# Recommendations on standing seam metal roofs



## Treacherous (Mar 17, 2013)

Anyone have any recommendations on standing seam metal roofs?  Recommended brands?  Thickness? 

I am going to replace the 39 year old roof on my cabin.  It has had a few leaks here and there that I have patched over the years but roof is steep and I am not getting any younger.  I'd rather not deal with patching anymore.   I'd like to buy something that will last a minimum of 30-40 years that has the greatest resistance to moisture penetration.  It can also have a couple feet of snow on it during the winter.

This Series 300 looked interesting...

I will be hiring a contractor for this.  That will be the next challenge after identifying replacement materials.  I'm going for the long haul so not looking for cheapest material either. 

Thanks!


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## bubbasdad (Mar 17, 2013)

That looks like a real premium product.  I've looked at the cheaper roofs from Menards, they seem to be ok, but they aren't in the same league as that stuff.  Any idea on cost?  I was told a standing seam roof here in Michigan would be around $400 per square.  And that was a few years ago.  I was surprised when a neighbor of mine had "Mr. Roof", a big roofing company here, put a new roof on his house.  It is a shingle roof, not metal, and cost 19K, for about 20 square of roof.  What surprised me is that it is supposed to be a 100 year roof.  He is 85.   I don't think he will collect on that warranty


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## Treacherous (Mar 17, 2013)

Not sure on pricing... I'm not sure at this point if it is even used in residential applications.

I was using this calculator to get a rough estimate on costs.

http://www.homewyse.com/costs/cost_of_standing_seam_metal_roofing.html

Cabin is relatively small... looking at replacement of about 10 squares up on top.


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## semipro (Mar 17, 2013)

I was considering this product when we re-roof but have no experience with it yet.
http://www.unioncorrugating.com/AdvantageLok.html


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## jebatty (Mar 17, 2013)

Re-roofed our cabin home last fall. Thought about metal but went with asphalt shingles due to cost. I'm 66 and felt I didn't need a roof to last much more than another 15-20 years, and then the roof can be someone else's problem. If I had had been 45 or 56, probably would have gone with meal even with the greatly increased cost.


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## Treacherous (Mar 17, 2013)

Looks like they haven't made it out west yet.  Lots of info I still need to collect.  

http://www.unioncorrugating.com/contractor_locator.php?type=RES

I just turned 41 so really looking for a 30-40 year solution.  The biggest thing that seems to have failed in my existing roof is that they used rubber grommeted nails instead of screws when the place was built in '74.    Was this just a shortcut the builder made or was that the best practice of the day?  Over time many have loosened with thermal expansion and then when I get a heavy rain or large amounts of melting snow I can get a leak.  Only saw one small one last year.

No idea what amount of damage will be uncovered once the roof is torn off.  I imagine at least a few boards will need to be replaced.


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## Wooden Head (Mar 18, 2013)

bubbasdad said:


> That looks like a real premium product. I've looked at the cheaper roofs from Menards, they seem to be ok, but they aren't in the same league as that stuff. Any idea on cost? I was told a standing seam roof here in Michigan would be around $400 per square. And that was a few years ago. I was surprised when a neighbor of mine had "Mr. Roof", a big roofing company here, put a new roof on his house. It is a shingle roof, not metal, and cost 19K, for about 20 square of roof. What surprised me is that it is supposed to be a 100 year roof. He is 85. I don't think he will collect on that warranty


 
Had a standing seam (no fasteners showing) metal roof put on my house last summer. I was quoted from $7500 to $32,000 for the same 16 square roof,12-12 pitch with one dormer. Must have had 10 quotes. Met some real snake oil salesmen. I swear that some of them seemed to think their metal came with a bag of magic beans hand picked by Jack of Bean Stalk fame. Found metal available in the area to be about the same. Check on what they propose putting underneath the metal. I had quotes with Ice and water shield, tarpaper, only the old roofing and products that are made for metal roofing. I found a contractor I could work with and he quoted a couple of different options. I choose having a the old roofing material removed and a material that is a lot like house wrap, but for roof underlayment, installed under the metal. The price was about a grand more than the cheapest solution. The full price came in at around $8500.
The roof that was on the house was the original roof,  11 years old and had maybe another 5 years life. This was on a shingle that had a 40 year warranty. You will find that shingle warranties only cover material and that the install is usually 60 to 70 percent of a roofing install. I've dealt with shingles for 45 years and replaced many roofs. Some by contractor and some with my own labor. I don't think I would ever go back to shingles, unless it was because of budget or a quick fix.

