Shingles vs metal roof

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I need some advice on a roof project. Which would be better shingles or metal? This would include cost, looks, life of product and ease to do the job. This is a 60's ranch style house. Should all old shingles need to be removed as it has only one layer. Any problems with metal as I have seen some that looks nice. This is a house in the country. Thanks for any help!!!!
 
We went to metal last time, and will never have to re-roof again. The cost is twice of what shingels cost. Just strap the roof right over the old shingles, and screw the steel down.You can hear the rain falling,but it isn't too loud. Bruce
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Now days metal is cheaper and will last longer then any shingles ever will. I have seen some metal roofs with 50 plus year warranties on them
 
I think asphalt shingles have gone downhill in quality rapidly the past 20 years, and won't waste my timbre and money on them.

Metal is good if you get a real roof panel, quality product. Mid priced. The cheap thin stuff is actually wall panel, and not durable for a roof.

I don't care for the look of barn roof tin on a house, ESP an older farm house 2 story here in Minnesota, the snow sheets off in dangerous drops. If you are single story or it fits in with the look of your house, not a bad thing at all.

Decra or other brands of metal shingles is a great product, lasts the rest of your life, won't have to shingle again, looks just like shingles because it is coated with asphault and stone, I helped a friend put it on and works well, good product.

Costs 150% of asphalt shingles, but those you have to replace every 10 to 15 years, the Decra do it once and never again. Certainly a lot cheaper deal in your lifetime!

In Minnesota legally you cannot put a roof over an old roof on a house. Most recommend you strip down to the boards, single roof. It is easy and fast to put in 2x4 strips over your old roof, put in 1.5 inch insulation between the strips, and nail the tin over. Need to look into ventilation, vapor barrier, and all that, but a good simple way to put a roof on if allowed in your area. More to it than I said, but basics.

Paul
 
we are having a metal roof put on and is actually cheaper if you count in the old roof removal and waste hauling, just goes right over the old one. Had it bid both ways. kj
 
Shingles are easier to put on. As for metal over shingles I have too many that were that way before I controled things and all have problems due to the old shingles, have had some replaced because of that but due to my age the buildings with the problems will just have to fall in.
 
Bottom line......What did it cost you for that metal roof.? Total, how many squares?

I am seriously considering it when my time is up on the current roof.
 
Absolutely go with the metal roof if you can afford it. I put a metal roof on pushing 20 years ago and other than some fading, it looks like new. Been through several hail storms and wind storms here in Central Ks. Metal all the way, again if you can afford it. Bob
 
The outbuildings at my farm are now in standing metal seam which is very durable. 1924 crib still has the original metal roof. Farmhouse is due for a new roof this year or next year. It will get standing metal seam. They will install over the current shingled roof.
 
My house had timberline shingles on it when I had it built, the best money could buy in 2000. We were on that roof so much replacing shingles that were supposed to be guaranteed for thirty years, that I was thinking we should have had a side walk up there as well. I went to Home Depot and asked if they had timberlines and what the guarantee was as if I were buying, after their speel I asked who I should talk to about collecting on the guarantee, and reply was don't you have insurance, and my reply to that was yes, but they did not sell me the shingles. I had a metal roof put on 2010 for less than a shingled roof and have never had a moments issue with them at all. Plus their is a 50 year guarantee, I hope I do not have to replace them at 112 years of age, my mind might not be as sharp as it was three years ago..
 
If you can afford it, there are nice steel shingles that look like tabbed asphalt shingles. (We did not opt for them because they cost more than double when we looked into it about 15 years ago -- but now we wish we had coughed up the money at that time. Maybe the price is more comparable now - with more manufactures making steel tab style.)

We removed all old asphalt shingles prior to installing roofing steel on our outbuildings. One website says steel can be installed over asphalt... but when I think about curled-up asphalt shingles I have seen on old decaying buildings - it would make me want to remove the asphalt before installing steel.
 
