Metal roof on house

[RetiredAt55.5]

The metal roof's a little more expensive, but that's relative. You won't be replacing it 12-15 years later.

This is very situational, but we're at 28 years on our asphalt shingle roof and it looks like it's got a couple of years left. And I only sprung for the 25 year shingles, not the thicker 30 year ones.

Once I re-roof, I'm not sure I'M gonna last another 30 years.

 

[pjigar]

We have a metal roof. We paid 3x the shingle roof. It is hidden fastener, 26 GA, copper cote color. Rain is no problem. Cell phone signal was a problem with T-mobile. Verizon works fine.

PS: We are in the hail country where average roof life is 7 years so it makes sense for us. This is our forever home and I am young so that helps.

 

[Tetto]

How long are you planning on keeping the house? If short term, not worth the extra expense unless you recover cost in resale value. Also depends on the area of the country. Metal roofs are good for high wind, high fire risk areas.

That’s a great question; I’m in Eastern Connecticut which is a very nice place to live. I’ve always though we would move out of CT when we retire, but looking across the fruited plain, I don’t see anywhere else to go that’s better, other than simply for less taxes. We have very high taxes in CT! We will stay here for at least another ten years. I’m thinking it would be an investment and possibly pay off in the long run.

 

[finnski1]

The metal roof's a little more expensive, but that's relative. You won't be replacing it 12-15 years later.

One thing is the styling of the house. Many metal roofs just don't fit in with the style of the home. It's like wearing brown shoes when you're wearing a tuxedo.

When i reroofed 6 years ago the quote for standing seam metal roofing was 3x what it cost me for 30 year architectural shingles. Not "a little more expensive"plus as you say it does not look as good as the shingles I put on.
I did however use the standing seam just on the front farmers porch and it is a nice contrast and sheds snow easily for a 4 pitch roof.

 

[street]

I cringe at the thought of replacing my asphalt shingles. I do have sometime left but the cost is unreal. I would tackle the job myself but not sure what my condition will be 5 to 10 years down the road.

I did install a metal roof on the cabin, maybe 10 years ago now. I really like it and see no issues but the look fit with that kind of structure. I really like those metal shingles that are available these days. I will strongly look into installing something other then an asphalt shingle the next time.

 

[NgineER]

We have a standing seam metal roof that is now 19 years old. Looks like it is brand new and fits with the age of the building.
Rain doesn't make much noise, the only downside we see is when the snow starts to thaw and you can get a lot of snow/ice sliding off at once. We finally put on snow guards this year and will see how that works for us.

I would recommend it, but it does seem pricey.

 

[Music Lover]

I cringe at the thought of replacing my asphalt shingles. I do have sometime left but the cost is unreal. I would tackle the job myself but not sure what my condition will be 5 to 10 years down the road.

If you're capable of replacing your shingles yourself now, why not do it now? The downside is that you're "wasting" 5 or so years of remaining roof life. The upside is that you'll potentially save several thousands in labour cost.

 

[street]

Music Lover >>> That is great insight and I have been thinking the same thing. I might just do that very thing, come next spring. I need to dig deep and find the product, I want to install.

 

[ncbill]

Metal roofs are actually better for solar if you have the right installer...mounts can be clamped or glued to the roof...there's no need for penetrations like with a standard, asphalt-shingled roof.

 

[Mulligan]

Thanks for that link; I searched and could not find anything!

I wound up putting on the metal roof. It was 6 years ago, but the cost was $5800 (house is a bit less than 1600 sq. ft) I got some kind of small energy tax credit of a few hundred bucks too.
I had it installed right over the top of existing shingle roof. Dont really hear rain at all, maybe because I still have shingles underneath it.
Definitely saved on utility costs as heat reflects off of it now in summer. Looks fine, no fading yet. My one mistake was not putting snow guards on the edge. It doesnt snow a lot here but when it does, and it starts to melt, it falls off at once. And when it hits the deck, BOOM!

 

[RunningBum]

Can you walk on a metal roof safely? I've had to have people go up there to put in an attic vent fan, put new boots on sewage vents, and paint and seal the chimney. I'm probably done going up there myself, but in the past I went to trim away a branch overhanging and scraping the roof.

 

[Music Lover]

Can you walk on a metal roof safely? I've had to have people go up there to put in an attic vent fan, put new boots on sewage vents, and paint and seal the chimney. I'm probably done going up there myself, but in the past I went to trim away a branch overhanging and scraping the roof.

I've found that dry metal roofs to be fine with the right footwear, but I'll avoid going up if the roof is wet.

As always, if you're unsure play it safe.

 

[triangle]

Can you walk on a metal roof safely? I've had to have people go up there to put in an attic vent fan, put new boots on sewage vents, and paint and seal the chimney. I'm probably done going up there myself, but in the past I went to trim away a branch overhanging and scraping the roof.

