.

He reasoned that a metal roof would provide more durability and longevity than other options, and he wanted a roof that could withstand damage from harsh conditions while lending traditional aesthetic appeal and requiring little to no maintenance.

“As both an architect and a homeowner, TSC II was the only roofing product that had the qualities I was looking for to complete this design,” explained Muller, owner of Muller Architects Inc. ( www.mullerarchitects.com ). “The cabin is a balanced fusion of rustic simplicity with abstract modern form. Although it is made of logs, they are squared and make a clean, box-like shape. Follansbee’s TSC II accomplished my objective even better than I expected.”

Located in southeastern Indiana near the town of Metamora, Muller’s cabin used a total of 1,600 square feet of TCS II. The roofing material is armored with Follansbee’s patented ZT Alloy, an electrochemically bonded coating of zinc and tin applied uniformly to both sides of Type 304 stainless steel.

All of Follansbee’s materials are coated with the company’s patented ZT Alloy, making a Follansbee roof last many times longer than a run-of-the-mill steel roof, especially in harsh environments. It is also what gives a Follansbee roof its unique visual characteristics.

Use of Recycled Materials

Muller’s cabin is not an extraordinary project just because of its metal roof. The rustic home is also built entirely with recycled building materials. Most of these were distributed from Building Value, a Cincinnati nonprofit re-use center that salvages quality building materials otherwise meant for the landfill and resells them in a public retail center.

In fact, all Follansbee roofs are produced from metals containing a high percentage of recycled materials. Furthermore, Follansbee’s TCS II is 100 percent recyclable and did nothing but complement Muller’s green outlook.

Another one of TSC II’s most attractive features is the soft-looking, protective patina, or finish, that develops after exposure to the elements. Unaffected by heat or ultraviolet light, the metal will never need to be painted. TCS II is oxygen reactive, so the patina forms by exposure to the air.

“The dull gray color of TCS II changes slightly with the light and the seasons,” said Muller. “It has developed a wonderful patina that adds to a sense of weight.”

Muller was not his only client on the project. His wife, Teresa Schnorr, and his brother, John Muller, are co-owners of the cabin, and most design decisions were worked out with the usual give and take.

“The choice of roofing material was easy and unanimous,” Muller said. “We all shared the goal of keeping an authentic character and making the building fit into an 80-acre wilderness retreat without feeling civilized.”