Reasons Metal Roof Shingles Arent The Best Option
If youre wondering about whether or not a metal roof is cheaper than shingles, there may be more to consider than strictly the price point.
When it comes to looking for a durable roofing option, many automatically turn to metal shake shingles. It isnt without a reason: a metal shake roof can provide homes with a great deal of protection. Metal roofs are incredibly popular, particularly in states and areas of the country where severe weather such as heavy rain and hail storms are typical. However, they are not without their disadvantages.
The Basics Of Metal Roofing
Metal roofing is a type of roofing material that is made of metal panels or sheets, typically made of steel, aluminum, or copper. Metal roofing is known for its longevity, durability, and energy efficiency, as well as its ability to withstand severe weather conditions. There are several types of metal roofing available, including standing seam, which features raised seams that run vertically along the roof, and corrugated, which has a wavy pattern and is often used on agricultural or industrial buildings. Some of the advantages of metal roofing include a longer lifespan compared to shingles, low maintenance requirements, and the ability to reflect sunlight and reduce energy consumption.
Is Metal Roofing More Energy Efficient
I am an expert in metal roofing. I am not an expert on energy costs. So my research is based solely on what I could find online. Most of the numbers that are thrown around are 25% to 40% savings.
The only real study I found from the Green Building Allianceand it shows that energy savings will range from 7%-15% of total cooling costs.
Since 15% is on the low side of every other piece of information I found online we can use that as an example. If your electricity bill is $175 per month it would be a savings of $26.25/month. This equates to savings of:
- $315 per Yearly
- $4,725 over 15 Years
- $9,450 over 30 Years
When you look at the savings over 15-30 years it adds up quickly. In addition, today’s energy cost is a fraction of what energy might cost in 15-30 years.
For more information about energy efficient metal roofs, we recommend reading:
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Metal Roof Vs Shingles
Metal roofing is long-lasting, good at keeping a home cool, holds up well in most weather conditions, and is environmentally friendly its downside is that it costs more upfront to buy materials.
Asphalt shingles offer better soundproofing and are initially more affordable, but they do not last as long as metal roofing, especially in extreme weather conditions, and therefore may cost more in repairs over time.
Asphalt shingles are called “bitumen shingles” in some regions of the world.
Metal Roofing Cost Guide
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Jump To: Benefits of Metal Roofing | Metal Roofing Costs | Is a Metal Roof Worth It? | FAQs
The choice to put a metal roof on your house is a significant financial investment, particularly in comparison to materials like asphalt composite shingles. However, there are a number of valid reasons for making this switch, including the increased durability and value of metal roofing. Youll need to budget carefully, but many homeowners find that metal roofing provides a great return on investment and lasts two to three times longer than a traditional roof.
In this guide, well break down the benefits of a metal roof and the costs of different types of metal roofing materials to help you decide whether a metal roof is right for your house.
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Influences On The Cost Of A Metal Roof:
Metal Roof Underlayment Costs
At an average cost of $0.06 to $0.21 per square foot, underlayment acts as a secondary barrier to water and wind damage for metal roofing. Different roofing professionals will likely have different underlayment options available for your roofing project. Underlay is attached with staples, roofing caps, or the back side of the product has an adhesive layer to stick it to the roof deck.
There are two types of underlayment product available synthetic and felt paper, also known as asphalt felt, tar paper, or roofing tar paper. The heavier the felt, the better.
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Metal Roofs Have Lower Maintenance Costs
Roof maintenance can be a substantial hidden cost. Sometimes homeowners task themselves with the maintenance of their roofs, but thats often easier said than done. It takes the right kind of tools, some technical knowledge, hard work, free time that would otherwise be leisure, and the very big hidden cost of the risk of injury. Oftentimes its a better idea to schedule a roofing contractor to conduct the maintenance instead, yet that costs money. However, with a metal roof, maintenance comes easy. They need little maintenance and when they do need maintenance, its often on the order of examining the roof with binoculars or spraying the roof down with a hose. Homeowners who wish to take up roof maintenance themselves are much more likely to stick to it when they have a metal roof, and it will cost them less.
Estimate Your Return On Investment
The return on investment between an asphalt and metal roof depends on a few factors. First, what’s the purpose of the property? Is it a forever home, a flip, a rental or a middle ground until something better comes up? If it’s a house you’re flipping or renting, research the trends in your neighborhood and consult with an expert for guidance. Potential homebuyers might be interested in an asphalt or they may pay more for a metal roof. If it’s a forever home , a metal roof might be a better choice because it will last longer.
