When it becomes time to upgrade the roofing for your home, there are many options you can choose. One roofing material that has seen a stark increase in popularity over the last decade is metal. This type of roofing can provide your home with many great benefits.

What Is Metal Roofing?

As its name suggests, metal roofing is a broad term given to roofing that is constructed out of metal. The most common metal types used for residential roofing applications include aluminum, copper, zinc, terne, and steel. Each specific metal material comes with its own set of pros and cons. Metal can be shaped into different styles to provide a more unique look based on the architectural style of your home. While standing seam designs are common, metal roofing shingles are also growing in popularity.

Long-Lasting Material

One of the most desirable benefits of metal roofing is its overall longevity. Metal roofing can have a lifespan of 40 to 100 years, depending on the specific type of material that you use. Other roofing materials, like asphalt shingles, only have a lifespan of between 15 and 30 years. This makes metal one of the longest-lasting roofing materials on the market. If you don’t want to worry about replacing your roof regularly, then metal can be a great choice.

Optimal Home Safety

Metal is a very durable and safe roofing material. It’s highly resistant to fire, which can help protect your home in the event of nearby fire hazards and lightning strikes. Additionally, having a metal roof can help to decrease your homeowners insurance premium.

High Energy Efficiency

Metal is naturally a reflective material. This makes it perfect for roofing as it can naturally reflect the UV radiation from the sun. When your roof is able to reflect sunlight, it can go a long way in preventing heat transfer into your attic during the summer months. When less heat enters your home, your air conditioning system will have to run less often to keep your home comfortable. This translates into lower utility bills for you.

Very Lightweight

Another great characteristic of metal roofing is that it’s very lightweight. This allows for easier installation for your roofing contractor, which could decrease labor costs during your roof replacement. This lightweight attribute will also help to prevent excessive stress on your load-bearing roof support structural components.

Recyclable

One lesser-known benefit of metal roofing is that it’s very recyclable. Whenever your metal roofing reaches the end of its lifespan, it can be recycled instead of going into the local land dump. It can even be reused for other projects, like home decor. This makes metal roofing a very eco-friendly choice for homeowners.

Very Low Maintenance

Another great quality of metal roofing is that it’s very low maintenance. It won’t crack, split, mold, or even corrode. Apart from getting an annual roof inspection, there’s nothing else you really need to do to successfully maintain your metal roof.

Higher Home Resale Value

Metal is a very desirable roofing material. In fact, it can increase the resale value of your home. Homebuyers are more likely to pay a higher purchase price when they know that you have metal roofing because of its great traits like a long lifespan. Furthermore, many homebuyers are becoming more concerned with energy efficiency and eco-friendly living. Metal roofing checks both of these boxes.

Extremely Durable

Metal is an extremely durable material that can withstand some of the worst storms out there. In fact, metal is typically rated to last in wind gusts up to 140 mph. Some metal roofs even have an impact-resistant rating that will withstand weather conditions like hail up to about two inches in diameter.

Boosted Curb Appeal

Metal roofing is available in a wide variety of styles that can greatly boost the curb appeal of your home. These include standing seam, shingles, shakes, panels, ribbed, and tile. With so many color options, you can be sure to choose one that best fits your needs and budget. Ideally, you’ll want to choose a lighter color that offers more energy efficiency as compared to darker roof colors.

Are There Any Drawbacks to Metal Roofing?

As with any roofing material, there’s always going to be some drawbacks that you’ll want to be aware of. When it comes to metal roofing, one of the bigger drawbacks is its higher upfront cost. Metal is going to be more expensive than your standard asphalt shingle roof. However, it will be cheaper than more expensive options like slate.

Another prospective drawback of metal roofing is that it can be a bit noisy. When it rains on metal, you may be able to hear the drops. However, you can drastically minimize this noise by having proper underlayment and installation installed on your roof. One other potential drawback is that repairs can require more work. Unlike shingles, where a cracked shingle can be easily replaced with another one, metal typically comes in panels that require a whole panel replacement when a leak occurs.

Metal Roof Materials

Aluminum

Aluminum is naturally a very corrosion-resistant material, making it an ideal choice for applications in coastal climates. It will stand up well to the combination of salt spray and heavy rain events. Aluminum is also the lightest metal roofing material, which can be ideal when you’re trying to avoid putting stress on your roofing structure.

Copper

Copper has a strikingly unique appearance that develops a patina over time. It’s fairly expensive to purchase and can last up to 100 years. Copper is a great choice for a high-class look without worrying about the excess weight that materials like slate can come with.

Zinc

Zinc is somewhat similar to copper in the respect that it provides a very quick aesthetic appeal. It also develops a patina over time. Zinc is one of the more expensive metal roofing materials on the market today. However, it does have a lifespan of between 80 and 100 years, which can help justify its higher upfront cost.

Steel

Steel was originally one of the most popular roofing materials for commercial roofing applications. However, over recent decades, its popularity has expanded into the residential roofing sector. Steel roofing is highly fire-resistant and widely available across the country. In fact, it’s the most commonly used metal roofing material for home applications.

Terne

The final metal roofing material option is known as terne or tin roofing. This is actually a steel roofing material that’s coated with tin and zinc to provide more protection from rust. This is a moderately priced metal roofing material that has a long lifespan of up to 100 years.

Reliable Metal Roofing Service

Warren Thompson & Son Roofing & Siding offers reliable metal roofing services to the Alpha, NJ area. We can also help with all your roof repair, roof replacement, commercial roofing, storm damage, siding, Roof Maxx, and gutter needs. Call our friendly office staff today to book your next service consultation.

company icon