If you put it on yourself, shingles will be cheaper, No labor costs If you have to hire someone, steel will be cheaper because it goes on faster. BUT, you have to find someone who knows how to put on a steel roof and who won't take any short cuts. You need to educate yourself in how it should be done. The house I purchased had just had a new roof put on when I bought it. Trouble is the contractor who put it on didn't know how to do it.
1" strapping over 2 or 3 layers is not the way to do it. If you have large moldings on a real old house like mine, take the molding off so the sheet metal trim can be nailed to the fascia board and not the molding. Personally I would remove all the old shingles lay down 5/8" plywood NOT OSB and the screws you use when screwing it to the plywood are different, shorter and fatter.
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Metal. And on costs, don't forget the insurance discount you get because they don't have to replace your expensive roof every time it hails.

Mark
 
Do NOT under any circumstances put steel roofing directly on top of the old asphalt shingles. The metal expanding and contracting across the abrasive shingles will wear holes in the steel!

Remove the old asphalt shingles, then put down and underlayment and then the steel.
 
It bewilders me why anyone would put anything but metal on a roof now days. Been on my house for eleven years but I have some sheds that it has been on for 80 years. Outside of fading on the 80 year old one it is as good as new on both counts. One of the posters below said he can hear it rain. That don't sound right to me. On an uninsulated shed yes but not on a house where you have the tin and then a inch gap from furring strips then the old shingles then the tar paper then the roof boards then the attic then 12" attic insulation then the sheet rock. You cannot hear a meteor fall on my roof.
 
I have a metal roof on my house. I stripped the shingles, laid 30lb felt and then the steel. I can hear it rain when it rains hard through 5/8 osb and 18" of blow in insulation. It's muffled not anything near like a machine shed but louder than shingles. Its low enough to have never really bothered me.
 
I put metal on my barn 2 years ago, right over the shingles. I won't ever be putting a roof on this barn again I don't think. It's 16 ft x 90 took us 8 hours to do.
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The roof is strapped with 2x4s.Cost of getting rid of old shingles is high.Metal is about the same cost as shingles here.No asphalt shingles available now.All fiberglass mat now.Fiber glass shingles are bad news in cold areas.This is from my own knowledge from 60 years of roofing.Most new roofs are metal here.Shingles have had their day .Going from 8 to 135 bucks a square did it.Used to get 20 years from shingles, now 10 years.Warranties are worthless.If you put the shingles on yourself warranty is void.White shingles last much longer than black.Big heat difference in hot weather.
 
Our houses are nearly all slated or tiled over here with either stone slates or cement tiles....but lately we can buy tile effect metal roofing, which looks real good and is lightweight and works real well when the pitch of the roof is not very steep.
Google 'tile effect metal roofing'
Sam
 
We put a metal roof on our house last year and am totally satisfied. My insurance recommended taking off the shingles. The cost was less than $300 higher than the quote on shingles. My roofer said that most 25 year shingles would be lucky to last 10 years, the metal should last longer than I do.
 
We have a lot of metal roofs now here in northwest Iowa. People are getting fed up with asphalt. The coating on the #1 steel is pretty darned good today and will last many years. I put metal on our house ten years ago and I've never been sorry. It's plain old flat ribbed barn steel. I was afraid it'd make the house look like an old tin roofed shack but it turned out just the opposite.

We have an old two story farm house with a steep pitch and short slope on the old part and flatter longer sloped pitch on the new parts. The old part has the one layer of wood and two layers of asphalt, which I left on. I just nailed down 2X4's every 24" with 60D ring shanks and screwed the steel on. Still looks great after being up there for ten years. The 2X4's are laid down just below the old shingle overlap to keep them flat so the 24" spacing varies a little.I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If the rain comes down real hard there's a rumble in the single story office part of the house, but usually we don't hear it. Jim
 
Great discussion. One more question. Can you walk on a metal roof without damaging it (I have to clean a chimney at least once a year)?
 
I have a 20 yr old asphalt shingle roof with 25 yr shingles that were shot two yrs ago. I have a guy coming to quote me in a week for steel. They warned up front they are 3-4 times more expensive. My friend insists that steel ALWAYS goes directly on the shingles and he'd use regular pole barn steel not standing seam. I said roof is strapped with 2x4s but he says no. I said it would sweat and scratch and rust but he says no. Personally I would strip to plywood and starte over with steel standing seam.
 
