At work, we had a building that had a leak right in an executive office. Time and again, the roofers (including more than one company) and the builder of the building, tried to figure it out. It took over a year, I think, and the builder crawling around in a lot of different areas, to figure out where what was leaking and why, and I think it did need a whole new roof in the end.

Standing seam metal roofs are stylish, generally durable, loud in the rain, can have thermal issues in extreme weather, and have far fewer failure points. Panel metal roofs are less stylish but similar otherwise. Metal tiles are equivalent to asphalt or ceramic for failure points.

If money is tight and you're looking for a less expensive option, you may be able to just have a new layer of shingles added over the shingles you have. I'm not sure if that's an option with the type of shingles you have, but when we had our roof done, we were told that a house could have two layers before complete replacement was entirely necessary. With oil prices being as low as they are, the cost for asphalt shingles may be low(er) right now too. Just an thought....

In cold winter areas, falling drops of water in an attic can often be the result of 1) inadequate attic venting and 2) warm air and moisture from inside the house that passes into the attic (because the border between the two isn't sealed adequately) so that the humidity condenses on the underside of the cold roof deck. And then runs or drips down. That's easy to detect. Another sign of inadequate attic venting is if you get ice dams at the lower part of the roof after it snows. In my area, there are new building code requirements that usually require that more venting be added when a roof is replaced (ie, the old standard is now viewed as inadequate).

If attic venting isn't the problem, then a new roof may be your only choice. Leaks are notoriously hard to identify and repair.

All roofing material is impervious to water. Whether a new roof will or won't leak depends not on the material but how it is installed. The skill and knowledge of the installer are very important. Key problem areas often involve poor or missing metal flashing. Where? Angle changes that don't include metal valleys, roof shape changes or interfaces of the roof with vertical surfaces and cutouts for vents, chimneys, and other structural features.

Quotes will tell you pricing choices. References will speak to the knowledge of the contractor.

I was in the same position 5 yes. Ago. I had thought of a metal roof but found the ones that look like regular shingles were more expensive. I believe the flat metal ones are cheaper and I see alot of them around on houses. I went with the asphalt because of price.

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We had our roof replaced but it was due to defective shingles--so check it out.

When we bought our home 33 years ago we got quotes from 3 contractors for a new roof. 2 said we could just add new shingles on top of the old layer. The 3rd roofer said we could do that but recommended removing all the old shingles so that he could inspect the structure and roof deck.

We went with the 3rd contractor. We planned on staying here for many years and DH wanted to make sure we did everything we could to make sure the roof was sound. Turns out there were several minor issues that needed to be corrected around the chimney and vent pipes.

We picked architectural shingles then - and that was in the early 80's. Our first house also had them and that one was built in 1978. So they've been around for 40 years.

After 30 years we replaced that roof and even though we will probably move well before another one is needed DH still had all the old shingles removed. He just believed it's the best way to do it....and we used the same contractor.

When the time comes to replace the roof at our other home we're definitely going to look at metal roofs. I think they're attractive on certain style homes plus they'll provide greater fire resistance - a plus when your house is in the middle of dense woods. I have heard that a metal roof may be louder when it rains - but that also depends on the roof structure too. DH also wants to check out other roofing materials - but we probably have at least another 5 years before we have to do anything.

If money is tight you probably don't want to look at good grade metal roofs. We just went through this in the summer.. I got several quotes from long existing high rated companies. We did have a part of the house that is flat roof so we had to have a specialist in those. We had them fully strip the old roof because we also had some leaks. If you have leaks I would absolutely have it stripped. We had several areas that needed new decking prior to the new roof. You probably will have some of the same.

We went with the highest grade architectural shingles,and went with the longest guarantee package. It will be till long after we are gone and it's fully transferable.

I did my homework and studied everything about roofing and brands of shingles and ratings of them. I am very glad I did. I also talked to neighbors who recently had new roofs and did get some of the companies I asked for bids from their referrals.