It was a steel roof a pair of shoes like in the thumbnail could help. I wonder if anyone makes a pair of magnetic plates that could be strapped to normal footwear.

 

[NgineER]

I've found that dry metal roofs to be fine with the right footwear, but I'll avoid going up if the roof is wet.



As always, if you're unsure play it safe.

I fell off my roof in the dead of winter. Snow in my boot treads melted and all of a sudden I was sliding off the roof and hit the hard ground.
Fortunately I landed on my feet and only crushed an ankle and not my neck or head. Let’s just say that my running days are over.

 

[Music Lover]

I fell off my roof in the dead of winter. Snow in my boot treads melted and all of a sudden I was sliding off the roof and hit the hard ground.
Fortunately I landed on my feet and only crushed an ankle and not my neck or head. Let’s just say that my running days are over.

Thankfully you weren't hurt worse. I doubt that I'd ever go on a metal roof in winter. I'm comfortable on shingles but they have traction even when wet.

 

[skyking1]

My brother's roof is 6/12 pitch, and we worked up off scaffolding and put on cleats that we removed as we put the metal on. After the metal was on we used ropes over the peak to the other side for skylights and the roof peak metal.
Here is a picture that shows a bunch of detail:
Valleys
Snow bars
solar mounted to the standing seam with clamps, no roof penetration needed.

On the right is the original 1920 craftsman.
The middle section was an addition to tie it to the new garage on the left. Brother copied the gable end details and siding from the house to the garage.
I dug in the geothermal heat loops, and it also has solar hot water.

NgineER, glad you were not hurt worse that really sucks. We had scaffold across the whole addition, and I was working up the valley you can't see. I lost my cordless drill, it skipped on down the valley and one hopped off the guardrail and through that bay window, coming to rest on the dining table!

 

[Errollyn]

We've got a metal roof on our cabin (which also happens to be our home). Looks great. It does make extra noises that you don't get with shingles, if that's a problem for you. First, the roof will occasionally "pop" or "bang" as it heats and cools with the movement of the sun. Second, ours is VERY LOUD when it rains. That's because the metal is secured to furring/strapping with a gap to allow for insulation. So it's like an echo chamber. Our ceilings are also vaulted and we don't have attic space between the ceiling and the roof. All that adds up to loud, loud rain. BUT we love being in our house during a rain shower--to us it's a very pleasant white noise that adds to the feel of living in a cabin.

 

[street]

I haven't noticed it being very load when raining at the cabin. But the tin is directly laying flat on sheathing there. I can see that if it is raised off and has that gap it would be like a drum.

I don't believe that would bother me much anyway. It doesn't rain in my country very often and haven't seen a drop since last July.

 

[old medic]

We just bought the roof metal and trim for our house. 1000SF house, 720SF garage for $2300. Will be the last roof for us...

 

[OldShooter]

Does anyone know whether the current high prices of lumber have made metal roofs relatively more competitive? We'll face that decision sometime this summer.

 

[RunningBum]

Does anyone know whether the current high prices of lumber have made metal roofs relatively more competitive? We'll face that decision sometime this summer.

Other than possibly cedar shake shingles, which aren't even allowed in my community anymore due to fire risk, how would high lumber prices affect roofing materials? Even in a new home you'd still build the frame the same way regardless of roof surface, wouldn't you? Am I missing something?

 

[Sunset]

Does anyone know whether the current high prices of lumber have made metal roofs relatively more competitive? We'll face that decision sometime this summer.

For a shed, where you can skip putting on roof sheathing and have the metal roof fastened to strips across the trusses, it would save a bunch on the roof sheathing. There it make metal very competitive to shingles.

 

[OldShooter]

Other than possibly cedar shake shingles, which aren't even allowed in my community anymore due to fire risk, how would high lumber prices affect roofing materials? Even in a new home you'd still build the frame the same way regardless of roof surface, wouldn't you? Am I missing something?

I dunno. That's why I asked the question. Strand board or plywood sheathing is lumber -- maybe not required for a metal roof? Asphalt shingle prices are also said to be stratospheric.

 

[Music Lover]

Asphalt shingle prices are also said to be stratospheric.

It must be local. My friend just bought shingles for his cabin...about $29 a bundle (CDN) which is the same as last year.

 

[OldShooter]

It must be local. My friend just bought shingles for his cabin...about $29 a bundle (CDN) which is the same as last year.

I'm not hampered by a lot of data, just stuff like this: https://www.roofcalc.org/why-roofing-prices-keep-going-up/

But you might know the answer to another question I have had: Are lumber prices very high in Canada too? I've wondered whether the US prices are partially due to border slowdowns/blockages and the fighting there has been over Canada supposedly dumping softwood lumber to the US.