#94 How we transformed 498 aluminium cans into a roof 

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that my tiny village, a place I used to think was the most boring in the world when I was younger, would become the setting for such a popular RU-vid channel. Life can be fun sometimes.

That carefully considered layout of the different coloured cans is such a Kevin-touch! Love it.

I make a living in the roofing industry & have some pointers for you all... first really appreciate your enginuity & willingness...but for future roofing projects I recommend installing a underlayment like roofing felt or Ice & Water shield which would be the first choice...& next I would use a fastener that goes all the thur the deck & penetrates by @ least 1/4"...otherwise your screws will back out in time due to thermal movement - expansion & contraction of the wood causing leaks...also...wonder if you all could get sheet metal from a body shop that they going to trash or recycle instead of the thin cans..would be tougher, last for years & better return on your sweat equity ...NEVER QUIT ...Builder Bubba

I think that can cutting jig is the best part as it opens up so many easy ways to use the aluminium, well done

The fact that not only did he (brilliantly) create such a way to fold the cans so they’ll fold and lock into eachother, and then utilized the can tabs to act as clamps to hold them down, AND THEN designed a pattern for all the cans to PERFECTLY fit into to make a decorative roof…..this is incredible. Hes amazing!!!!

love that the can roof had actually a design and not just putting them randomly. Love your work guys!

About half a million years ago, I was a young Marine serving in Viet Nam, about ten miles north of DaNang, an area largely populated by refugees from the north. Many of these people lived in not much more than cardboard huts. The waited outside of our main gate, to get empty beer cans, that they cut the top and bottom off, then slit the can, to use for shingles on their walls and roof. It is my constant sorrow that we ever went there!

Love the idea of using the aluminum cans for roofing tiles. I was thinking, even though beautiful, if the unpainted aluminum side was up, it might reflect sunlight/heat; also the inside has a polymeric coating which might shed water faster.

Kevin's attention to detail and design is incredible. A real mastercraftsman

In 1970 while I was stationed in South Vietnam I noticed a bright coca cola red roof on a villagers hut. The villagers would forage through the trash dumped by the army and use what they can. One such use was like your use. They collected the Coke cans and roofed their hut. I just found this channel and I'm 75 years old. I love to see the young people today building something and learning trades that will be of use the rest of their lives. I'm a DIYer most of my life and enjoy watching you find solutions to the obstacles you run into. Your commune is much like the hippie days of the 60's and 70's in the US where people circulate in and out of the village. Hope your village succeeds and you feel the out come is pleasing. "one mans trash is another man's treasure".

Awesome idea 👀 as someone who builds full metal buildings for a living I would suggest a moisture barrier between the wood and the metal to prevent excess moisture buildup.

Well done! Your project reminds me of a roof I saw in a Wyoming ghost town that was built in the 1880s. The roof was made from one gallon coffee cans. They didn't make much effort to fit the shingles together as neatly as you did. It would have been very noisy in the wind, and that location is very windy! Using steel cans would not work in most of the world, but in Wyoming's dry air, the cans were still mostly intact 100 years later, though the building underneath had collapsed! The roof now lies on the ground, and wild rabbits are sheltered by those steel shingles!

In Germany, each can is worth 25 cents, that's €124.50 for the roof.

When you make it so clear what the ad is for and how many ads you have to do to hit your target, it becomes so much easier to accept them 🥰

Not only was Kevin’s engineering skill amazing, the roof was a beautiful work of art! I subscribed to see more of this lovely community.❤

I have been a builder for almost 30 years. I love using recycled and upcycled materials. I have seen people use old fuel cans but this is a gear idea. I love your little jigs and the folding locking techniques very very clever. The one thing I would have suggested was some seam tape around your makeshift evedrip metal. But bravo!

That's really a work of art. Whenever I was messing around with aluminium cans, I got cuts all over my hand. It's great to see Kevin's hands are still intact.

As the owner of a roofing company, i definitely approve. That turned out awesome!