We have been very pleased with the company and results we got. I did ask about metal and they all told me it would be double to triple the price of the roof we got that was not for us.

On average, 2 layers (two roofings) of asphalt (or similar) shingles can be put on a roof. When it comes time to put down the 3rd layer, the first two should be stripped off, the roof boards inspected, and any bad boards replaced. Also, this is a good time to correct problem areas. In my case, I had a problem area where the chimney penetrated the garage roof. A pocket resulted on the uphill side of the chimney. The roofers installed a 'saddle' to eliminate the pocket and that has worked fine.

After stripping of the shingles in preparation for new roofing material, I had anti-ice dam sheets placed on all lower roof edges. I also had more than than the standard 3 ft wide sheet applied. Happily, this fixed the roof, but problem remained.

I was loosing too much heat to the attic causing early melting of snow in the upper part of the roof. I contracted for professional attic insulators to correct my attic insulation. The original was not enough, ahd settled, and they discovered that inside air was leaking into the attic through several places in vertical walls. The air leaks were sealed, dams installed to keep new insulation from cramming against the roof along the outer edges, and additional vents installed. Then, fiber glass insulation was blown in until the total insulation depth was about 24 inches. The re-insulation of the attic was the key in fixing a major roof problem. I no longer have early roof melt, no more big icicles, and no more copious dripping on the front stoop. Now, when the roof snow melts, it is also warm enough to melt the rain toughs and these now drain normally. In addition, my heating energy has dropped by 15% as measured by BTU per Degree-Day. The attic re-do was on the pricey side, $6000, but has been worth it to stop house damage. The pay back period will be about 10 years from reductions in heating and cooling costs, but this does not factor in the reduction of house structural damage. The attic insulation was a key factor in fixing my roof problems and should have been done years ago.

Raven said, "I did ask about metal and they all told me it would be double to triple the price of the roof we got that was not for us."

We've known we wanted the Gerard metal roof for a couple of years now. Had no idea what it would cost, but knew, obviously, that it would be more than a shingle roof. We were also pretty certain which company we were going to use.

The quote we got from that company for a Gerard roof (without factoring in any roof deck insulation, gutters & downspouts and gutter guards) was $20,371. Oh, that was for a single batten installation, too. That same company's quotes for shingle roofs were as follows (again, without any of the "extras"):

CertainTeed: Lifetime: Presidential TL -- $18,580

GAF: Lifetime: Grand Canyon -- $18,333; Grand Sequoia -- $17,025; Timberline HD -- $14,375

You can see that we were not quoted "double to triple" for the Gerard roof over what we would have paid for a shingle roof.

Then we got some additional quotes from other companies, but only for the Gerard product.

The company we ended up contracting with is one whose name the Gerard rep gave us. This company has been in business for just shy of 24 years. Prior to that, the owner worked for his father's roofing business, but then started his own company. We are "all in" for $23,336 (i.e., Gerard product, counter battens, insulation, custom color gutter & downspouts with gutter guards, building permit, etc.). And that's a little more than $2,900 less than it would have been if we'd gone with the original company (single batten, etc.).

It isn't a lot of money but here is tax credit info for this next year

https://www.energystar.gov/about/federal_tax_credits

With the water leakage, you're going to have to replace some or all of the wood under your shingles. The protective layer of paper (I know there is a name for it) will have to be replaced as well, or it's just going to continue to leak.

My house is 56 years old and I've owned it for 21 years. The roof needed to be redone for years and I finally bit the bullet this summer. I got five appraisals and went with my husbands cousin. He wasn't the most expensive, but he wasn't the cheapest. He and his crew started pulling the shingles off my roof and was surprised to see that I had two layers of shingles on the roof. He said if he had seen that he wouldn't have done my roof at all. The bottom layer was in almost brand new condition and he can't figure out why they added a layer. Plus, when he got it all off, there was absolutely no water damage and the wood isn't plywood, it's 1" by 10" slabs. He said a tornado could hit my house and the roof would not come off. It still cost us $4500.....

