Learn me Metal Roofing for homes.

Pretty much decided that we are here till we cant be. Mid 60s at the moment and a new roof is  probably  in the cards 4 to 5 years from now. My expectations of shingles is 15 years regardless of what it says on the package.

Seeing a lot of homes in the hood with metal roofs. I cant say as I love the looks over shingles, but everyone touts them as forever roofs. Shingles would see me into my 80s when I probably don't want to deal with roofing issues. Is metal roofing the answer or best to just plan on a second roof  in our 80s if we make it that far?

The house does have a very shallow pitch if that is a factor. Pretty simple  two-slab roof with no valleys.

I'm in essentially the same situation-- have a 20 year old asphalt roof that's been through 2 derechos and is at the point where it needs replacing if I don't want to wait until it's an emergency.  Homeowner's insurance also says that at 20 years of age, they aren't covering any roofing claims.

I'm in the process of getting estimates for replacement, and have been told that the cost for what is considered equivalent quality, metal is about $300 cheaper per square than asphalt shingles.  Metal will be a tough sell to SWMBO though.

Unfortunately, with the current state of the homeowners insurance industry here (US, Iowa, not even Florida, California or other areas of headline making climate catastophes), I'd recommend consulting your insurance agent before making any decisions.  What you can get covered, and at what price may be very much impacted by your material selection.

I'll also expect that my insurance premiums will go up after I put on a roof that they will cover. 

Former metal roofing manufacturer here.

1. It's all in the install.  Lots of folks can do a decent job with shingles. There's a reason they are the standard. Metal roofs can be great, but not without a skilled craftsman (person) doing the install. 1 million ways to die on a metal roof-doubly so on standing seam.

2. Nobody talks about thermal expansion/contraction. It is very real, and over say a 20' section, it works screws loose over time. Also, those screws with the rubber washer? Rubber doesn't last forever, especially when E36 M3's moving around.

3. Cost. Shingles are invariably cheaper. 

4. All that tree sap hides nicely on a three tab, but not so much on galvalume.

I love the aesthetic of metal roofs. Everything should look like that, and sound like the old Man's barn did when it rained, but dollar for dollar, I'm betting on shingles.

The new school metal shingles/tiles are something I have no experience with. Most roofing tiles need to be loosely attached to avoid the thermal expansion E36 M3 I was talking about. I'd do research before committing to them.

Opinion out-Wheelsmithy

I have a metal shingle style roof on my house (CA).  Not sure if that is what you are asking about.  The previous owner put it on, so I don't know how old it is, but it has to be 20+.  Interesting about the expansion, I have not noticed anything obvious, but maybe some nails working loose?  It's nailed in of course.  I will certainly look out for that now, thanks.

The one thing it is doing, after the years, is it's loosing the texture coating they spray on it, so rain storms result in a lot of of the texture coating in the drains etc.  Not sure that has any affect on the roof at all, but it does make it change color slightly.

I am told you cannot walk on it, and I haven't tried.  I would suspect it could result in bend or dented tiles (and possibly leaks), so doing any mods or additions (such as solar panel) are likely a no go.

It might be noisier in the rain, but I don't notice it.  Probably because it's a tile style rather than a large sheet of metal style, so it really has no drum to it.

I guess it might be a bit better for fire, but I don't think the actual roof is every an issue, unless its the old shake wood style that the houses were built with (certainly a bad idea).  I think there is only one house left in our development (1977) with that roof and its in REALLY bad shape (house it looks to be in the hands of descendants now and I am sure a new roof is on it's way very soon).

My shop has a metal roof, as it's a metal building. It dates back to 1994 and there are no leaks. I had solar put on it a couple of years back. I've never been up there as there's been no need.

Some neighbors just replaced their mansard roof (think barn) with steel. Then they hosed it down with some sort of acid to give it some surface rust, like a VW rat rod. It actually looks quite good, the natural color blends in with the landscape better than I would have expected.

