I'll be interested to read the replies. My barn and shed have had metal roofs for about 10 years, and we're happy with them. As I recall, the guarantee was impressive. OTOH, my house got a new asphalt shingle roof 12 years ago, and we've tried several times to have one leak fixed, without permanent success. Yesterday I noticed a second leak. :-(

Huge difference in price that's why we didn't investigate metal more than I did. Just couldn't afford it. My roof was extremely expensive as it was because part of it is a flat roof. So I could not have a metal roof there. There's lots of different types of metal roof and costs.

I spoke to a woman today that put on a standing seam metal roof. Says it's louder than heck when it rains or hails. I also wonder how long before they need repainting? She thought it was funny...like if you can afford to put one on, then you can put up with the noise.....not me! lol When it rains at night I plan on sleeping through it....

My neighbor has one that looks like wood shake shingles but it is metal, very expensive and I can hear it in my house when pine cones a acorns fall from the tall trees onto their roof. I can't imagine how loud it is in their house because sometimes it sounds like a gun going off from my driveway.

Years ago my grandfather had a regular corrugated tin roof which was pretty common in Louisiana, we liked the sound of the rain falling on the tin roof. But the tin would rust out and need frequent repairs. We had the same type on our big barn at our Oklahoma house.

My neighbor had a colored metal roof put on his dairy barn. He said the color is guaranteed for 35 years. That's longer than anyone would guarantee me. :-)

I have had a metal roof for at least a dozen years. We have had no issues and are well pleased with it. With its long life it should be our final roof.

No it doesn't make it hotter. You can hear the rain but its not loud. Never had a problem with leaks and it lasts forever! Metal is the best way to go.

that's what I had heard? about 50 year over a LOT less than regular...but we're a half and half roof, anyway. our house is a story and half ? so the 2 story part is flat and yes is a special one. the other is the newer 4tab with the shadow effect. dd's mil just went metal...and really likes it...you know it's looks and resale you end up choosing....

Is there a weight difference? I know that not all houses can support a tile or slate roof.

We thought $40K was plenty for a roof when we built in 2001. It's 'architectural' asphalt shingle and does look like slate at first glance. It's holding up well. (With a `10/12 slant, it should!)

We have a asphalt roof on the main part of the house and sheet metal roofing on the attached pool room and the detatched garaged. Both were done in 2002. The asphalt is 25 year shingle and on the south facing side of the house it already needs to be redone. North facing side is in very good shape still.

The garage and pool room have no leaks. The garage is loud but it's just roofing right over the wood. Pool room is quiet, do not hear anything it is insulated and the ceiling is cedar boards.

If I had a choice I'd have all metal.

As for weight, an asphalt roof is by far heavier than metal.

Yes, there are weight considerations.

Roofing is one of those things like heating and AC where the knowledge/experience and attention to quality of the contractor are at least as important as the quality of the chosen materials or equipment. The best material put on in a shoddy way won't last, and lower end material will last longer when installed by someone capable. Some homeowners think of roofing as akin to painting, that the material simply needs to be "applied" and anyone can do that. Not the case.

So-called 25 year composition shingles are at the lower end of quality scale. If there are problems 3 years later, it's either very low end stuff, it wasn't put on right, or both.

Sorry, editing my post above. Roof was done in 2002, that was a typo on my part. Also 25 year are not low end, they are mid range here. It has nothing to do with installation, it has to due with being south facing. The back of the house is perfect, front (which is south facing) is where it is in rough shape.

Everybody's comments are very helpful. The house in question is mfg home, no attic, so if it rains or hails it would seem it'd be noisy.

What about looks? I would like a light color roof or colored ( green or red). The asphalt versions look bad if they get mildewed. Only if charcoal or black asphalt do they seem to look good despite mildew. I've never seen a colored metal Roof that was faded, or mildewed; except the galvanized metal ones that rust badly after awhile

There's a metal roof on this house - aluminum, I think. Don't have any idea how old it is - when Uncle's wife died 13 years ago I stayed with him for a while and I'm sure that it's the same roof now. I'm reasonably sure that it has a number of good years available, at present.

There's quite a lot of fibre insulation in the house, so I do not hear even heavy rain in the various rooms, except a bit of a rattle/murmur in the small hall between dining room, bathroom and two bedrooms: that's where there's a trapdoor which carries the slide-down stair to the attic, so there's no insulation in that small space.

There are usually ridges in the sheets of metal and the nails, usually with lead washers to conform to the ridges, are hammered into place through the top of those ridges. Sometimes they are caulked, as well.

Galvanized steel has rather a long life, but has that silvery metal look which many find unattractive.

ole joyful

My sister has a metal roof and hates it but she does admit that the contractor wasn't all that good. The problems with her roof come in the winter when the snow slides off the roof. The way her roof is, the snow lands in her driveway. It's very messy. She says she would never do a metal roof again. If you live in the snowbelt, you might want to ask plenty of questions about snow coming off the roof. On the other hand, it's not noisy - we never hear rain any more than when she had a regular roof.

Yep, I have a friend who has a steel roof and the snow slides right off. It's not near her driveway but does create a snowbank.

True--snow does slide off our outbuilding roofs, especially the steeply pitched barn, and especially when the weather warms. But that can be an advantage too. During times of heavy snow, some people shovel snow off their roofs around here, or hire someone to do it. I wouldn't mind the snow sliding off my house roof . . . I'd just be careful not to stand under the edge. :-)

With a metal roof you are supposed to have strips that prevent sliding. We have them on the pool room part but not the garage. If you live in an area with heavy snow you should also be using a snow rake on the roof to prevent heavy accumulation if you have a lower pitch roof to prevent ice damming during freeze, thaw cycles. At my last house we had asphalt shingles on the roof and still would have snow that would slide from the roof because it was a really high pitch on the roof that we couldn't reach even with a snow rake. Luckily we didn't get as much snow there as we do here. As you can see in the attached photo. There is hardly any snow on the roof at the time of the picture and hardly any on the ground where it would slide off. The huge hill is due to drifting snow.

Another pro to metal roofing for me is in the collection of rain water. With asphalt roofing you always get more debris, often times pieces of the asphalt. Just for fun, here's another shot of the kind of winter we had here in 2013/2014. That was the longest and worst winter ever. The snow blower wasn't working and thankfully our neighbor would plough our driveway every once in a while with his tractor. That huge pile was as tall as the roof. It was a combination of drifts and piled snow as we shoveled the walkway. That was also the year the water froze down at the barn and we had to carry buckets of water every day. Both hubby and I threw our backs out that year.

I don't live in a snowy environment, but have to wonder why a home would be designed where the roof pitch would encourage snow shed in a traffic area like the doorways or garage?

PKponder, every house I've ever lived in has had the roof pitch inline with the front and back of the house. Usually there's a bit of an overhang as well, this gives you a good 1-2 feet of coverage above doorways.

This is what I was talking about with strips that should be on the roof. I believe they are more for ice than snow. What happens with our roof with heavy accumulation and I am sure others is that when it warms a little the snow underneath will melt. Then refreezes and more snow accumulates if people aren't clearing their roof. The ice sheets can slide off. The rails help with that somewhat. They are strategically placed over doorways.