Metal Roofing

Metal Roofing

Durability

We often hear that a metal roof will "last 50 years," and this is fairly accurate for a well-built "standing seam" metal roof. A less-expensive "ag style" metal roof typically carries a 30-year paint and finish warranty only - no wind guarantee - and lasts about 10 years in the real world. Still, an ag style roof is sometimes an appropriate choice for its intended application - barns and storage buildings. For your home, we recommend a high quality standing seam or concealed fastener system. Properly installed, a good quality metal roof can last up to 50 years or even longer, several times the useful life of asphalt.

Aesthetic appeal

The term "metal roof" calls to mind images of the long, shiny metal slats we often see on commercial buildings. Modern residential metal roofing, however, is much more flexible in appearance. Today's metal roofing technologies such as Decra steel shingles (shown above) can be made to look like virtually any other kind of roofing - shingles, shakes, tiles, slate - and finished in almost any color you could possibly want. If appearance is a primary concern when planning your roof, metal is an excellent choice.

Environmental benefits

Metal roofing is somewhat more energy efficient than other roofing types, due to the fact that light colors are available. Unlike a dark-colored roof, which absorbs solar heat into your attic, a light colored metal roof tends to reflect more of that heat back into the atmosphere, causing your air conditioning to run a bit less in the summer. While significant, this benefit alone is not enough to be the sole deciding factor, especially if a light colored roof does not complement the exterior of your house.

The best metal roofs last 50 years or more, a period of time in which a shingle roof, for instance, would have to be completely replaced at least two or three times. The tear-off from such replacements often finds its way to landfills; hence, metal helps the environment by reducing waste material

Cost of Metal Roofing

Due to the relatively higher price of materials, a metal roof will likely cost more than a shingle roof over its lifetime, but not as much as tile or slate. In our opinion, metal is not usually the right choice when financial investment is the primary consideration; it is normally for discerning customers who place a high value on aesthetic appeal and environmental benefits.

Limitations

Metal roofing is usually classified as "water shedding" rather than "waterproof." This difference in terms doesn't mean that your metal roof will leak - it simply means that additional underlayment is generally required to a achieve a complete weather seal. In addition, metal roof systems such as Decra work best on higher-pitch installations.