We installed a metal roof in 2009; still looks great, can confirm you do not want to walk on it. Did a 5-V crimp, which is the classic old-style metal roof, but with a modern install (ridge caps, nice valleys alongside the gables, good gutters) looks plenty high end and, at the time, was far cheaper than standing seam. Can confirm the screws work loose over time--just had to go over most of the roof and tighten them for the first time this fall. But even though the roof is nearly 15 years old, we just renewed our homeowners with no issues in a state where a 10-year-old roof with 30-year shingles will get you booted from coverage, so no regrets.

Margie

I used to be a roofer, and have done my own roofs on my last 3 houses with 5V metal, and just had a standing seam roof put on my new house.  Here in FL, they are lasting significantly longer than shingles.  Much better wind resistance, if they're done reasonably well they're less prone to weird leaks around valleys and gables than shingles, IMO.  The 5V uses gasketed screws as mentioned above and they will eventually lose their rubber and leak; they do make oversize screws and it's not terribly difficult to go over the whole roof

My new standing seam roof is absolutely beautifully done; it uses all of this hemmed trim and flashing so that there are no exposed screws, the guys who did it cut and hemmed the bottom of every panel and even closed in the triangle of the standing seam pieces at the bottom.  I'm super happy with it and it should go 30-40 years no problem out here in the woods.  

You can get rust on ocean front houses with galvalume; my brother is still roofing in south FL and he's seen some not make 20 years on beach front houses with salt spray.  Even a couple of miles inland though, you're probably good.

Some interesting info. The screws working loose is not one I considered and certainly the rubber gaskets will not outlive the metal.

I will have to do some self educating so as to understand the different steel roof systems available.

Here in Canada it runs around twice the cost of shingles, so there has to be a long game to make sense.

The house has cathedral ceilings so rain noise is already a thing love it or hate it. I am guessing that a steel roof will amplify the sound. I would love that. Wife would hate it.

I was always told that it's the tar paper that makes a roof not leak, asphalt or steel.

Parents house is a 4 gable farmhouse. Metal roof done around 1990. Still looks good, probably go another 35 years before needing to replace it. I love metal roofs but my house has shingle roof because that is what the previous owner replaced the original 1997 shingles with when they got hail damaged somewhere around 2010ish. If I'm still living here whenever the current roof needs replacing, I'm doing metal.

I'm about an hour southeast of you in the country.  Nobody around here uses shingles anymore unless they're on a tight budget. I had mine done in steel about 10 years ago. I was getting $5k quotes for shingles, paid $7k for steel and I helped him one of the days stripping shingles. We didn't put strapping down, he said it's not necessary. Rain noise is not significantly increased and I have no complaints but if I have to do something up there and it's not dry it'll have to wait.  My shop roof is steel, 50 yrs old and doesn't leak. I would not use shingles again 

The only thing that I can add, and it might only be my experience, is that cell service will suffer with a metal roof, if that's important. 

We have a 170 year old farmhouse with a metal roof, and as near as I can tell, the roof was done at some point after Eisenhower was elected President. It's rusty, it was done with nails and lead seals, and it was coated at some point with silver paint which is now rusting through. It sounds like you're living underneath a drum and someone is perpetually dumping a box after box of 6 penny nails on it when it's raining. 

But, it only has one tiny leak, that only leaks when it's absolutely monsooning, and the wind happens to be blowing from one particular direction. 

Our 25-year old shingle roof still looks great, so YMMV, I guess. I see some metal roofs around here (Michigan), but I always wonder how they hold up with the temperature extremes we get here. Seems like you'd need to retighten those fastners fairly often with all the expansion and contraction.

Slippery said:

The only thing that I can add, and it might only be my experience, is that cell service will suffer with a metal roof, if that's important. 

The older I get, the more that seems like a positive vs a negative. 

