What is the Best Color For Your Metal Roof?

When trying to decide on the best color for a metal roof, you may find yourself indecisive and unsure which option is best. This guide will help you learn how to choose metal roof color to help make your decision-making process easier and quicker.

Metal Roof Color Choices

Base your colors on the house's theme, or choose complementing colors that go well with the location. Possible color choices that you can match by locale are:

  • Tropical

For homes built in warmer climates or tropical settings, roofs in bright colors tend to be preferred. Lighter shades can reflect more sun, which helps keep your home cooler and reduces energy bills. 

Tropical Metal Roof

Popular color choices include metallic shades, such as Patina Green, Regal Red, Sage Green, Aged Copper, Regal Blue, Slate Blue, or custom formulas. Zinc metallic and raw metal are also used.

  • Woodlands

Many people who build their homes surrounded by nature, like in the mountains or forests, choose homes made of natural materials like wood, steel, and stone. Installing a metal roof with a complementary nature color allows your house to enhance the natural beauty of the surrounding environment. 

Woodlands Metal Roof

Ideal color choices include Medium and Dark Bronze, Classic Green, Evergreen, Hartford Green, Burnished Slate, and any shade of gray. Roofs in these environments look great in weathered, rusted, or matte finishes.

  • Plains & Deserts

Homes built along the Plains and Deserts are often on flat expanses of land surrounded by drought-hardy foliage. Due to low precipitation and high temperatures in summer, lighter colors are often chosen for their reflective properties. 

Plains & Deserts Metal Roof

Complementary colors include browns such as darker grays like Ash or Dove, Sandstone, beige (Surrey), Burnished Slate, Black Ore Matte, Medium Bronze, peach, or orange (Terra Cotta). Weathered, rusted, and matte finishes look best.

  • Southern 
Southern Metal Roof

Homes built in the south, closer to Mexico, tend to have heavy Spanish influences. Color choices include Terra Cotta, Colonial Red, or Copper. Closer to the Gulf of Mexico, farmhouses, Colonials, cottages, ranches, and Craftsman styles are predominant. These homes may have white, light blue, light gray, light green, or natural colored metal roofs. 

How to Choose Best Colors

Here are some tips for choosing Metal Roof color.

Colour Collocation of the Whole House

When choosing a color for your metal roof, you'll want to choose one that complements the other predominant colors. 

Consider your exterior walls, accent pieces (shutters, doors), trim, gutters, wood (or metal) of porches, railings, columns, fascia board, and other colored items. You may also want to have a roof that matches other outbuildings such as workshops, sheds, or barns.

Paint's Finish

Paints can come in different finishes, which affect the way the metal looks. Potential finishes include glossy, matte, metallic, and flat. Raw refers to metal that's not painted while weathered means the metal has signs of aging. 

You'll also need to consider the type of paint. Metal roofs with UV-blocking acrylic resin can help the paint retain its color, and prevent rust, corrosion, peeling, and water infiltration. The best paint for metal roofs is Kynar 500 (or Hylar 5000) with a CoolRoof or EnergyStar label.

These finishes have a 30-year warranty and prevent heat absorption, so you see lower cooling costs of 7% to 15% and temperatures 50 to 60-degrees cooler than asphalt shingles. And in some locations, EnergyStar roofs certify for tax incentives.

Location of the House

Some homeowners like to match their roof color to the surrounding landscape. Homes in rural areas with many trees and nature around them often look attractive with a roof that blends in rather than contrasting with the setting.

You may want to choose a roofing color that blends with the other homes in the area for neighborhoods or subdivisions. While you may choose a different color, you'd match the theme, maybe using a subtle color rather than a bright shade that stands apart.

Architectural Style

The architectural style of the home can also play a role in which color metal roof you choose. While there are too many styles for us to list in this article, we will focus on a few of the most common types. 

modern architectural styles

Modern Architectural Style House

  • Modern - Matte Black, Matte Darke Bronze, Matte Midnight Black, Charcoal Gray, Matte Musket Gray, Regal White, Vintage, Speckled Blackened Rust, Blackened Copper, Weathered Gray, Black Ore Matte, Gray Zinc Matte
Ranch Architectrual Style House

Ranch Architectural Style House

  • Ranch - Solar White, Charcoal Gray, Dark Bronze (dark colors can make the roof look squat while light colors will add height)
Craftsman Architectural Style House

Craftsman Architectural Style House

  • Craftsman - Ash Gray, Slate Blue, Sierra Tan, Brown, Regal White 
Mediterranean Architectural Style House