Forgot to say that I also had quotes from contractors for a shingled roof and it came in about $6,000 range.


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## FanMan (Mar 18, 2013)

Think there was another thread on this here recently... I just put a metal roof on my house, exposed fastener standing seam from Ideal Roofing.  Cost about $4000 for materials for roughly 2000 square feet, did it myself with assistance from my daughter's boyfriend.  Metal roof materials alone cost about what a shingle roof would cost installed, but it's much easier to install and lasts a lot longer.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 19, 2013)

Had a metal roof put on this past Winter . . . cost a bit more than I planned since my roof wasn't level . . . and the metal I bought from Best Buy Metal wasn't exactly what I thought I was ordering (based on the picture and description) . . . but so far I'm relatively happy with the look, price . . . and love not having to use the roof rake.


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## Treacherous (May 22, 2013)

Contractor uses this metal.  Cost will be around $5K for everything.  This is quite a bit less than I thought it would be.  Roofer has been working with metal roofs for over 35 years and really like his attention to detail.   

http://www.nuraymetals.com/


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## Wooden Head (May 23, 2013)

Treacherous said:


> Contractor uses this metal. Cost will be around $5K for everything. This is quite a bit less than I thought it would be. Roofer has been working with metal roofs for over 35 years and really like his attention to detail.
> 
> http://www.nuraymetals.com/


 
Looks like a good product. 5K is about right for 10 sq.
I found that the Contractor is a big part of the job. Check other jobs he has done. Talk to the home owners.
I know some contractors that have stayed one step ahead of the law for many years. I met a few when I shopped for my last roof.


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## peakbagger (May 23, 2013)

My standard caveat on standing seam roofs is to put a full layer of stormshied underneath whihc means a tear off. Two local commerical roofers would not do standing seam unless they but the stormshield ice and waterr barrier underneath as it there was a leak it was impossible to find. With ice and water barrier underneath, a leak in the standing seam isnt an issue, the metal is bascially protecting the membrane underneath


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## Reid Cathey (Sep 21, 2013)

Wooden Head said:


> Had a standing seam (no fasteners showing) metal roof put on my house last summer. I was quoted from $7500 to $32,000 for the same 16 square roof,12-12 pitch with one dormer. Must have had 10 quotes. Met some real snake oil salesmen. I swear that some of them seemed to think their metal came with a bag of magic beans hand picked by Jack of Bean Stalk fame. Found metal available in the area to be about the same. Check on what they propose putting underneath the metal. I had quotes with Ice and water shield, tarpaper, only the old roofing and products that are made for metal roofing. I found a contractor I could work with and he quoted a couple of different options. I choose having a the old roofing material removed and a material that is a lot like house wrap, but for roof underlayment, installed under the metal. The price was about a grand more than the cheapest solution. The full price came in at around $8500.
> The roof that was on the house was the original roof,  11 years old and had maybe another 5 years life. This was on a shingle that had a 40 year warranty. You will find that shingle warranties only cover material and that the install is usually 60 to 70 percent of a roofing install. I've dealt with shingles for 45 years and replaced many roofs. Some by contractor and some with my own labor. I don't think I would ever go back to shingles, unless it was because of budget or a quick fix.
> 
> Forgot to say that I also had quotes from contractors for a shingled roof and it came in about $6,000 range.




