Roof Shingles : Asphalt vs Metal

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[TheMetalRoofingChannel]

Great video as always, Matt! Lots of helpful points about the benefits of metal roofing! -Thad

[bobjoatmon]

My grandmother's house (willed to her from her parents) is over 100 years old and has the ORIGINAL shingles which we have photographs of the house when new to prove it.
They are galvanized stamped steel and are about 12"x12" showing with overlaps and underlaps for water sealing. The shingles are nailed on upper edge and one nail on one side at the bottom covered by the adjacent shingle.
The house has been through a couple of tornados in my lifetime and didn't lose a single shingle.
The manufacturer is long gone so I don't know where you'd get any replacement if you'd ever need one.
About 20 years ago the shingles finally started developing small rust spots so we pressure washed, then osphoric acid treated and painted it with aluminum powder silver paint, looks new even today and reflects a lot of heat.
The point is metal shingles or roofs are much better than any asphalt shingles or roof cover.

[patrickcorcoran]

Solar installer here. It is very difficult to install solar on a metal shingle roof. I used to work for EcoFasten Solar/Alpine SnowGuards and there are some base plates that can be put under metal tile sections, but if it is not done during the initial roofing, you pretty much have to re-move all the tile sections, put down the base plates and re-install the tile sections to get solar on.

I had a friend in Pittsburgh that needed to re-roof. I told him what I thought the best options were, but I told him he absolutely should not get metal tiles. The 4 solar companies he was getting quotes from assured him they could do a metal tile roof. He didn't talk to me, had the re-roofing done, tried to finalize the solar quotes and that's when all 4 solar installers realized they had no idea what metal tile roofing was when they gave him the previous assurance that they could do it. They didn't have the skill level necessary and all 4 told him they can't do anything for his roof.

Solar has a really short payoff period and a minimum 25 year warranty. It is an excellent investment for a home owner, so I hope no one shoots themselves in the foot by installing a roof that can't take solar.

[alansnyder]

My grandfather put a metal roof on his house in 1946. That roof is still in great shape and likely won't need to be replaced until the 2040s. My grandfather built things to last 100 years. I don't see anything built like that today.

[ronboe]

I installed a snapped on standing seam roof on our house 20 years ago. No air gap, just two layers of felt roofing paper under it. Even before the sun goes down the roof is cool to the touch. Very low mass so it does not hold heat (live in hot Arizona), it really helps the insulation do its' job.

Hit with hale once - basically knocked of the paint oxidation. Looked great afterwards.

With our high monsoon winds it really brings peace of mind that the roof is going to stay put - that alone was worth the cost.

[DubReed]

Matt did a better job of pumping this product more than their own salesman did.

[FranciscoTChavez]

I really like how Matt went into the details for how to do the bottom-edge, but I would also like some detail on how to do the side-edge.

[grdelawter]

I switched to metal several years ago. It was a very difficult choice, but I’m still happy I did.

[sanisidrocr]

Metal roofs are better in many ways, especially if you can get less expensive larger laminates vs these. Problem with them is they are very loud in rain compared to asphalt, so be prepared to add extra sound insulation. I have lived with a metal roof for over 20 years . Typically you might need an adjustment and silicone at some screw spots with a pressure wash and repaint every 20 years . They can last 100+ years if you do this

[johnharrison]

I’m in the market for a new roof, siding, insulation and HVAC. I’ve learned a lot from your content and thanks for the video

[MorryB]

Having paid to re-roof the same house two times already (they seem to barely last 15 years where I live) and are prone to all sorts of quality issues not to mention hail damage, I will definitely look into steel if I have to do it again.

[victorvazquez]

Loved the illustration of roof assembly. Great video!

[xoxooxox]

On some older homes, that that have metal lath plaster walls and ceilings, renovation to some of these homes with adding a metal roof, basically puts you in a Faraday cage where you won't get cell reception (or so poorly that you need to go outside or near window). Something to thing about if you depend on cellular signals...I can attest to this and use calling over wifi when in my home.

[timmmahhhh]

Great video Matt thank you. I'm glad you touched on the hail issue early on and I'd like to share more information here. On a Facebook post I noted my preference for metal roof because of the issues you talked about here. A friend of mine who worked with the NRCA (National Roofing Council of America) noted one caveat I should mention. When an asphalt roof has hail damage part of the waterproofing system has been removed and is therefore covered by insurance. Hail damage to metal as mentioned here is aesthetic and it is likely that a traditional homeowner's policy will not cover the damage because as you said you have not damaged the waterproofing characteristics, just the aesthetics. Insurance likely doesn't cover aesthetics. I quickly added that as my friend says he's seen a couple of architects get in trouble by disgruntled homeowners finding this out the hard way.

Thank you also for sharing your ventilation method. I remember another video of yours where you talked about ventilating any roof in a similar matter but you had shown I believe one by four battens at a 45° angle to the roof slope for this. The matte method looks to be much simpler and quicker.

[chevykid]

I had a new roof put on my house back in 2019 and none of the roofing companies I found in my area did metal roofs. They almost all suggested GAF Timberline HD shingles with a 50 year warranty. The previous owners clearly cut corners with the last roof, but we got everything new from the decking up and so far I'm happy with it. Even if I only get 30-40 years out of it I think I'll be content with that.

[lindafoxwood]

I liked this video. I like my steel roof. I had a choice to install a new shingle roof or a metal roof. Back in 1998, I replaced by last house roof with shingles and cost me $3000 to do myself with a crew of 2 additional helpers in a week. 3 years ago on my newer house, I had to replace the roof. I went with metal/steel 29 gauge. The materials cost was $3000 and included transportation. I did all the installation by myself and took me 6 months. Best thing I can say is it looks great. Should last me 50 years.

[peterrudy]

I live in a condo complex that has multiple evergreen / pine trees . The roofing material on all the roofs is asphalt, etc . Which of course the pine needles fall on and create algae, etc that I expect breaks down the asphalt shingles . As they sit, day after day, week after week, etc. Where a metal roof with vertical panels would allow the pin needles to fall away, during rain or wind .

[JoseSanles]

How are vents and skylights dealt with vs asphalt? How does the traction compare? Can you actually safely walk on it? What about solar installations? I'm worried about all those penetration holes.

[stevegibson]

In the process of getting a metal roof and solar panels in Corpus. Thank you for the information on the roofs.

[jonwikan]

Hey guys, class A fire rating? Why even mention that? The most popular Asphalt are class A rated as well now days. At least the GAF ones I am putting in. They are also class 4 impact rated. I like the wind rating of the metal and of course the lifespan. Walking on a wet metal roof(cleaning) becomes quite an operation though, especially with a steep pitch.