Listen to "Yourself" Tom. If going metal, what you said is the way to go. We work all over the country side, and see metal roof problems all over the place. Mainly with barn metal on homes. Many of the problems are with installation. And others have nothing to do with installation. We are now starting to get a customer here and there say to us "This Metal Roof is the Worst Thing I Could Have Done". We battle metal roofs all the time. I have to say; They are getting more & more popular on homes.
 
i'm not real happy with my steel roof, snow and ice is a big problem,...if you are in an area where you don't have a lot of snow it's great,...but if i had it to do over i'd just reshingle
 
I live in the NW corner of South Carolina where we get heavy snow now and then. A few times my aluminum roof has accumulated enough snow to pull or bend my rain gutters down when the snow comes sliding off in sheets. I made 'snow dams' to go between the ridges but the heavier snow bent them over. We built this house in 1970 and have been satisfied with the metal roof, I reckon it will outlast me. The unpainted aluminum also reflects heat in the summer also.
 
We are extremely happy with our metal roof. The snow unloading is one reason I like it, never have to shovel a darn roof.

Drawback? Keeping the Chimney water tight is a pain. The proper metal roof chimney kit has been a problem since day one. Every year I have to repair it, they just aren't built with a good rain collar.

Went on easy, winds no problem etc. Would do over.
 
I've even been told not to put it flat on the felt/plywood/osb. It needs the strapping and air space whether over shingles or new felt because it will sweat. Don't know how true it is. Haven't done it yet. Personally I would tear off, put on new felt, 2x4's, then tin.
 
Give it all the air flow you can. It still sweats. No stopping it. If using metal roofing, strip all the old shingles off. Install ice and water shield, or 60# felt over roof decking. Then install the roof panels (preferably standing seam on a home). No NEED for purlins. If you thought you wanted air flow (not a BAD idea, but not necessary), First install 1/2" - 3/4" strips vertically. Then install horizontal purlins. This way any condensate can run under the purlins, and out the bottom. If using standing seam metal roof panels, the bottom edge gets bent around the drip edge. You'll have about one inch sticking past the fascia board when done. One inch is what you want. If using barn metal roof panels, you don't install ANY drip edge. Simply let the metal roof panel over shoot the fascia board 1"- 1-1/4". Many people install drip edge with barn metal roof panels( BIG MISTAKE!). I recommend covering the fascia board with flat metal. And if you want, bend another piece of metal to slide up under the barn roof panel 4 or more inches, and counter flash the fascia metal, keeping it tight to the fascia metal. Again; No Drip Edge with Barn Metal Roof Panels. Do as I said, and you'll be all set up for gutters. Now you'll need snow retention of some sort. If not, good chance you'll get the gutters ripped off from ice/snow. Other problems are: water rocketing down the roof, jumping the gutters(Especially in the valleys). On barn metal, screws back out. Rubber washers go bad, etc.. The length of roof matters. The pitch of roof matters. The rays of the sun matter. The wind direction matters. The Geographic climate matters, etc.. The flatter the roof pitch, the less the warrantee. Warrantee's are void within 3/4" of any cut/perforation. On barn metal, every screw is a perforation. An acidic type atmosphere will eat holes in a metal roof. EXAMPLE: fly ash from coal stove. Or salt water mist from ocean. Which in case; you might want to look into a different kind of metal roof material. I can go on and on with this metal roof topic. Metal roofs also have good points to them when properly installed. Still, I'd never install barn metal on my house. On a trailer, hunting camp, etc., Maybe? Every situation is different.
 
(quoted from post at 11:34:12 05/02/13) I need some advice on a roof project. Which would be better shingles or metal? This would include cost, looks, life of product and ease to do the job. This is a 60's ranch style house. Should all old shingles need to be removed as it has only one layer. Any problems with metal as I have seen some that looks nice. This is a house in the country. Thanks for any help!!!!

This is my project that is still not quite done, so please pay no attention to what appears to be unfinished. I tried to explain in fair detail the individual pictures....And I actually posted this on another forum so it may be a repeat to some of you.

