# House roof-Shingles or metal?



## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

I need to replace my house roof.
Got bids and need to decide whether to go with shingles or metal.
I'd appreciate any input.
I had 4 bids for shingles and 3 for metal from the same guys

Prices were all over the place but the low was $3K for shingles and $4K for metal from the same guy.
The warranty on either will outlast me. (I'm 63)
If you have thoughts on this I'd lovre to hear them

Thanks


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Steel. Hail proof, fire proof, more choice of colors, should get you a discount on your homeowners insurance.


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

Thanks MO cows.
At one point, my wife heard a rumor that insurance companies were frowning on steel roofs because of the difficulty of gaining access to an attic in case of fire.
I did not verify this and it doesn't seem to have stopped people from installing them


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## Conhntr (Aug 7, 2010)

I wouldnt be weary of the lowba estimate. If it is 4,000 8000, 7500, 10000 for estimates i would go for the 2nd cheapest


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

The lowest 2 were within a couple hundred dollars for steel
Amish was $3700 and this guy was $4000

Just trying to make up my mind whether shingles or steel.

I can tar and patch shingles if need be


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

At your age, it comes down to how much is your time worth. Steel roofing has very little maintenance in the next 25 years, while asphalt shingles will cost you aprox two days worth of work every year until they need to be replaced unless you don't mind small limbs from trees and heavy snow loads on your roof. (most of these will slide off of steel roofs where shingles hold them in place.) If you believe your time is worth $10 an hour (very low wage for roofing maintenance/ off the ground construction), you can estimate you will need to pay yourself (or someone else if your health won't allow you to do it) $160 a year to maintain the shingles at a minimum. Over 25 years, that's $4000 .... so basically, if you have the money to put steel on, it almost pays for it's self.

After working in the construction industry for 20 years and running the company myself for the last 3, I would never put shingles on my own roof.


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

Lilith, thanks for the info.
The only time I spend on the roof the last 20-30 years is trying to find and fix the leak that has been there for years.
I have 2 additions on the original house.
No real big snow build up and far enough from the trees that I don't get limbs.

I am concerned about deterioration of the washers on the fasteners for steel.
Sounds like neoprene lasts about 10 years but EPDM (?) lasts longer

I'm wondering if the fasteners are the weak link on steel roofs.


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

That is the type of fastener you should use on a delta rib steel roof. They work a whole lot better when you run 1x2 pine over the surface of the exiting roof and secure the roofing screws into that. When you sink the screw, you do not want the rubber washer to be completely compressed, just slightly to ensure a tight seal. Think of it as a head gasket to keep water out instead of in. Washer deterioration depends on how much direct sunlight more than anything. The paint on the washer doubles as a UV protector as well as easy to apply to the screw head in manufacturing. Again, how much you compress the washer affects the life of it. 

The real weak link in steel roofing is around chimneys, vents and sky lights. Almost all flashing has to be custom made (except for standard size round pipe vents), and I promise there is an art to it! 

The quote you got at $4000 tells me several things. A. you are not going to get top quality materials for that price. B. Your contractor will not make much profit, so don't expect high quality work on facia, sofits, and flashings. C. You have a fairly simple roof line that is pretty small.

On the bright side of steel, a simple tube of clear silicone will fix almost any leaks that do develop, and it is much more common and easy to work with than tar.


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

Thanks for the info.
He measured 18 Sq.
I have 5 valleys
2 bids came in within $300 for steel.3rd guy was more than double.

Although I've never done steel, I've done more shingle roofs than I ever wanted to and contracted out some when I had 29 rentals.



> union manufacturer or ABM 29 gauge
> hard steel


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

I want to know where your guys are buying their steel roofing from! Even using 28 gauge (low end for residential application) on an 18 sq gable to gable roof (no valleys) My costs would be near $700.00 for the surface metal, facia trim, and ridge-cap. Any flashing for vents and chimneys would be above and beyond that. Add in 5 valleys, and you have to consider linear waste because the product comes in 36 inch wide panels.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

My insurance guy just told me that insurance companies are moving to steel roofing.

Also, if you live in snow country the snow slides off the roof by itself unless your complicated roof changes the way snow behaves.


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## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

I have put steel on my two houses. I like it, it holds up to hail, low maintenance. As far as the fire access goes... I am a volunteer fire fighter, and if need be fire fighters have the tools to gain access through the roof.


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## BigHenTinyBrain (Apr 4, 2013)

I love my steel roof. Any unusual weather in your area? We are a heavy snow/high winds location, and shingle roofs are a liability here.


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

Everybody has been so helpful on this.
I'm a bit of a traditionalist but metal roofs are showing up everywhere.
They make sense to me but I was concerned about long range.
I know shingles and what to expect with them.

Lilith, couple things he told me was that he would have the old roof off in 6 hours.
There is either a 40 or 45 year manufacturer's warranty and 5 year on labor.

I've tried to look at this every which way.
I work evenings so I will be here to watch and, although rusty, I know good practice


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> *House roof-Shingles or metal? *




The* best *shingles are supposed to last 30 years
Reality is more like 15 (or until the first bad storm)

The* metal* roof on my house is 118 years old, and just needs painting once in a while


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Lilith said:


> The real weak link in steel roofing is around chimneys, vents and sky lights. Almost all flashing has to be custom made (except for standard size round pipe vents), and I promise there is an art to it!


