Let me guess, you have a wonderful home, but your roof is starting to show some signs of age with perhaps a few roof leaks starting to develop here in there. Lets face it, your roof is your first and only line of defense from the rain and snow, and natures’ elements. Obviously your roof plays a very important role protecting your home and you expect it to provide that same reliable protection for years to come. But, after some 12 to 17 years your aging roof has developed a few cracks in the asphalt shingle and you begin to wonder if it is time to get a new roof so that your home would be safe and protected by a great looking roof.
Very plausible scenario indeed, and now that you are faced with dilemma of getting a new roof, you start researching various roofing options and that’s when metal roofing grabs your attention. After doing some research online you learn that metal roofing offers great variety of colors styles and can be made from steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and even copper - the king of metal roofing materials. You learn that metal roofing offers traditional styles such as shingles and metal shakes that resemble ceder shakes, and that there is even metal roofing that looks like natural slate.
Indeed, metal roofing offers great variety of choices and for people who like stricter lines there is also a product called standing seam metal roof. But, the best part of all this metal roofing hype is that metal roofs can last three times longer than conventional asphalt shingle roofs, provided that they were installed by specially trained metal roofing contractors because, your metal roof will only be as good as people who install it.
You learn that metal roofing offers many benefits over asphalt shingle roof. For instance, metal roofs are fire retardant, which would keep your home safer if there was a fire in the forest or neighboring buildings. It keeps your home cool during the summer, which is great because now you can safe money on air conditioning costs as well as do the right thing for the environment; Metal Roofing is fully recyclable at the end of its service life, which by the way, may outlast your home! Since metal roofing can be recycled, there will be no wasted materials going into the landfills, which is always the case with asphalt shingle roofs.
Metal Roofing is considered green building material and it can even earn you LEED credits if it is a new construction and you are building in accordance with green building practices. Green building means that materials used are safe for both humans and environment. It also means that materials will outlast conventional building materials, because green building is all about efficient use of resources.
As the owner of new metal roof, you can now receive $1500.00 in federal tax credits at the end of the year and you can do it twice; one time at the end of 2009, and second time at the end of 2010 provided that you have upgraded your home with energy efficient metal roof.
Metal roof also offers excellent return on the investment, which means that aside from the beautiful curb appeal, metal roof will appraise your home in the range of approximately 90 cents to a dollar spent. Not too bad considering the fact that you will be saving money on air conditioning costs avoiding unnecessary roof repairs and maintenance. Majority of modern metal roofing systems do not require any major maintenance.
Modern Metal roofs such as Standing Seam can be easily upgraded with roof integrated solar roofing panels, which can drastically reduce your electric bill and pay for itself in 7 to 10 years. Not to bad for somebody who plans to stay in their home for a while. Not to mention that there are also solar roofing credits made available by federal and state governments.
In the nutshell, metal roofing is a great investment for somebody who plans to stay in their home for a while, because eventually metal roof will pay for itself. The only drawback is that you can expect to pay more money upfront than you would for an asphalt shingle roof, but over time math will surely work in your favor. You can see the way it works by looking at metal roofing cost overtime. Clearly Metal roofing pros far outweigh the cons, and it is a matter of how long you plan to stay in your home.
July 17th, 2009 - 6:46 am
Just a small point, Steel Metal roofs will not last as long as aluminum roof because they are subject to corrosion once the paint coating wears down…
July 22nd, 2009 - 10:40 am
What is the approximate cost of metal roofing? I saw about $700.00 on the costs pages, but is that for steel or aluminum roof?
July 22nd, 2009 - 11:41 am
Hi Tony, what you saw was a hypothetical example that illustrates how metal roofing works out better vs. asphalt shingle in the long run:
http://www.newenglandmetalroof.com/metal-roofing-cost.html
There is not a significant difference between steel and aluminum metal shingle, although steel shingle is about hundred dollars less per square.
As far as the cost goes, one story, simple gable roof (like a ranch type house) with overtop installation of steel shingle metal roofing system would be around $750-800 per square installed with lifetime warranty. But, if you add complexity and tear offs, then the price does go up quite a bit. Feel free to use http://www.newenglandmetalroof.com/roofing-calculator.html to get a ballpark idea as to how much a new metal roof with lifetime warranty will cost.
August 5th, 2009 - 12:46 pm
We have had a recent increase in the number of inquiries specifically about metal roofs. While we’re unsure about the reason for this change, we have noticed that several homeowners did mention that they are looking for a “green roofing option.”
I’m encouraged by this development, since many don’t automatically think of metal as a potential roofing material.
September 6th, 2009 - 7:32 pm
One point of contention with the article: Federal tax credits may not be claimed in both 2009 and 2010, once the maximum $1500 has been reached (calculated as 30% of the cost of the project(s)). The Energy Star website (http://energystar.custhelp.com) is quite clear about this. If, for instance, $5,000 was spent on qualifying projects in 2009, then a $1500 credit could be claimed for that tax year. If less than $5,000 was spent in 2009, then 30% of the project amount could be claimed as a tax credit. The difference between $1500 and the credit claimed in 2009 could then be claimed in 2010 on additional projects, but no more than $1500 could be claimed for the two years combined.
The exception to this is for projects involving solar, geothermal, wind energy, and fuel cells, which do not have a $1500 cap. These non-capped projects can also be combined with capped projects. For instance, one could put a new metal or reflective asphalt roof on their house and claim the $1500 credit, followed by solar (or any other non-capped project), for which they could still claim the full 30% of cost. But no further tax credits for capped projects could be claimed for 2009 or 2010.
Hope this clarifies the issue.
October 27th, 2009 - 11:30 am
Our pine trees are constantly dripping pitch on our roof - what will this do to a metal roof? How do you prevent ice dams in roof valleys? Thanks for your help
October 29th, 2009 - 4:22 pm
Hi Susan,
I highly doubt the tar from pine trees may damage the paint on a metal roof. It won’t in any way affect the metal itself, so overall a metal roof will not be affected by it. Only the actual tar stuck to the roof will make the roof look dirty and will be difficult to remove (if not impossible).
As for ice-dams in valleys. It all depends how the valley was installed. I assume we are talking about asphalt shingles, as metal roof should not be affected by ice, if it was installed correctly. Back to asphalt shingles - it is important that Ice and Water shield was installed under shingles and in my opinion the shingles should be woven. As for actually preventing ice dams (assuming ice is already a problem), it is best to improve the ventilation and insulation of your roof and attic space. You may also have an open valley, which is a wide metal valley pan, usually “w” shaped, to prevent water from going from one side to the other. Ice is more likely to slide off the metal valley. I would advise against running the heat cables along the valley, unless everything else failed and you absolutely do not want to (or cannot afford to) get a metal roof.
Best of luck, and feel free to ask more questions.
November 13th, 2009 - 12:30 pm
[...] point to keep in mind. In recent years, more and more homeowners are becoming aware of the benefits of metal roofing and consider getting a new metal roof when the need arises. The popularity of modern metal roofing [...]