Asphalt to Metal Roof

[Anthony Spotorno]

Live in East Central Florida, well on each of the past 2 hurricanes we have lost shingles and we were not even hit by the full force of the wind.

Roof is 4 years old, yet shingles come off, dunno if it is poor installation or just a fact of life with shingles.

Thinking about switching to a Metal Roof, from what I read they can withstand 120-130mph and have a lifetime warranty. Was looking at the metal roof shaped to look like a "tile" roof.

My house is 2 story with about 8K sq feet, if I remove the 2nd story sq ft of 1500 that puts me at about 6500sq ft of roof + some sq ft for the soffit over hang.


First quote came in, wants to lay metal roof over existing shingles and will cost 80-90K!!! I had a budget in mind of 30-35...

He said if that is in the ball park he will work up a formal quote.

OMG that seems like a lot of money for not removing the existing roof and just laying metal sheets down.

Obviously, getting roof quotes now is tough, nobody has time but I thought I'd ask if anyone has experience with Metal Roofs, cost per sq foot or something to go on. I've called another company and hope to find a third to make sure.

[Mel Fulks]

Most of the roofers buy the pans from a manufacturor. There are still some old school guys who make their own. That type usually needs to be kept painted since they don't have the baked on finish. But you might save money.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Is it Copper?

For $90k you should be able to get one of those Tesla roofs that is supposed to be indestructible, plus it will power your house.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not a roofer, but I found and interesting article by a roofing manufacturer that you might want to read. Apparently the building codes in Florida are fairly specific about requirements. Metal roof over shingles. (http://www.tricountymetals.com/news/2012/december/can-you-install-metal-roofing-over-shingles-/)

For that level of cost I would get several quotes and references. Also check with the BBB to see if there are any complaints. With the recent damage in Florida it there is lots of price gouging.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Was looking at the metal roof shaped to look like a "tile" roof.

Can you give us a link to the specific roofing system you are talking about?

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

I hate to break it to you, but for a metal roof, you will be closer to his estimate than to yours.

While using the square footage of your first floor is a good starting point, you have need to consider that your roof is pitched. The steeper the slope, the greater the area. Also, the more complex your roof line, the more difficult it gets.

We had a standing seam metal roof put on our 1600 sq ft house last year. If I remember correctly we were are 20-24 squares (2000 - 2400 sq ft--we have a steep pitch and a covered porch) with a non complex roof line and not a lot of special flashing. For a tear off and replace we were at ~$15k--which is the mid point bid (I think the range was 12K-17K). Given you are at 3-4x my roof, $60K would not be an unreasonable number. Given that you are in an area that just got hammered by a 2 hurricanes, all roofers will be raising their prices.

The general rule of thumb I got from several builder friends that a metal roof would be 2x -3x the price of an asphalt one.

[Wayne Lomman]

I would sincerely recommend long run steel sheet roofing rather than metal tiles in a hurricane zone. It's fixing is far superior, the sheets add strength to the roof, thete are less gaps for wind driven rain and it will be cheaper to install as well. I would strip off your old shingles, lay reflective foil and battens, and use the correct screw spacing for the wind rating. In cyclonic zones here we screw into every rib on edges and every second rib in the rest of the sheets. Cheers

[Malcolm McLeod]

Researching possible home build and looking at standing seam metal - - it is locally quoted at ~2.5X traditional composite.

No experience with these, but just saw them at a local home show - - Onduvilla (https://onduvilla-usa.com/wind-test.shtml?gclid=Cj0KEQjwjJjOBRDVgp2F3769gOwBEiQAf vnvBGNk5-bHUVoXA1AM0Bze7FIb30XZAqYxtTJmZOdIaWAaAhKE8P8HAQ) ...Might be a good match for Hurricane zones??

The demo of their wind rating is impressive. Cosmetically, they're a little like a standing seam metal roof. It is very large shingle (vs. traditional composite) but is screwed down, so manufacturer said the installation speed is comparable to composite - and typically 20% higher cost. He also made sure that I knew this is NOT the Ondura product. We walked around the corner and a roofing contractor had a booth - offering the Onduvilla shingle as option - he swagged a price comparable to standing seam metal. Not a great deal of color choice, and have no idea how code enforcement views them.

Adder: One thing to keep in mind about metal is its durability. But that is a double edged sword - - upside is that it survives a hail storm with no leaks and isn't 'compromised' structurally. So, insurance company doesn't need to pay to replace it. Downside ... you are stuck with a roof that looks like it was on a firing range.