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As time and weather allowed this fall and winter we've been installing a new 24 ga. standing seam metal roof on my house. Obviously it is a work in progress and is not complete as far as facia, guttering and even trimming and folding the tabs at the panel ends. Springtime is coming soon, by golly !!
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My buddy at work ran the panel off on our shops panel machine. The material comes shipped in a huge roll on a flatbed. He set the machine for 18 3/4" panels for the optimum usage of the material. Program the computer for the various lengths and quantities required and push 'start'. My panel lengths varied from 299", 193" and 144", then various lengths coming up the vallys.
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I have 4 vallys, 4 skylights, 2 chimneys and 5 gable ends, with 4 ridgecaps to finish, plus the facia and guttering. An man o man, talk about slick !!! You cannot even stand straight up without sliding !!! :eek: I need magnets for my shoes, I think.
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I got the first section of ridgecap just a tad off center, but it can only be seen from an airplane...unless you are crazy enough to risk a fall to get up to this level to see my mistakes. See the messey looking caulk, that is the eurthane seal from under the panels and will dry up and blow away eventually, I am messy.
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This is a close up of how the panels slide up under the three piece ridgecap. While forming the three pieces of ridgecap in ten foot lengths, my buddy shoots some eurthane based caulk in the bottom bend that the panel slides into making a 1 1/2" watertight seal. This caulk maintains resiliency as long as it is out of the sunlight and is non-penetrable by water. See the perforations in the channel; those are vents for the ridgecap. We cut 3" out of the top of the roof to vent and glued in the fibrous bug/mud-dauber guard on the inside.
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This is a sample of one of the finished facias...Pay no attention to the old gutter just a floppin in the wind. Thats just to shed the water temporary until the new ones come. We are going for 6" commercial ogee style gutters with 4" downspouts. We put 1" styrofoam under the roof panels so the height difference would make some of the water in a downpour over shoot the standard 4" gutters.
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Again, trim not yet finished. :oops:
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One of the valleys. Each side has a cleat with a 3" gasketed underbelly that the ends of the panels (hand bent during install) hook under by 3/4". No wind or rain penetration. I gotta add that two friends from work got us started, showing us how to lay out squarely from the roof edges, exactly how to notch and fold the panel ends and how the flashing works. Great help from my son and son-in-law have also made it possible to do this job. My daughters even got into the picture on this one. The cost would have been outta the park to pay the commercial rates for the project. I am very fortunate to have had the help!!! Tabs not bent, trimmed and sealed yet....
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Heres a sample of the vally and the gasketed cleat that holds the panel ends down. The cleat is 22 gage, screwed in every 6" with 2 1/2" flatheads.
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Some scraps to show the interlocking joint with no screws exposed.
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Some of the roll seal tape under the cleats.
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Scraps to show how the interlock pops together.
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Roofing goes down ridiculouly fast 25' at a time !!! Its a shame it is so slick though. It makes even this 5-12 pitch unwalkable !! Sure shows waterspots up close, but from the ground are imperceptible. No more shingles to worry about and no more leaks. This material has a 30 year fade guarantee, guaranteed up to 140 mph winds, and not to dent up to 2 1/2" hail. Rain is not even heard inside the house due to the 1" syrofoam under the panels, barely a muffled sound if any. The only bad thing, is now MrsMassey says the roof makes the siding look so bad....guess what !!!!! Yessir, new project in the spring....new siding :eek: :shock: :? Seems like play time with the rusty old stuff will be on hold AGAIN !!! Good thing shes a great cook..... :lol:
 
When I had the wood burner I had to get up there a couple of times a year so I took an old aluminm extension ladder and made brackets to hold it about 4" above the roof and had it mounted permantly. That way not much chance of sliding. I have problems with height of any kind.
 
(quoted from post at 06:45:21 05/05/13) When I had the wood burner I had to get up there a couple of times a year so I took an old aluminm extension ladder and made brackets to hold it about 4" above the roof and had it mounted permantly. That way not much chance of sliding. I have problems with height of any kind.

That's a good idea for sure. The wood burning chimneys are now my only reason to be up there. I found some "boat shoes" that rich guys wear on their sailboats and yachts that have a real good sticky factor. So that's what I wear for chimney cleaning. I straddle the ridge caps, step in the flats and waddle like I got a load in my pants. lolol The back chimney is 26' up and hardly accessible with a 28' extension. Thanks for the thought.
 

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