Lindsay, the roof is gorgeous, but so far out of my budget that it's scary. In fact, the whole situation--leaks, possible water damage, etc.--coupled with the condition of the stock market right now, makes me feel a little sick.

My house is over 150 years old, and I won't go into the state of my attic and other related issues except to say I'm determined not to stick my head in the sand. Or pull the bedcovers over my head. Or do both.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experiences and knowledge. I'm gonna go read Lucille's link about tax credits. Maybe it will cheer me up.

PS: I just read over this post, and I make it sound as though I live in a broken-down wreck of a house. That's not quite accurate.

More information:

My house is a 2 story with 2000 sq ft living space plus a 2 car attached garage. the cost of CertainTeed 36 yr shingles was about $10,000 plus $1000 for tear-off of existing shingles. I may have gotten a price break because my last roof was made from materials supplied by China and those failed early. My shingles were shot by year 8. There was a class action suit against CertainTeed for shingles made in that era. According to some sources, the materials problem has been corrected. The same company put on the last 2 sets of shingles on my house.

I have nothing to add to the discussion but am commenting because I want to keep track of this....

Lindsey, this is exactly the type of product I've been looking for. We have "common sense" covenants in our subdivision and they specifically state no metal roofs. I know it's because of the sheet roof appearance but I hope to use metal in the future. Metal roofing has come a long way!

All of the companies I got quotes from also did the metal roofs so they were giving me what the true cost over the cost of the roof in shingles. Here they are much more expensive. My neighbor right next door has the metal that looks like shingles, paid way more than I did for mine. The new owner of the house hates it, we have lots of trees pines and oaks that are constantly dropping pine cones and acorns on the metal roof and I can hear it here in my house when they hit the metal. He said it sounds very loud inside. He told me he was going to have it removed and put something other than metal on. I know Harry the owner that had that roof installed would die lol.

The old farmhouse my grand parents had in Louisiana had the metal roofs back in the day. I loved sleeping there when it was raining because of the sound of the rain on the roof.

I found that there were class action suits against almost all of the shingle companies during that time period they were basically all the same. They have all changed since then and no further suits have been filed on the newer composition shingles. That was a big concern of mine too. But as I kept digging I found all the leading manufacturers with the same problem.

We did a full tear off and Certainteed Dimensional shingles in 2007. The cost was 7000 or so but we also got new venting, fascia boards and gutters

We had referral lists from two roofing companies (the original one we thought we would use, as well as the one we ended up signing with) and drove around to look at the Gerard roofs they'd installed. They look better in person than they do in any of the photos. We wanted to see them in person because we were trying to decide what color to choose. When we first saw photos only, we thought we'd go with the Country Blend color. But when we went into the first company's showroom, we saw and immediately liked the English Suede color. The salesman gave us a sample of each color to take home. When we did our first "drive around" to look at the roofs, we decided we did not like the English Suede after all. It was great when it was in the shade, but when it was in direct sunlight the color was way too light and kind of "yellowish." Not for us at all. So, we figured we'd go with Country Blend. Oh, the salesman told us that "Gold River" was their most popular color.

I'll interrupt myself here to say that Gerard has several colors that are available everywhere. Then, there are additional colors that are regionally available. In the greater Sacramento area there is a master-planned community known as Gold River. Condos, townhomes, duplexes, and single family detached homes. Each individual development within the greater Gold River area has its own set of CC&Rs, and there is also a set of CC&Rs that govern all of Gold River. Gold River remains unincorporated, and has its own Zip code. The median income in Gold River is over $120,000, and is the highest-income area in all of Sacramento County. Hubs and I looked at new houses in Gold River a little more than 25 years ago -- right before we bought the house we're in (purchased new). Although there were floor plans that we liked, we decided Gold River was not for us because everything looked the same. All residences were one of four different shades of brown. Because the association was responsible for front yard landscaping, there was a small number of landscaping designs from which to choose. Unless you're paying attention when you're headed home, it's really easy to end up in the wrong driveway. The homes all originally had shake roofs, and when it got to the point in time where roofs were needing to be replaced, a lot of folks wanted a metal roof. It was apparently felt that composition shingle roofs weren't architecturally desirable enough for the area. And, the master association wanted dark colored roofs. So, Gerard came up with a new color that they named Gold River that met the association's requirements for color. And no one can argue with the Gerard advantages. Plus, all the homeowners there can afford the product, no matter how big their house is. So, the master association approved Gerard Stone Coated Steel roofs, but they have to be the Gold River color. You don't have to live in Gold River to get that color, but you can only use that color and no other color if you do live in Gold River.