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Metal Roof Vs Shingles: Lifespan
The expected lifespan of a roof is a crucial consideration when choosing the roofing material of your home. Generally, the more durable your roof, the better, since it allows you to avoid expensive roof fixes and replacements during your stay in the house. Limiting how often you need to replace your roof is obviously a better financial choice, so lets find out what the better roofing material is.
In this regard, metal roofs are more durable than asphalt shingles. They are non-absorptive, i.e., donât allow water to enter, and can quite easily withstand most of what mother nature throws at them. Although strong hail storms can dent the roofing material, they are pretty resistant to storms and strong winds.
Metal roofing also features slotted screw holes that allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the metal with temperature changes. Thus, metal can last anywhere between 50 to 70 years under normal usage and feature warranties of 30 to 50 years.
Asphalt shingles have a shorter lifespan due to various weaknesses in their design. For instance, they are made from absorbent material. So, during winter, the freezing and thawing of water within the shingles break down the roofing material.
Constant thermal cycling in areas that experience sudden temperature fluctuations also reduces the lifespan of asphalt shingles.
As such, the average lifespan of shingle roofs, depending on the climate, is 25 to 30 years. In addition, they usually come with a warranty of 15 to 30 years.
Standing Seam Metal Roof Costs
Standing seam metal roofs have far superior longevity and last two or three times longer than non-metal roofs. They are the most common metal roof design due to its availability all over the U.S. to roofing installers and easy access to metal materials. The design features vertical panels that are joined by interlocking seams as seen below.
Standing seam metal roofs will cost you about $4.00 to $6.50 per square foot. The average cost to install a standing seam metal roof on the average size home can range from $23,000 to $30,000 in total. They come in painted aluminum, galvalume steel, galvanized steel, and copper or zinc metal roof types. They perform extremely well in harsh weather conditions like heavy snow, hail and fire.
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Selecting A Metal Roofing Contractor
To guarantee the longevity of your metal roof, the installation should be carried out by a professional with technical know-how and experience. To pick the best metal roofer, use the following criteria when looking at the professionals here on HomeGuide before you make your final selection. Create a list of contractors who have as many of these as possible:
- Are A/A+ rated with the better business bureau
- Are licensed, insured, and bonded in your state
- Have been installing metal roofs for at least five years
- Present you with documentation detailing roof specs, total costs of materials and labor, manufacturer-approved installation methods, and available warrantiesdetails of the base warranty package and upgrade optionsin their proposal.
- Are highly rated on HomeGuide and Google
Get free estimates on HomeGuide from trusted metal roof installers:
Hire A Roofer On Thumbtack Today
Now that we’ve detailed the pros, cons, and costs of metal and asphalt roofs, it’s time for you to take the next step. Choose whats right for you in terms of price, design and ROI. Your first step: start searching for roofers near you.
Don’t immediately hire the first one you contact, however. Pick a few with high ratings, and read their customer reviews. Check out how many hires they’ve had on Thumbtack, and look at their before-and-after photos of past roof installations. Then, contact at least three professionals to set up a consultation.
During your conversations and consultation, give the roofers details about your home and priorities when it comes to new roofing. They should provide you with an estimate of material and labor costs, but don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions.
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The Amount Of Maintenance A Metal Roof Needs Versus A Shingle Roof
Roof maintenance is the periodical checking of all the vulnerable areas on a roof that could be susceptible to having a problem. Depending on the type of roof, whether it be residential or commercial, it will be annual, biannual, or quarterly maintenance.
Every roof needs some form of maintenance, but some roof types require more than others. With that in mind, a standing seam metal roof will need less maintenance than an asphalt shingle roof.
An asphalt shingle roof needs to be maintained and inspected at least once a year. This includes checking your pipe boots, clearing debris from valleys, or even just cleaning your gutters to ensure a leak doesnt show up.
On the other hand, a standing seam metal roof requires virtually no maintenance. However, that doesnt mean it shouldnt be inspected periodically to keep it running smoothly.
Both a standing seam metal roof and an asphalt shingle roof need maintenance to catch future problems and ensure your roofs life is maximized.