Wooden Head, West Michigan - I'm in Jackson/Chelsea area. Snakeoil salesmen is right -- too aggressive, then angry. What contractor and product did you use for your standing seam metal roof? I need to replace a 2 layer 14 year old asphalt asap. I want 24-26ga, 12' panels with 1.5" rib. Simple gable and shed roof. Advice much appreciated.


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## Treacherous (Sep 21, 2013)

peakbagger said:


> My standard caveat on standing seam roofs is to put a full layer of stormshied underneath whihc means a tear off. Two local commerical roofers would not do standing seam unless they but the stormshield ice and waterr barrier underneath as it there was a leak it was impossible to find. With ice and water barrier underneath, a leak in the standing seam isnt an issue, the metal is bascially protecting the membrane underneath



I had this done as well.


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## Hogwildz (Sep 22, 2013)

Ice and water shield is fine. But adds to the cost much more than 15 or 30 pound tar paper would.
The old true tin standing seam roofing used to have rosin paper underneath.
If properly installed and flashed, ice & water should not be needed, except at valleys & the eaves.
An installer claiming ice & water shield is necessary in case of future leaks, does not sound like a very confident metal roofing installer to me.
Of course overkill with the I&WS is not a bad thing. But should also not leave room for questionable flashing & installation.


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## Wooden Head (Sep 22, 2013)

I live 10 miles East of Whitehall. $8500 for 16 square. The metal came from Menards. Glad to answer any other questions.


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## Treacherous (Sep 22, 2013)

Hogwildz said:


> Ice and water shield is fine. But adds to the cost much more than 15 or 30 pound tar paper would.
> The old true tin standing seam roofing used to have rosin paper underneath.
> If properly installed and flashed, ice & water should not be needed, except at valleys & the eaves.
> An installer claiming ice & water shield is necessary in case of future leaks, does not sound like a very confident metal roofing installer to me.
> Of course overkill with the I&WS is not a bad thing. But should also not leave room for questionable flashing & installation.




My installer actually thought it was overkill as well but I insisted.  It added about $800 to the cost but I believe I won't have to ever worry about it again in my lifetime.  I have heavy snow and ice for about 4 months of the year.


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## Reid Cathey (Sep 26, 2013)

Wooden Head said:


> I live 10 miles East of Whitehall. $8500 for 16 square. The metal came from Menards. Glad to answer any other questions.


Wooden Head, who did you use for installation? Thanks.


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## Wooden Head (Sep 26, 2013)

Reid Cathey said:


> Wooden Head, who did you use for installation? Thanks.


 
_ I used a local Contractor. Found that they jobbed it out to a roofing crew. My impression was that they had done very few metal roofs. What they said was a 3 day job turned into 10 days. Check with the contractor to see if they are doing metal and check a few of them in your area. They didn't do a bad job. Just sloppy with the details. _


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## Hogwildz (Sep 26, 2013)

Wooden Head said:


> _ I used a local Contractor. Found that they jobbed it out to a roofing crew. My impression was that they had done very few metal roofs. What they said was a 3 day job turned into 10 days. Check with the contractor to see if they are doing metal and check a few of them in your area. They didn't do a bad job. Just sloppy with the details. _


The details are the important part, and usually where any leaks will occur.
My old company used to do developments, and bring in two vans of Costa Rican crews with 30+ guys piling out, getting on the roof and blowing out the field work.
But could not do flashings & details work. So we always had to go in after them and finish those parts.
In any roofing job, it is single most important to have a crew who knows the materials they are installing, & have plenty experience in doing so.
Otherwise, your roof is a expensive training roof that may or may not have problems down the road due to improper or inexperienced installs.


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## Reid Cathey (Oct 4, 2013)

Wooden Head said:


> _ I used a local Contractor. Found that they jobbed it out to a roofing crew. My impression was that they had done very few metal roofs. What they said was a 3 day job turned into 10 days. Check with the contractor to see if they are doing metal and check a few of them in your area. They didn't do a bad job. Just sloppy with the details. _


Wooden Head, appreciate the response. Thanks.


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