Mediterranean Architectural Style House

  • Spanish (Mediterranean) - Colonial Red, Terra Cotta, Copper, Raw, Rusted, Brown, Gold
Cape Cod Architectural Style House

Cape Cod Architectural Style House

  • Cape Cod - Medium Bronze, Sandstone, Slate Gray
Victorian Architectural Style House

Victorian Architectural Style House

  • Victorian - Hemlock Green, Dove Gray, Charcoal Gray
Farmhouses Architectural Style House

Farmhouses Architectural Style House

  • Barns/Farmhouses - Bone White, Regal White, Raw, Colonial Red, Regal Red, Regal Blue, Vintage, Almond

Depending on where you live, there may be an HOA or historical society that can regulate the color choices you make for your metal roof. The majority of HOAs do not allow metal roofs at all. It's always a good idea to confer with these organizations before choosing a color for your metal roof.

SRI and Emissivity

Some metal roofing options classify as cool roofing. These types have higher Solar Reflectance Index (SRI - the reflective properties of the metal) and Emissivity (how fast the metal returns to regular temperature after absorbing heat). 

The metal's SRI rates from zero to 100, with darker colors like black or brown being closer to zero and lighter colors like white or light gray, are nearer to 100. 

Best Metal Roof Colors 2021

When comparing different color options for metal roofs, you'll quickly realize that there are many different variations of the primary colors. These shades have slight differences in tone, hue, and brightness. 

Dark-colored roofs can make a tall roof look less formidable, while lighter-colored metals can make your roof appear taller. 

The most common primary colors for metal roofing are:

  • White
  • Gray
  • Brown
  • Red
  • Blue
  • Green

Although these are the top-selling colors, there are many different shades for each type. Some variations may be more popular than others. 

Most people prefer to stick to neutral, natural colors that blend with the color scheme and add an element of attraction without standing out too much. The top ten best colors for traditional metal roofing are:

  1. Dark Bronze
  2. Galvalume 
  3. Matte Black
  4. Charcoal Gray
  5. Medium Bronze
  6. Slate Gray
  7. Regal White
  8. Mansard Brown
  9. Colonial Red
  10. Copper Penny
Best Metal Roof Colors
Best Metal Roof Colors
Best Metal Roof Colors

Creative Color Combinations

Color charts allow you to compare different metal roof house color combinations next to each other. You can use these displays to see how each shade will mix with the existing colors of your home. 

When looking at your different color samples, take the time to see how each color looks in various lighting. Colors can look completely different during a bright sunny day than they would when the sky is overcast. How does the color compare at dusk or in the night?

Predominately white homes, pastel, or other light shades look best with darker roof colors to avoid a washed-out look. This rule is void for vacation or summer homes, which often have a roof that matches the exterior walls. Popular colors include gray, red, green, or white.

For natural-wood colors, wood shingles, or cedar shake, roof colors of copper or beige blend well. Slate-colored roofs also pair well. Homes that are darker shades can go well with a wide range of colors, with the most popular choices being beige, black, copper, or charcoal gray.

Bronze, brown, black, beige, and copper complement stucco exteriors. In comparison, brick homes go well with brown, charcoal, black, and copper tones—lighter brick pairs well with a pale white or gray slate color roof.

Least Recommended Colors

The best thing about metal roofs is that you can get them in just about any color you can imagine. Got a custom color not currently offered? Many manufacturers can match your paint color in the unique shade you present. 

Copper is a color that isn't for everyone. Besides the bright, unique raw color (think of a shiny new penny), over time and frequent exposure to water, copper will turn patina - a blueish-green shade.

The same goes for metals left in their natural state - raw. If you prefer the look of bare metal, think about zinc, aluminum, Galvalume, copper, or stainless steel left unfinished (not painted), which gives an industrial, modern aesthetic. But most people prefer to have their metal painted.

Black and other dark colors attract more heat, which can help keep your home warm during the winter months, making them ideal for homes in colder climates. But this heat absorption may not be as favorable in hotter locations. If you're going to choose a darker color, make sure you use a "Cool Metal Roofing" product.

FAQ

Q: Does my roof color affect energy efficiency?

A: The color of your metal roof will affect how well the surface can reflect heat from the sun. Lighter colors reflect heat better, allowing for cooler temperatures indoors and lower cooling bills.

Q: What is Cool Roofing?

A: Products labeled as cool metal roofing have higher solar reflectance abilities, allowing the metal to stay cool or cool down from hot temperatures quickly. This process occurs due to cool pigments mixed into the paint.

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