Yep...that is one issue with metal.

Another is unless you DO strip it with 1x or add another complete layer of decking, many of today's thinly sheathed roof ( 1/2" plywood or 7/16" OSB ) simply won't hold the screws in place, and in a few years you can see many places where the expansion/contraction of the metal works the screw back out. I've seen them standing up 1/2" or more. The 118 year old houses were often sheathed with full 1" (or more) sawmill lumber, and often hardwood at that......none of this chickenpoopy stuff that passes for sheathing today.

Another issue is scratching the paint during install. VERY easy to scratch the metal, and I have to wonder how it will hold up in those places. I don't think I've ever managed to put up any on my place I didn't get at least some scratches, nor have I seen any put up professionally that they didn't do it as well.....often far worse ones than mine.

Another are the warranties. As stated above, I've put quite a bit of metal on various sheds and barns around my place, and have yet to actually been given an actual WRITTEN warranty on the metal, though I 'hear' 20-40-50 year numbers tossed around all the time. Given that every one of those metal manufacturers are small, local manufacturers that buy rolls of metal from "somebody", and run it thru their rib forming machinery, I'd have to question whether they will be around in that time to actually honor a warranty, assuming you actually get one.

Yeah, big national companies can come and go as well, and what I've found over the years in the construction biz is most construction warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on for that reason ( company out of biz or bought out ), but just the total lack of written anything makes me somewhat jaded about number of years something will last being tossed around.

Last thing I'd comment on metal is IF I was gonna do a metal roof, I'd go with a heavy gauge standing seam...hiding the fasteners and the extra weight of the metal would seem to be the way to go to me. The "Century Rib" 3' wide stuff is great for a barn or shed where exposed screws and the occasional problem with them isn't a big deal, and with low pitches you often find on sheds, metal is a definite advantage, but I question it's use on a house.


On shingles:

I don't know how Lilith figures two days maintenance a year on a shingle roof.......I haven't had two days of maintenance on my shingle roof in 30 years, total. If you're spending two days/year on your roof, you have some kind of other issue....poor install, really, really bad local weather, poor roof design, etc.

I put a "20 year" standard 3 tab asphalt/fiberglass shingle on my house ( 42 squares, 10/12 slope, couple dormers, chimney, one large valley ) on it originally, and replaced it a few years ago after 22 years. It was a dark brown color, was definitely showing it's age, but I could have gotten a couple more years out of it I think, but didn't want to push it to the point of a leak.

I too was faced with the choice of metal vs shingle. I went back with a heavy (5 bundles to the square) Elk 50 year rated architectural shingle, used copper flashing in the valleys and around the chimney, and added a layer of 3/8" CDX sheathing to the original 1/2" CDX plywood on the roof. ( Rafters on 24" centers, and the original plywood had dipped in some places between centers ). I liked the looks of the shingle better than metal, so it was partly a personal choice, but I fully expect that roof to outlast me ( I was 59 at the time ).


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## sam03 (Apr 26, 2012)

Metal hands down!


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## larryfoster (May 15, 2009)

I'm going with metal.
He will strip the old shingles, put 1X4 purlins, "bubblewrap" (I think that's underlayment.)
40 year written warranty.

Thank, again, everyone for all the great input


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> "bubblewrap" (I think that's underlayment.)


 I believe it's insulation to help prevent condensation under the metal


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## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

dumb question, does a steel roof, when raining sound like a trailer? this may sound dumb but i hated to hear rain in a trailer


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> dumb question, does a steel roof, when raining sound like a trailer? this may sound dumb but i hated to hear rain in a trailer


The bubble wrap would help with that too.
Most houses are insulated well enough that the noise isn't all that noticeable


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

My son lives in a place with a steel roof. He says when it's raining hard, he can't hear anything else. I like the look and the durability, but the noise would keep me coming back to shingles...now on a barn or some other place I think it would be fine.


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## Joe.G (Jun 26, 2012)

I am changing everything over to Metal, I am using a Dark Brown, I have Done a Shop,Barn ( Both new construction, I re roofed another barn with Metal after the Shingles leaked ( I re roofed it to match my house shingles but the pitch was not enough and it leaked the metal solved that problem ) I still have one coop and one other out building that have shingles along with my home, they were all done in 2010. From now on everything will be metal, I may do the rest of the out buildings over the next year or two so they all match even though there roofs are new. My Home will cost a bit more and I have a lot of valleys and dormers and wha not and it won't be easy so I am going to hold off for thirty years or so I hope. I used architectural shingle on the house and outbuildings, I do like how they look on the house but barns need metal to look right.


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## genuck (Aug 22, 2011)

theemon said:


> dumb question, does a steel roof, when raining sound like a trailer? this may sound dumb but i hated to hear rain in a trailer


 Funny. I was so happy when we replaced our roof with metal because I loved the sound of rain on the tin roof of my childhood home. I wouldn't want anything else.

If you do get metal and have snow, make sure they put those little bird things on to hold the snow. Without them the snow slides off in a big sheet and makes a huge compacted mound where it lands


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## dcrichmond (Sep 24, 2012)

I am building a garage, and plan to install a metal roof. I plan to do this myself. I live in SC. What roof material do you recommend, and where is the best place to buy? 

Thanks


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## Joe.G (Jun 26, 2012)

Shop local for your roof, Price it out There are different Gauges also so compare that when comparing prices.


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