---- ok, back to my original narrative

When I was speaking to one of the owners (the wife of the husband-wife team) of the company who is doing our roof, I asked her which color was the most popular for their installs. She said it was the Timberwood color. Armed with the referral list from that company, Hubs and I headed out again to look at roofs, this time paying particular attention to the Timberwood and Country Blend roofs, and also checking out the Gold River color.

We decided that the Gold River color was too dark for us. We still liked Country Blend, but we really, really liked the Timberwood. To us, it looked the most like the color of actual wood shakes. So, that's what we contracted for.

The Gerard Stone Coated Steel roofs are NOT noisier than a wood shake or comp shingle roof when it rains/hails. A metal roof that doesn't have an air buffer (created by the battens and counter battens) or that doesn't have a coating might be noisier, though.

We talked to several different homeowners who'd had the Gerard Canyon Shake roofs installed and every single one of them said they'd go with the same product in a heartbeat. They said their homes stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, and they have peace of mind knowing their homes aren't going to catch on fire from a burning ember from someone else's house fire.

Oh -- that reminds me. On one of the streets we went to, there were 18 houses that had Gerard Canyon Shake roofs installed within the last 3 years. And 15 of those installations were done by the company that's doing our roof. Turns out that there had been a house fire on that street (it's actually a big loop with 51 total houses). All of the houses at that time had wood shake roofs. That one house burned down completely. The fire spread to the house on one side of it, and that house has not been inhabited since. The "fire house" now is a foundation but nothing else. The house next door to it has not yet been repaired and there are holes in the roof and side of the house where the fire burned through. It was because of that incident that 18 nearby houses had their roofs replaced with Gerard metal roofs. Others were reroofed with shingles, but those are not fireproof. They're better than wood shake, but they will still burn.

Dees -- your homeowners association probably just doesn't want a plain metal roof. Have they SEEN the Gerard Stone Coated Steel roofs? Gerard even makes them to look like barrel tiles (think - Spanish or Mediterranean). The company that's doing our roof asked if we have an association to deal with and I said no, because we don't. But she said that they have all of the paperwork and they handle dealing with the associations to get the necessary approvals. So, don't give up hope!

Irish -- so are we. Getting new vents, custom color gutters & downspouts, gutter guards, insulation, counter battens, etc., etc. That's what I meant by "we are 'all in' for 23,336."

Lindsey, we don't have an HOA; just some building covenants governing construction (house size based on lot size, certain % brick, garage door location, etc). I'm sure the product is gorgeous and I'm doing research now even though our home is only 10 years old. We may have limited, qualified installers here in boondockville....maybe in 5 years or so.

I've seen a couple different stone coated metal roof products....like to keep adding to the list!

jemdandy (and others), putting a new layer on top of an old one (without doing a tear-off) is a false economy. The building code does permit it, but as with many things the codes permit, doing so isn't necessarily a good idea. I was told that only with a fresh start on bare decking (plywood) can maximum life be obtained from a new roofing job.

Our house was reroofed (with a tear-off) about 3 years ago. I picked the highest bidder because I liked the vibe I got from the owner. He's the biggest roofer in town and has a slew of the highest ratings on Yelp and customer references full of superlatives. We've done a lot of remodelling, additions, etc., with this house over 25 years and this guy with his crew were hands-down the best contractor I've ever worked with, I'm so glad I made the decision I did. Moral of the story is that price shouldn't be your only consideration.