I loved the one we built back in the 1990's. Using cans is not a "new technique". This has been around for decades. Aluminum roofs were even popular in the 1970's - both from using cans to aluminum sheets from the hardware store. There are videos on RU-vid that show how to make aluminum roof tiles from cans. It is important to use heavy gloves when making them because of the sharp edges. The first time I did this, in 1992, the gloves I had were not thick enough. That shed roof lasted longer than a traditional asphalt shingle roof. A friend of ours did his entire house roof with the aluminum shingles. He removed the ink from the cans and only put the inside of the can's facing-up, so the roof looked like the expensive Aluminum tiles that cost thousands of dollars more that he paid by saving his soda cans for a little over a year before the project. It is also important to wash the cans after use and to store them by cutting them and putting them in neat stacks in the garage using rubber bands.

Watching you guy pick the corn was felt in my soul, I’m português and a lot of the older generation has passed now. our family would all help pick grapes and vegetables for other family members, just listening to your neighbor explain the game about the red corn brought back memories or all sorts of things . Thank you

The reuse of the lid open caps is amazing!

Very kind of you all to help your neighbor pick corn. I remember earlier when you helped another neighbor harvest potatoes. They must be very grateful to have you living nearby rather than just an empty lot.

You even made the tool which takes the bottom and top off of the cans - you’re so talented

The color coordination on top of everything else blew me away

That roof is a work of art, it's beautiful.

Not only does he have genius ideas he has the patience and perseverance to see them through. So much respect!

Looks great and the idea to use the ring pulls was brilliant. Aluminium is highly reactive which causes it to form a protective layer of Aluminium Oxide which generally prevents it from more corrosion, however I would expect it to degrade if there was a lot of heavy rain. Saying that, I have found old cans from decades ago out in the Scottish wilderness before so they might hold up. If they did start to degrade I would start to worry about aluminium leachate in the soil around the toilet maybe? Again though that would probably only be an issue if this technique was used on a lot of buildings over a long period of time. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

The use of the tab from the can was super creative.

Personally, I (and probably many others) don't mind the sponsored segments. If it helps with the camp's financial situation, do them as often as you need. You get better gear and we, the viewers, get new content. Its a win-win. Keep it up!

That roof has been designed by an absolute genius. Very nicely done, sir.❤🇨🇦

Just a suggestion, to avoid leaking you should stagger the shingles and cover them about half way, that way the seams are always covered by the shingle below

Good idea. My wife's family in Thailand used palm leaf thatch.

The roof shingle design is genius. Could you sheath the precious plastic roof in Aluminium, shiny side up to reflect heat away from it?

I am very happy for your neighbors that you are helping them with the harvest, they all seem so nice and down to earth. Great community!

Kevin made a roof into a work of art! It's beautiful, as well as clever and resourceful!

Aligning the colors as you did really enhanced your project. It is so powerful when many hands can produce such work.

Im portuguese and is always nice to see how well you all have been received by the portuguese people around the kamp. Makes me proud of the people of my country.

Looking forward to see how it performs. I appreciate how beautifully Kevin works!

I love when everyone hops in to help !

The roof shingles are a work of art! Ingenious idea. Lindo esse telhado!! Gostei!! .

Old coffee cans were a common siding and roof material when I was a kid growing up in the hills. They were thicker metal, so the issue with wind was never an issue.

I am interested to see how this holds up, especially in storms and wind. I'd love to see a 1, 2, 5 year update on this roof!

Soooo many aspects of your Kamp life which I dream about! I like that you help neighbours! I also appreciate that you worked out a pattern for all your cans on the roof! Well done!

My buddy Randy could of had you three beer can roofs in a Weekend. This just may be the absolutely coolest thing I have seen. Using the tabs for attachment, ingenious. You are my new hero dude!

As many people have already commented Kevin's attention to detail is so awesome. So glad he was able to create such a beautiful roof and using a material that is clearly a passion project.

I love the community spirit in this village. Neighbor helping neighbor is what it’s all about ❤️

I think some form of moisture-wicking underlay would have been a sensible addition to this roof, to help avoid the moisture from condensation sitting in between the shingles and the timber. Looks good though and the shingle profile is tried and true. ❤

Respect to all of you. What a dream life where everybody understands the principle of lending a helping hand. As it should be. Another idea perhaps of attaching a type of gutter to the bottom edge of the roof leading to some storage facility. It is amazing how much clean water can be harvested from such a small roof in rainy season. Enjoy!!!!

