If you are considering investing in a new metal roof, you’ve come to the right place! In this post, now only we will cover the latest prices homeowners are paying for metal roofing across the US, but we will also shed some light on ROI expectations across several different dimensions like enjoyment factor and curb-appeal, energy savings, and lifecycle cost.
We will also explain how much of your initial investment you can recoup at the time of selling your property aka resale to help answer the key question: “Is a metal roof worth the cost?”.
Before we jump into the various cost factors and benefits of metal roofs, we must make it clear that not all metal roofs are created equal. In fact, there are four main types of metal roofs you need to be aware of:
- Metal shingles, shakes, and tiles – This category represents one the more traditional types or styles of metal roofing for homes, as metal shingles, shakes, and tiles are designed to mimic or resemble the traditional roofing materials like composition asphalt shingles, cedar shakes, tiles, and natural slate.
- Standing seam – This is by far, one of the most well-known and popular styles of metal roofing characterized by the raised vertical ridges called the seams, hence the name “standing seam.
- Stone coated steel shingles, shakes, and tiles – this style of metal roofing is popular with homeowners in Florida and southwest including Texas, Arizona, California, and Nevada.
- Ribbed metal panels – This is a budget category of metal roofs for homeowners who want the look and durability of metal but don’t want to pay the premium cost.
Cost
Residential-grade metal roofs can cost anywhere from $7.50 to $18.00+ per square foot installed, depending on the style and choice of material, project difficulty, your home’s location, and the company you choose to hire.
Standing seam is considered the most expensive kind of metal roofing, while ribbed and corrugated metal roofs are the least-costly of the bunch, making them the most-budget friendly option (not necessarily the best option, in some cases far from it).
Here is a detailed breakdown of costs by system type to help you get a better sense of what to expect:
Metal Shingles, Shakes, and Tiles
As mentioned earlier, products in this category are designed to mimic the look of traditional roofing materials like asphalt shingles and cedar shakes.
There is a wide variety of available products from brands like Classic Metal Roofs which offers aluminum shakes, and Interlock which supplies and installs aluminum shingles and tiles.
There are also popular steel shingles options from companies like Tamko which acquired MetalWorks (steel shingles are sold to contractors through Beacon Roofing Supply, ABC Supply, and Harvey’s Industries), Kassel & Irons, and others.
Most metal shingle roofs can be installed for $10.00 to $15.00 per square foot. Prices from companies like Interlock and Classic Metal Roofs will generally be higher compared to what smaller companies that install steel shingles from manufacturers like Tamko MetalWorks or Kassel & Irons will charge.
Interlock is a Canadian manufacturer with a large presence of affiliate installers in the US. Interlock introduced and popularized the fully interlocked metal shingles design in the US and Canada.
Interlock installs their aluminum roofing products themselves exclusively through its network of affiliates in the US, while Classic Metal Roofs makes its products available through a network of independent dealers.
Both products are made of aluminum and are coated with Kynar 500 or Hylar 5000 paint finish known for its longevity, color stability, and energy-efficiency.
Tamko Metal Works and Kassel & Irons steel shingles are also coated with high quality Kynar 500 or Hylar 5000 paint finish to help ensure longevity and energy efficiency.
Standing Seam
This category encompasses a wide variety of sheet metal panel profiles that most homeowners are familiar with. You can recognize standing seam metal roofs by the vertically raised ridges called the seams in between the panels, hence the name “standing seam”.
Architectural and structural (no solid substrate is required) sheet metal panels, as well as panels that attach to battens (wooden planks) comprise this category.
One of the advantages of standing seam is having concealed fasteners that are hidden from the elements by the raised seams that join the two metal panels side-by-side. With that also comes greater durability and longevity.
Another major advantage of standing seam is the ease with which you can mount solar racks by attaching clamps to the raised seams, meaning you don’t need to drill any holes in your shiny new roof!
Thanks to the longevity of standing seam, your solar panels will get to “enjoy” their full intended lifespan. In fact, you could probably easily cycle through two sets of solar panels while still having the same roof!
Standing seam metal roofing system can sometimes be very easy to install on plain gable or hip roofs spanning the entirety of the house, with no dormers or valleys to worry about.
But if your roof is more complex, standing seam becomes one of the more difficult systems to install, as each panel must be measured and cut precisely to ensure the proper installation.
That’s where the possibility of wide cost ranges with standing seam comes into play. If you have a simple ranch house with a basic gable roof with two panes, one on each side, then it’s super easy to install standing seam panels and should not take too long, hence your cost should be lower.
However, throw in some nice architectural curveballs like multiple dormers, valleys and skylights, and your standing seam metal roof will now take significantly more time to install, hence your total job cost will be higher.
Expect to pay anywhere from $9.00 to $18.00 to install a new standing seam roof, depending on project difficulty, profile, metal thickness and type (aluminum, G-90 galvanized steel, or Galvalume).
Standing seam metal panels can be roll-formed in-field or roll-formed and cut to order at your local sheet metal shop before being delivered to a job site.
Stone coated steel tiles
Stone coated steel tiles are continuing to gain prominence in Florida and southwest, thanks to their outstanding performance in hurricanes and hailstorms (Texas, Oklahoma).
Stone coated steel shingles and tiles are light weight, yet they are exceptionally strong and durable. You can have a brand-new stone-coated steel roof installed on your home for anywhere from $9.00 to $15.00 per square foot, depending on your home’s location, project difficulty, and the installer you choose to hire.
With stone coated steel shingles and low-profile tiles, you will get interlocking roofing shingles that are exceptionally strong and durable. You also have the option of a barrel vault tile that mimics the traditional Spanish clay tile known for its famous terracotta look.
