By: Chris Occhiuzzi

For Muskoka homes and cottages, a lasting steel roof depends as much on craftsmanship and experience as it does on the metal itself.

Dark standing seam steel roof with multiple gables on a waterfront Muskoka home seen from above

Roofs in Muskoka are asked to perform heavy duties: they must withstand rain and wind while carrying snow and ice. All the while, they are expected to look stylish atop timber, stone, glass, or cedar homes and cottages. Oh, and roofs in cottage country need to look good from the lake as well as the road.

With all this in mind, Mike Vettese of GBS Contracting Services says a steel roof can be one of the smartest choices a homeowner makes. However, he warns that using a premium steel material is only one of several considerations.

A Steel Roof Is a System, Not a Commodity

Mike and the GBS team have spent decades working on properties throughout the region. He explains that roofing is not a commodity purchase. It is part of an integrated system. Installing a roof is as much about experience and problem-solving as it is about the material you choose. It's about making several seemingly small decisions most people never see from the driveway but will absolutely notice when winter arrives.

For the homeowner, that means being willing to spend a little more on a quality product and ensuring the team installing it knows what they're doing.

"People go for a low price and inferior material, and they don't know what they're getting," says Mike. "It's about the client being educated and aware."

Muskoka Winters Are Changing How Roofs Get Installed

This advice is vital to heed in Muskoka. The region's winters are as unpredictable as they are long. Heavy snow can be followed by rain, thaw, refreeze, and wind. Roofs that once performed without much trouble are now facing ice and moisture issues that reveal every weakness in ventilation, insulation, and installation.

"Climate change is really changing the way we install roofs," he says. "We're seeing more ice damming now than there's ever been on roofs that never had it."

Ventilation, Strapping, and Snow Guards

That is why an experienced roofer looks at more than the surface. A proper steel roof may need strapping and counter-strapping to create airflow beneath the panels. It may need improved ventilation around dormers, gables, or tight rooflines. It may need snow guards or breakers placed with care so packed snow does not release all at once onto eavestroughs, decks, garden beds, walkways, or parked vehicles.

"Anything you can do to improve your ventilation," says Mike, "that's what you really want to do if you have any ice damming."

What a Finished Roof Can Hide

The challenge for homeowners is that a roof can look finished long before they know whether it has been done well. The clean lines of steel can hide poor airflow, blocked ventilation, weak detailing, and rushed decisions. Those problems rarely announce themselves on installation day. They show up later, when the first hard winter tests the work.

The best roofers don't just install a product. They protect the home beneath it.

That is where craftsmanship becomes the real value. It's not simply about neat seams or straight panels, but judgment: knowing how a Muskoka home breathes, how snow moves, where ice will form, and when an older building needs a modern solution. The best roofers do not just install a product. They protect the home beneath it.

"There's more to it than just pounding in nails," says Mike. "If things aren't done correctly, then you end up with problems."

Decades of Experience on Every GBS Job Site

Mike Vettese of GBS outside the company's Builders and General Contractors sign

At GBS Contracting Services, Mike points to the experience of his crews as one of the company's strengths. Many of the tradespeople on site have spent decades learning what works, what fails, and what Muskoka weather will eventually expose.

400–500 YEARS
of combined experience on GBS job sites.

"Most of our men are in their late forties, fifties, and sixties," he says. "They've got combined experience — I'd say probably 400 or 500 years of combined experience on our sites. That matters."

Questions to Ask Before the Work Begins

That depth of knowledge matters on every project because no two roofs are exactly alike. A lakeside cottage, a year-round family home, a renovated older property, and a new build may all need different details. The roof pitch, attic space, insulation, exposure, tree cover, and snow movement all influence the right approach.

Vettese believes homeowners should feel comfortable asking questions before work begins.

What material is being used?
How will ventilation be handled?
Where will the snow go?
Is the crew experienced with steel roofing in Muskoka conditions?

A good contractor should welcome those questions, not avoid them.

"The best customer is an educated one," says Mike. "You have to be careful what you're looking at."

The Difference a Well-Installed Steel Roof Makes

A quality steel roof is an investment in comfort, protection, and peace of mind. Done properly, it can bring decades of service, strong curb appeal, and confidence through the long shoulder seasons and snowy months. Done poorly, it can turn a good material into an expensive lesson.

In the end, the steel matters. So do the fasteners, the ventilation, the snow management, and the details. But above all, Mike says, it comes down to people who know what they are doing.

In Muskoka, where every season has a way of testing a home, craftsmanship is not an extra. It is what makes the roof worthy of the place it protects.

GBS CONTRACTING
📍 Muskoka • 📞 705-687-9143
www.gbscontracting.com

Steel Overhead, Experience Beneath