The interlocking design is so great, but reusing the pop tabs for fasteners is stroke of brilliance! Love it. Might try to do this on a project I'm hoping to build.

Great update! Lovely to see how well Kevin looks after his tools and designs. And big respect to the editors again! Amazing what work they put in every video. The amount of time behind this must be extraordinary!

I loved the ingenuity, imagination and the use of materials otherwise discarded. A community of helpers is the icing on the cake!

I love the ingenuity that went into this, I also think your lifestyle seems wonderful and idyllic. I love how you made a pretty pattern too ❤

What a well designed, beautifully crafted roof. Even the colours line up! A work of art. Great job!

Greetings from Thailand. Very thoughtful roof shingle design. Gives me faith in the younger generations. Wondering how noisy it is in the rain.

WOW! THAT KID’S A THINKER! I freakin’ love you Millennials! Way to go! He EVEN made his own wood mold! WOW! BRAVO, HUMAN! You SHINE! Beautiful ROOF! It’s ART! Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed that so much! And the day picking CORN! What a wonderful experience! A fun, bountiful, delicious day! Keep doing what you’re doing! SO GREAT!

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing this incredible (and cheap) idea for covering my terrace. The beginning of this video reminded me how neighbors used to help each other. Today, in a buildings, we do not know who is living next door.

The pattern of the roof really shows the perfectionist in Kevin, really really really cool. Well done!

I remember watching the video of you guys planting the trees. And now it's producing big, juicy peaches. How wonderful. I like how the roof came out. I hope it lasts

That was an incredibly creative way to make something so amazing. From creating a tool to cut the cans, developing a framework for interlocking, using a template for cutting, and mold for "scoring" the fold lines, getting everyone on board for folding, using the trim to incorporate the catches, the tabs to secure without holes, and then rounding the whole thing out with a wonderful pattern, this really is awe-inspiring. I'll be checking out the designs and follow-up...then might give it a go up here to see how it holds up to the ice and snow of Canada.

I most appreciate how you were conscious of the layout of the colors.

Kevin is so meticulous and neat. It's great to see your first harvest of peaches! Hopefully you can plant a few more fruit and nut trees so you don't waste too much time waiting for maturity. Doing great, everyone!

Kevin's attention to detail and design is incredible. A real mastercraftsman. That roof is a work of art, it's beautiful..

it's wonderful to see people working together for their neighbor

❤😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 What a wonderfully creative way to Upcycle Aluminum cans! Great job on the 'Tutorial' and the roof came out as a beautiful art piece! 🌈

Out of all the things you've done, I think this is my favorite so far. The amount of time and effort to collect, cut, fold. and install is simply impressive. I hope this works out long term. Well done!

I know most people hate seeing ads, even sponsored ads. But I'm glad you guys are doing it, as a matter of fact I kinda was surprised you didn't do it earlier. It's just a great way to get extra revenue from all the amazing work you guys do, and the money will for sure be a huge help on making project kamp even better.

I’ve seen a few roof jobs in France lately of different materials or ways to attach. So glad your video came up. Ingenious.

This reminded me of my Grandfathers garage. The person who built it used steel oil cans as shingles. I was always amazed by that as a child. Thanks for helping me remember.

Kevin is such a calming presence. That roof design is brilliant, looking forward to hearing if it was as successful as it looks

How ingenius is your shingle design, both technically and artistically! I have been collecting aluminum cans for a similar purpose, not foe a roof but for the side of a shed. On a vertical wall the rain will not penetrate upward so easily as on a low-sloping roof such as yours. You actually could have easily saved much time by using a higher pitch on your roof to repel rain more rapidly and not worrying so much about tiny leaks.. Your shower test should have included a strong FAN to simulate WIND pushing water upward toward the peak of the roof. Also, for a small out-building like your external toilet, a few drops of rain coming through once in a while would not be a problem. BUT.. FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY, please do NOT buy a new tractor or even one that is less than twenty years old. If you buy a new or very modern tractor you will find when you need repairs that you cannot get them done locally , or at least that you must pay a huge amount. Major tractor manufacturers have been cleverly destroying competition for repairs. They are creating a terrible situation which requires repairs to be done by their licensed dealers, who charge very high prices. This is partly because they cleverly include very unnecessary electronic and digital technology which more economical small independent mechanics cannot repair, and partly because in many countries the manufacturers create a sales contract which states that only licensed dealers can repair their tractors. I have just bought a tractor made in the 1940's, and have a very small "garden tractor" that is form 1974. You should buy a good old tractor, even thirty or forty years old, and invest in any needed repairs. Buy a brand that is respected by older local mechanics and is easy to find parts and mechanical service for, and was made on your continent, not on the other side of the world! I think you will eventually be sorry of you do not take this advice.