What Is The Best Way To Install A Metal Roof Over Shingles
Before installing a metal roof over your asphalt shingles, the shingle roof and its underlayment need to be in good shape. To apply your metal panels, you can have the contractor run new underlayment over an existing shingle roof, covering the old material and protecting it from moisture damage.
As an alternative, you can install a metal roof over shingles with purlins, timber pieces that provide additional support for the roofing structure. The contractor screws down the purlins onto the roof deck and installs the metal on top of them. This method gives the installer a flat surface to place the metal roofing panels instead of the shingles’ grooves and irregularities.
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Shingle Roofing Advantages Disadvantages & Characteristics
Shingle roofs are everywhere, and theres no doubt that shingles are more common when compared to metal roofing. Most people automatically think of shingles when they think about roofing in general because its been the traditional choice on many homes and businesses for the last century. There definitely are many benefits to having a shingle roof installed, most of which hinge on its low upfront cost and ease of installation and access to materials. Lets get into more of the advantages and disadvantages of a shingle roof.
Picking The Best Roofing Option For Your Home
When it comes to choosing whether metal roofing or shingles are more expensive, you have to consider more than the initial installation cost. There are other qualities that can make you spend or help you save more money later down the road.
Heres a quick look at a few other things you need to consider when your thinking about cost.
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What’s My Return On Investment For A Metal Roof
A metal roof is often referred to as a “Lifetime Roof”, meaning you should only need to purchase one in your life for your house. It’s a long-term investment. The upfront cost of a metal roof will be more than a quality asphalt roof. However, the overall costs over the lifetime of the roof will be less with a metal roof.
When you look at the ROI for a metal roof, you have to look at least 15 years in the future. If you don’t plan on living in your house for 15 years, then asphalt shingles will have a better ROI. You will not live there long enough to recoup the higher initial costs. An asphalt shingle roof has a better ROI until you have to replace the first shingle roof with a second roof. When you hit that point in time a metal roof would have been a much better investment.
If you do expect to live in your home for 15 years or longer than a metal roof will have a better long term ROI. You are buying a product that’s more energy efficient, has lower insurance premiums, and requires less maintenance. You have to factor in the longevity of a metal roof versus an asphalt shingle roof.
In this article we will answer these questions with real numbers.
- What’s the cost of one metal roof and do I have additional monthly savings?
- How much is the cost of two asphalt shingle roofs?
- What has a better ROI, one metal roof or two asphalt shingle roofs?
Here are some statistics from the Metal Roofing Alliance that detail what a new metal roof will cost and how long it will last.
Lots Of Roof Options For Consumers
Nearly everyone is familiar with composite shingles. However, more and more homeowners are turning to metal roofs and tile to top off their structural design. In the tile vs metal vs shingle equation, you have many choices when deciding on a roofing material. To help you decide which material is right for you, we decided to put together a brief overview of the most common choices available to consumers. Well outline some of the pros and cons of each.
Installing a new roof is no small task or expenditure. Material prices have only ever gone upparticularly over the past decade. Depending on how long you plan to stay in the home, a higher up-front cost may actually result in long-term savings.
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How Much Does Metal Roofing Cost
In general, the upfront cost of a metal roof is much higher than the cost of a roof containing asphalt shingles. However, given a metal roofs durability, the overall cost of installing and maintaining it is much lower than needing a total roof replacement every 15 to 20 years.
Here are some of the most common metal roofing materials and how much they cost to purchase and install. The overall prices are calculated for the average American roof size of 1,700 square feet.
How Metal Roofing Materials Differ
Steel, including Galvalume, is the heaviest product of the bunch, followed by copper. Aluminum weighs significantly less, and several aluminum roof profiles offer foam backing to deliver extra support where needed. While manufacturers successfully implement metallic coatings, finishes, and aggregates to protect steel roofing materials from moisture, aluminum and copper simply do not rust, even over a long period of time. Thats not to say that they dont turn color or form colored skins on exposed areas, but they will not develop structural damage as a result of corrosion.
Because of this, most builders use aluminum for any coastal environment due to its corrosion resistance.
One of the downsides to metal roofing vs asphalt shingle roofing is the initial cost. Between materials and installation, you pay more for metal roofs than you would for installing premium asphalt shingles.
Aluminum and copper roofs, which are much softer than steel, are also subject to denting in hail storms. Metal roofs may also be difficult to walk on depending upon how it was installed.
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