Metal Roofing?

JZ67

JZ67

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Our roof is still in very good shape. We have a wicked slope which helps the roofing shingles last. The last time we replaced the roof was in 2011 and as I did last time, I would like to get ahead of it. The original roof was on the home for 23 years and still had life. We opted for a much higher quality shingle at the time of replacement and I do not think anyone could tell that it is 15 years old.

I am considering a metal roof. Anyone on here pull that trigger and have any advice?

Know anyone or possibly do this work yourself?
 
JZ67 said:
Our roof is still in very good shape. We have a wicked slope which helps the roofing shingles last. The last time we replaced the roof was in 2011 and as I did last time, I would like to get ahead of it. The original roof was on the home for 23 years and still had life. We opted for a much higher quality shingle at the time of replacement and I do not think anyone could tell that it is 15 years old.

I am considering a metal roof. Anyone on here pull that trigger and have any advice?

Know anyone or possibly do this work yourself?
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You will have no warranty. And if you do pull the trigger and have one installed, read the fine print. A lot of them void/reduce liability of the warranty if you go up on the roof yourself after it's installed. I know mine does.
 
Another caveat, if you go with a metal roof with exposed fasteners, fine print says that while the roof lasts decades, the fasteners must be replaced every decade or so as the seals on them fail. Guess how much it costs to replace all of the fasteners on an existing roof? Not a whole lot less than a re-roof. I would never install a metal roof with this clause in it.

Price of everything has gotten obscene. Get a price for a steel roof and asphalt. If steel is double but lasts twice as long, asphalt is a clear winner as time value of money means the steel costs way more. Also, selling your house with a 25 year old steel roof instead of a brand new asphalt roof will not help you sell imo.
 
Another another caveat that probably most people don't care about - the metal roof attenuates radio signals. So if you live somewhere that has already marginal cellular reception, a metal roof will make it worse. Also blocks GPS. Most normal people are not terribly concerned about receiving GPS inside their house, but let's say you were doing weird stuff with it or have devices that use GPS as a time signal, etc. You get the idea
 
I was looking at a metal roof, but at 2-3x the cost of shingles…the math doesn’t work for me.

He’ll if it wasn’t for the 20ft drop on the top half of the house I’d just do it myself….but I’m scared of heights.

Keep us posted if you get quotes as I’m curious if 2-3 times is real or just smoke.

Not only that but just got notice that my insurance for ice damming will be cancelled if I don’t tell TD when my roof was replaced, HTH am I supposed to know that date!?
 
If your original roof was still good after 23 years, why are you considering a new roof now? Even if you used the same shingles in 2011, they would last until at least 2034, but you said you got a higher quality which should last even longer. My shingles have a 50 year warranty that also covers labor, so it's not unforeseable that you may not need to ever replace your roof again, depending on how old you are.
 
mimico_polak said:
He’ll if it wasn’t for the 20ft drop on the top half of the house I’d just do it myself….but I’m scared of heights.
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I can give my friend a call for you. She has her own nail gun.

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I'm considering a metal roof as I'm looking for a way for the roof the shed snow better. Currently we get wicked snow drifts that cannot be reach from the ground. But not close to any decisions at this time.
 
mimico_polak said:
I was looking at a metal roof, but at 2-3x the cost of shingles…the math doesn’t work for me.

He’ll if it wasn’t for the 20ft drop on the top half of the house I’d just do it myself….but I’m scared of heights.

Keep us posted if you get quotes as I’m curious if 2-3 times is real or just smoke.

Not only that but just got notice that my insurance for ice damming will be cancelled if I don’t tell TD when my roof was replaced, HTH am I supposed to know that date!?
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I had my roof done just over 2 years ago. I picked the architectural/laminated GAF shingles. Total came to about 18 grand, it`s a big place. The old style 3 tab shingles were far less high wind resistant, I`d lost a bunch. I asked about a metal roof, it would have been close to 40 grand, I laughed when the company owner said "metal roofs are for barns". Maybe in my 20`s or 30`s I`d have have considered it, not in my late 60`s. And who the hell in their 20`s has 40G`s for a roof? To the OP, where are you located? I`ll recommend my roofer, 2nd generation family biz.
 
