Metal roof or shingles, for a house in the Panhandle

How each one actually fails

This is the part that matters and the part most comparisons skip. The two materials do not wear out, they fail in specific ways, and the way they fail decides what owning one is like.

Asphalt shingles

Lose granules, get brittle, and curl at the edges. Hail bruises the mat underneath even when the surface looks fine, which is why bruising gets chalked and photographed rather than eyeballed. Wind lifts tabs along ridges and exposed edges.

Metal panels

Dent rather than crack, and stay watertight while dented. The parts that age are the fasteners and their gaskets on an exposed-fastener roof, and the seams and flashings on any roof. Panels themselves outlast several shingle roofs.

That difference has a practical consequence after a storm. A bruised shingle roof may be failing while looking fine from the driveway. A dented metal roof usually still keeps water out, so the question becomes whether the appearance bothers you and what your policy says, rather than whether the building is at risk.

Cost, and why nobody should quote you a number on a web page

Metal costs more up front. That is the whole of the reliable general statement, and anything more specific depends on your roof rather than on the material.

• Standing seam, with the fasteners concealed under a raised seam, is the most expensive and the longest lived.
• Exposed-fastener panel, the ribbed sheet you see on shops and barns, is considerably cheaper and has screws and gaskets as a maintenance item.
• Architectural asphalt shingle sits below both and is what most Panhandle houses wear.
• Impact-resistant shingle, which is the class you buy where hail is a season rather than a surprise, costs more than standard architectural.

Whether the extra up-front cost of metal is worth it comes down to one question only you can answer: how long are you keeping the building? Over thirty years a standing seam roof can outlast two or three shingle roofs. Over six years it is simply a more expensive roof.

We install Malarkey shingles and hold their Certified Pro designation, so the shingle half of this comparison is the line we actually put on houses rather than a generic one.

Hail, which is the Panhandle question

Western Nebraska gets hail, and it is usually the thing that decides this for a homeowner rather than the thirty-year maths.

What hail does to shingles

Bruises the mat. A bruise is not always visible from the ground and can shorten the roof life significantly without an obvious leak. This is the damage an adjuster is looking for.

What hail does to metal

Dents the panel. Cosmetic in most cases, and the roof keeps working. Some policies treat cosmetic damage to metal differently from functional damage, so it is worth reading yours before you choose.

If you are staying with shingles in a hail belt, impact-resistant shingles are the honest middle path, and worth asking your agent about before you decide, because some insurers price them differently.

Snow, and the thing people forget until February

Metal sheds snow in sheets rather than letting it melt away gradually. On an open field that is a non-issue. Above a doorway, a walkway, a driveway, a gas meter or a lower roof, it is a real consideration and the reason snow guards exist.

This is a design decision to make before the panels go on, not after the first heavy winter. It is also one of the few places where a metal roof creates a problem a shingle roof does not.

Can you put metal over an existing shingle roof?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on what is under there. Going over the top saves the tear-off and the disposal, which is real money. It also covers up the decking, which is the part nobody can see and the part that decides whether the new roof has something sound to attach to.

The answer is an inspection question rather than a preference question. If the decking is solid and the local code allows it, a layover can be the right call. If the decking is soft, covering it buys you a problem you can no longer see.

Standing seam or exposed-fastener panel?

If you have decided on metal, this is the next fork, and it matters more than the colour.

Standing seam

Panels joined by a raised seam with fasteners hidden underneath, so nothing penetrates the water plane. The longest-lived metal roof and the one worth specifying on a building you intend to keep.

Exposed fastener, corrugated or ribbed

Screwed through the face, with a gasket under each screw head. Quick to install and much cheaper. The screws back out and the gaskets harden over time, which is where most panel roofs eventually start leaking.

On a house, standing seam is usually the answer if the budget reaches it. On a shop, a machine shed or an outbuilding, exposed-fastener panel is normal and perfectly sensible, as long as somebody checks the fasteners every few years.

How to actually decide

1. Work out how long you are keeping the building. This decides more than any other single factor.
2. Look at what is directly below the roof edges. Doorways, walks and meters push you toward snow guards or away from metal.
3. Read what your policy says about cosmetic damage, and ask your agent how it treats impact-resistant shingles.
4. Get the decking inspected before you price anything, because a layover and a tear-off are different jobs at different numbers.
5. Then price both properly, on your roof, with the tear-off question already settled.

We install both. That is the reason this page does not end by telling you metal wins.