Fifty years ago my dad who was a printer/lithographer used old printing press plates to cover our house roof. He made a wooden jig to bend the aluminum plates. It was a great roof! The snow would slide off in one big woosh. No leeks. Ever. Good to see the use of the cans.

That is so cool!! And the visuals as well? So pretty with all the different coloured cans!

This is an inspirational series of what people can do with limited resources, and to do with with such imagination and creativity. How uplifting!

I love the pattern on the roof. Nice work.

Fantastic, such patience, determination and skill. Beautiful color pattern, using the can lids to fix it... brilliant stuff 🥰

I love how you were able to use the tabs! Very resourceful! Good Job

I would love to see how you made the can cutter! great idea !!! thanks

I remember picking corn as a young child. My parents planted both field corn for the chickens and sweet corn for family/friends. Along with potatoes, peas and greens in the same field. They also had a regular garden and what my Mom called the "truck patch" which was easy access to outside of the kitchen. Both my parents grew up on farms as they were born in the early 1900's. And taught a lot to their children to be resourceful. Unlike today, where I think most people take a lot for granted. Thank you for sharing your chosen lifestyle with everyone that had taken the to time to watch. May God continue to Bless you and your family

This is exceptional! A wonder of design that solves so many problems so efficiently, and the entire process adequately documented to boot! Fantastic engineering, bravo!

Love this! I vote for 100% more Kevin invention videos! He’s incredible!

The roof looks so cool! I was worried about how thin the material was, but it's ultimately protecting the wood. So much repeptitive work payed off!

You can be very satisfied with this roof, looks great

What a fantastic idea I was looking for a cheap alternative for guttering I might get started trying this Thank you

i love the rich feeling of community with the kamp and all of the neighbors and the nearby town. living a life like that is very rewarding, being surrounded by people you love working with and talking to. everyone helping each other move forward to the next day

Great work with the neighbours and the tin roof. Also I support you including an advert if it gets you what you need. Well done. Peace and Love, Pete (Manchester UK)

Fantastic how there is even a thoughtout design in pattern of these cans!! ❤

What a fantastic looking design the colour layout really makes it pop.

You are a genius of upcycling, Kevin. And the layout design, just the cherry on the top of the cake.

Very neat idea for functional repurposing ... I spent many years in my youth shingling roofs.. Two things to be aware of are blowing rain and ice migration. These things will work themselves under all types of shingles.. There are several techniques to help mitigate this, but one recommendation I can make is you place a layer of roofing tar felt paper down first. The reason for this is to give a base sealing layer.. It is inexpensive, readily available, and fairly green.. It helps to seal the fasteners to minimize leaking around them and forces any water that manages to get under the shingles to run off from under them and not go through the ceiling.. Thank You for sharing .. Keep up the good work Cheers :)

Amazing. They even used the opener part!

GLAD I stopped by ! GOOD _LUCK_ 👍👍!! IMPRESSIVE BUILD with community support ! ALL the BEST from Texas ! - - Chuck .

I saw this idea a few years ago. It will be interesting to see how it performs in the Portuguese weather.

Amazing episode! Please keep up with the adds so you can get the tractor. Adds don’t bother me if it benefits your project. I think you’ve created the best designed toilet I’ve ever seen.

That is one awesome idea. Nicely done. And it keeps them out of a landfill.

Thats a well thought out solution!! Parabéns!

the can roof is amazing!!! I hope it does last long so we can see more of it!

That's a pretty nice roof design actually. I really liked the way the can tabs were re-used as clips to hold the shingles down. It should last a long time and be quite waterproof. I see more of these roof's in your future.

I am truly impressed with the ingenuity of this guy.

Wow such dedication, even laying out a pattern when applying the shingles. Amazing work.

Great job helping the neighbor. The roof looks fantastic. Well done!