Glenn/RZ500 said:
I had my roof done just over 2 years ago. I picked the architectural/laminated GAF shingles. Total came to about 18 grand, it`s a big place. The old style 3 tab shingles were far less high wind resistant, I`d lost a bunch. I asked about a metal roof, it would have been close to 40 grand, I laughed when the company owner said "metal roofs are for barns". Maybe in my 20`s or 30`s I`d have have considered it, not in my late 60`s. And who the hell in their 20`s has 40G`s for a roof? To the OP, where are you located? I`ll recommend my roofer, 2nd generation family biz.
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Funny because in Poland metal roofs are the standard….shingled roofs are the premium….and rubber roofs are the big deal for the ballers nowadays over there.
 
mimico_polak said:
Funny because in Poland metal roofs are the standard….shingled roofs are the premium….and rubber roofs are the big deal for the ballers nowadays over there.
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Not sure about the weather extremes in Poland, like most of Canada. I think a shingled roof has more eye appeal though. Rubber roof...huh. Maybe an errant Russian rocket or artillery round could bounce off. :p
 
I have a metal roof and love it.
The metal tiles look like a stone or slate from a distance and have a slight texture on them that makes it easier to walk on. I’m sure we have the paperwork somewhere that has the type of tiles we used the vendor who instalment it - can’t recall right now.

The thing I was most concerned about was the sound of rain being too loud, but it’s not loud at all and sounds nice in light storms or heavy downpours.

No weird warranty clauses on mine and we paid $27k for it in 2018. A similarly shingled roof for us was quoted at $12k. We had to have a good portion of our old roof and frame removed as part of vaulting a ceiling in a larger reno, and the existing shingles throughout were done, so overall it made sense to do it.

Super satisfied with it. If you have any specific questions - happy to help.
 
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GreyGhost said:
Rubber I have seen looks like clay or concrete tile. Great solution for hail prone areas. About 3-4x asphalt cost when I looked.
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Yes that’s correct.

Poland is: metal > shingles > clay > ‘rubber’

Don’t think I’ve ever seen concrete tile.

There’s a few houses on our streets with metal roofs and the bonus was that they literally just put them atop the shingles without removing the old cladding.

Then there’s the one house that diy over the course of 8 months….good times.
 
mimico_polak said:
Funny because in Poland metal roofs are the standard….shingled roofs are the premium….and rubber roofs are the big deal for the ballers nowadays over there.
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I don’t quite understand why metal roofs are so expensive. It’s not like it’s NASA technology or anything and installing larger sheets of metal vs smaller shingles should be easier no?

My home town in the UK still has some houses with thatched roofs if we want to talk outrageous replacement fees.
 
JC99 said:
I don’t quite understand why metal roofs are so expensive. It’s not like it’s NASA technology or anything and installing larger sheets of metal vs smaller shingles should be easier no?

My home town in the UK still has some houses with thatched roofs if we want to talk outrageous replacement fees.
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It’s simple…marketing.

‘Premium’ product = premium pricing.
 
JC99 said:
I don’t quite understand why metal roofs are so expensive. It’s not like it’s NASA technology or anything and installing larger sheets of metal vs smaller shingles should be easier no?

My home town in the UK still has some houses with thatched roofs if we want to talk outrageous replacement fees.
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How long does a thatch roof typically last? Are you required to replace it with another thatched roof if it has a historical designation? I saw a tv show years ago about a couple that were restoring a home in the UK that was built in the 1500’s. They had to replace an oak beam that had been eaten by beetles ( no,not those“Beatles”). The building inspector made them replace it with another oak beam and would accept nothing else. Apparently oak trees that big don’t exist in the UK anymore, they had to have one shipped from Canada at huge expense.
 
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Bobo said:
How long does a thatch roof typically last? Are you required to replace it with another thatched roof if it has a historical designation? I saw a tv show years ago about a couple that were restoring a home in the UK that was built in the 1500’s. They had to replace an oak beam that had been eaten by beetles ( no,not those“Beatles”). The building inspector made them replace it with another oak beam and would accept nothing else. Apparently oak trees that big don’t exist in the UK anymore, they had to have one shipped from Canada at huge expense.
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These things have to be replaced with a new thatched roof since they have historic significance. As far as I know there’s a single digit number of artisans in the UK that still do this. Not sure about replacement interval but when I was last there I saw a few that were green with moss and/or rotting that needed to be done which told me these things aren’t cheap. They look amazing when freshly done though.
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