My parents house was built in the 1920s and has metal shingles. As far as I can tell they are original to the house. The roof has been painted twice in my lifetime, 40+ years. The asphalt shingles on the new section have been replaced twice and are leaking again. If you have the money, plan to stay in the house, and can find a good installer then metal is a better investment. 

Thought that I have is that the metal roof fad took off about 10 years ago. I can find lots of people who rave about their metal roofs and the expected benefits. Thing is that the data wont be in for another 10 years. 

As a homeowner you are only going to do this once and are going to have to cross your fingers, close your eyes,  throw the dart and pray.

Guess at a metal roof "system".  Salespeople are just that. Onus is on you.

Guess at a qualified installer. No way to qualify since you don't know anything about the product.

Pray that the workers that show up are having a good day. Today's labour market is somewhat fluid in the trades. Training aint a thing.

Wait 15+ years to see if you got lucky.

That is a lot of finger crossing VS the idiot-proofness of shingles.

There is a solution that shoots in the middle.  Around here the hot thing is a metal shingle.  It's a stamped steel shingle that looks a lot like a three-tab composite, then coated with bitumen and aggregate.  Upside -looks like a normal shingle, lasts darn near forever, not quite as loud as sheet metal.  Downside, bloody expensive.

The other thing is that they can be stamped in a million different ways giving the look of a plain asphalt shingle, or terracotta, or cedar shakes, or slate.

NOHOME said:

Thought that I have is that the metal roof fad took off about 10 years ago. I can find lots of people who rave about their metal roofs and the expected benefits. Thing is that the data wont be in for another 10 years. 

I'm staring at a farmhouse built in 1883 with a metal roof. Fad you say?

My two cents: Shingles. If the house needs shingles when you sell it and they want it replaced, just subtract it from the price. 

People that throw money at their house in order to sell it should just take the lesser offer. The new people want to do what they want and usually it's not what you just redid.

In my opinion. Your mileage may vary, especially with climate and location of property.

I'd hardly call it a fad, they're just not common in the city, but that will change. A steel roof is a selling feature around here 

In reply to Shadeux :

Not thinking of re-sale so much as not having to go through the hellish experience that would be doing another roof when I am 80 some years old. I embrace root-canals over dealing with any kind of house contractor experience. 

In response to Steve Jones:

Tin roofs have been around for a long time. Granted. But ones that would be seen on residential neighborhoods where I live have just caught on within the last few years. I see a lot of them getting installed. I also recall when formaldehyde insulation was a big thing along with aluminum wire. 

I still have a few years before I must act on the roof, so still time to learn some of the limitations behind the technologies. This thread has been a good primer for me. Learned that there was stuff I did not know that I did not know and that the loose screws are going to be hard if not impossible to avoid over the long run. Cause science.

Not that this info helps... but we were just on one of the Bahama islands, and during the tour, our guide mentioned that they are required to use metal roofs because of hurricanes.  

Bear in mind, Bermuda requires tile roofs for the same reason (different, because they all harvest water, too).  

As I see it, a badly installed metal roof is an order of magnitude more dangerous than the same tile.  A broken tile will fly off the roof, hit the ground, and shatter.  A metal panel will peel off and then just be carried by the wind.

Which is more to say that it's far, far, far more important to have whatever roof installed correctly than what kind of roof it is. (second side note, my dad had a metal roof put on his parents home- which only lasted about 30 years before being replaced by asphalt.) 

Our last house came with a 5 year old shingle roof that looked more like 25 years, thanks to all the tree droppings landing on it.

It was replaced with sheet metal. Never noticed the rain or anything else, thanks to whatever underlay they put under it.

All 5 building on my farm have steel roofs and I would never have anything else.

Temps go from +30c in summer to -30c in winter. My gutters leak from the expansion and contraction but the roof seems fine.

Just sold my house in Harrisonburg, VA last week. Built in 1937, and still was on the original steel roof. Throw a coat of paint on it every 10-15 years, which was $500. I'd never go back to shingles.