One important advantage of stone coated steel roofs is their uncanny ability to withstand hail impact. It’s one of the few roofing systems that is guaranteed against hail impact damage by manufacturers like Decra, and Boral Steel.
So, if you live in the path of frequent hailstorms, think Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, then a stone coated steel roof can be a smart investment for many decades to come.
Stone coated steel tiles in the US are manufactured by Decra, and Boral Steel, a part of the international roofing manufacturing conglomerate that has acquired Metro Tile of US and Gerard Tile to expand its offering of roofing products before recently agreeing to sell its North American operations to Westlake Chemical Corporation. Yeah, we know, the world of M&A is crazy! 🙂
In the past, Boral’s primary focus had always been on concrete and clay tiles that were offered in a wide variety of profiles. Stone coated steel tiles was a way to differentiate and expand its product offering.
Ribbed and corrugated sheet metal panels
This is a budget friendly metal roofing style that is popular in the south, and parts of northern New Hampshire, and mountainous terrain with frequent snow fall.
While not as durable or long-lasting as standing seam, ribbed metal panels can work great for simpler roof architecture like gable roofs with sufficient slope.
For residential applications, you will want to use thicker metal, at least 26 or 24-gauge steel (ideally not 29-gauge G-60 steel finished with a polyester paint which should probably only be used on sheds or garages).
One disadvantage of ribbed and corrugate metal roofs is having exposed (screw-through) fasteners that attach the panels to the roof deck. – These screw-through fasteners are exposed to the elements and the washer seals between the screws and the metal panels can sometimes dry out over time, requiring new washers and re-tightening of the screws to ensure roof integrity and long-term leak-free performance.
Quality corrugated and ribbed metal roofs made of G-90 galvanized steel coated with Kynar 500 paint finish can be installed for as low as $7.50 to $10.00 per square foot. Anything higher than that, and you know you are being royally overcharged!
ROI
We promised that we will break down the ROI and cost to value return like no one else does!
First thing we want to mention is that the days of double-digit growth in real estate property values are probably over due to the rapidly rising mortgage rates which hit 5.5% just last week, almost doubling from roughly 3.00% a year ago.
Since you can no longer count that your home will continue to appreciate indefinitely, it’s critical to focus on the ROI of any major home remodeling upgrade like getting a new roof, especially if you hope to recoup the value of your investment in the future.
Let’s cut straight to the chase, it’s probably not worth getting a new metal roof unless you plan to stay in your home for 10 years or longer, unless your home faces a waterfront and your roof is distinctly visible such as medium height single-story hip roof covered with standing seam that matches the waterfront, meaning you could get some nice curb appeal enhancement (and great enjoyment).
Should you need to sell your property in a few years down the line, it will undoubtedly be easier to do so with a nice curb appeal, as people will still want to buy nice things, if they can afford them, even in recession.
To really unlock the value of a quality metal roof that costs two to three times more than asphalt, you need to stay in your home for a decade or two, or longer.
The longer you continue living in the same house the more value you will realize from a metal roof in the form of energy saving, not having to do much maintenance, durability and longevity, and enjoyment factor from enhanced curb appeal.
Yes, there is property appreciation too, but if you pay the top dollar or $51,436 for a new standing seam metal roofing system installed on a 3,000 sq. ft. hip roof at $17.00 per square foot, you will only be able to recoup approximately 55% of your initial investment according to the Hanley Wood Remodeling Magazine.
Thus, HW estimates that the resale value of your new roof will only be $28,196, which is a 45% haircut given the initial cost of investment.
Note that $51,436 for a 3,000 sq. ft. metal roof is a national average figure. Depending on where you live, your upfront cost could be lower or higher. Your cost to value return expectations would also differ, with the highest bang for your buck being available in New England and in the Pacific region.
For example, in the pacific region that comprises California, Oregon, and Washington, the average cost per square foot for a new standing seam metal roof is approximately $20.00 per square foot.
However, the cost to value return in the pacific region at the time of resale is also higher. A new standing seam metal roof is estimated to cost $59,863 in the pacific region with a cost-to-value return of 60.7% based on the estimated resale value of $36,330.
Lifecycle Cost
As we mentioned earlier, the true value of a metal roof can be unlocked if you stay at your home for at least a decade or longer. — This is because the remaining value of an asphalt shingle roof will be greatly diminished given that a typical asphalt shingle roof will last between 15 and 25 years, on average, while a metal roof should last twice as long, or 35 to 50 years (or longer, provided it was installed correctly).
In other words, a metal roof will maintain its value for decades to come, while an asphalt roof may need to be replaced altogether in a decade or two, especially if it gets hit by a major hailstorm – something that will dent a metal roof, no doubt, but won’t render it worthless, requiring a complete replacement.
Not having to replace a roof every decade or two is where the true value of the lower lifecycle cost starts to shine.
Energy savings
A 15% to 20% reduction in your air conditioning costs can be easily achieved with a cool metal roof that has solar reflective coating as part of its Kynar 500 paint finish – think light grays, light blue, or light silver colors.
Even darker colors like green and blue can have a CoolRoof rating and should be far more energy efficient than a typical asphalt shingle roof (even the ones that are certified by CoolRoof or have an SRI or solar reflective index score).
Energy savings may not seem like much, but they will add up over the years, especially if you live in an area with high electricity rates – think Los Angeles and other places in California that are ideal for metal roofs.
There is also an added benefit of a reduced load on your HVAC equipment in the summer, meaning that it will last longer than it would otherwise.
Conclusion
So, does a metal roof make sense for your home? To answer this question, you need to consider where you live, suitability for your home and roof type, and how long you plan on staying in your home. That, and whether you can and are willing to afford the higher upfront cost of a metal roof.
In other words, there might always be other home remodeling needs where your money might be better spend/invested. Yes, opportunity costs should also be considered to make sure there is no buyer’s remorse.