[Allan Dozier]

The quotes I got for my workshop was for 60 squares. The highest was $94,000 and the lowest was $42,500. I went with the lowest which was for a snap-lock with no exposed fasteners, 30 lb underlayment, and even included 10 Velux skylight. That was quite a range. The high was without the skylights and they were going to use gutter coil metal. That probably made labor costs higher but the material costs much lower and the baked on finish probably not as good.

[Bruce Volden]

Look at the economic dynamics that are happening. Harvey, Irma, Maria...are all going to make costs go up for EVERYTHING construction wise.
Then there is the fact of labor--it too will cost more as there will be more work than bodies.
The trades will be able to charge more because they will be necessary.
Funny how things work out isn't it.
My $0.02

Bruce

[James Waldron]

I have a standing seam steel roof installed 15 years ago (a bit before my time in the place, so I don't know the cost). Over the 12 years I've been here, we've had several hurricanes pass through with no problems other than a modest leak during one visitation around a chimney flashing. Roof had a 50 year guarantee, so fixing the flashing came with no change and they also did a good job replacing a bit of soggy dry wall. No further problems with the flashing or the dry wall through Matthew last year and this year's lovely Irma. In Irma we had winds measured just across the river at 110 knots, with gusts of 125. For the roof, the worst result was a LOT of leaves, Spanish Moss and branches to push off and dirt to hose off. In our neighborhood, there were lots of shingles and a couple of entire roofs blown off. That doesn't count the damage of falling trees. Much worse than Matthew last year.

[Neil Gaskin]

I'm a contractor near Kansas City so my cost basis is a bit different from yours I'd imagine. Given recent events in your area expect a price increase. Some may consider it gouging and some of it might really be. But the reality is the insurance companies will keep Cost in lline if it's Insurance work. Some of it's just supply and demand at work.

All that said based on the size of your home but not knowing the true roof dimensions it's hard to comment specifically. The cost that your roofer quoted seems in line with what I would expect for a stone coated steel roof laid over an existing asphalt shingle roof for a home of your size. I'm assuming you were looking at stone coated steel when you say tile look.

As others have pointed out standing seam is another option.

In any event, spend the money and have your old roof torn off. It is the proper and best practice. If you're going to invest sizably in replacing your roof it does not make sense to save a few dollars and go over your existing roof. Don't buy in to the arguments for leaving it on.

My advice would be to wait a year or two for market conditions to die down if the current damage is minor. Do not hire a storm chaser. They will not be around to service the roof later. Find a good local company or two that specifically deal in the type of roof that you want. Check references, look at the insurance certificate, and don't hire solely based on price.

[Jim Andrew]

Think I would go to the supplier of the metal roof products, price the material, and get directions for installing. Then if it didn't look really difficult, would do it myself.

[Dan Hulbert]

WE had to replace our roof earlier this year. 48 Square with lots of valleys. Just over $15K for asphalt. We inquired about going metal and were advised that it would be about 3 X the price. Thrift won.

[Kev Williams]

. If you're going to invest sizably in replacing your roof it does not make sense to save a few dollars and go over your existing roof. Don't buy in to the arguments for leaving it on.
This might sound facetious, but what about the 'gravity works' arguement? Just seems logical that a heavier roof would be harder for wind to blow off...

note I said "seems" ;)

[Neil Gaskin]

The real issue really becomes how well you fasten through the existing roof into the structural members of the roof framing. Gravity mart have a very small part to play in that but you're talking about uplift which has little to do with the weight of the return and a whole lot more to do with the connection of the roof framing be at stick or truss to the top plates of the walls.

I would argue no roof has ever been created with the sole intention of overlaying an existing roof.

You can also get into warranty issues by laying over.

But it is cheaper and easier so lots of folks do it.

To be fair there are probably a small percentage of issues that are caused by laying over. But if you're talking about spending close to $100,000 what's a few more to do it right

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I have a good ol' corrugated metal roof that has quite a few patches and is in need of replacing, but it withstood direct hits from Irma and Maria, with 180+mph gusts in Irma, and 150+ sustained! The only damage I had to the roof was one very small leak where a 2x4 from my neighbor's house hit the roof. The side of my house has tons of 2x4 shaped marks on it. The neighbor had erected 2x4 scaffolding prior to the storms in order to do work on his house. He was out of town when the storm hit and didn't take it down. It pummeled my house.

So- I would go with either standing seam or corrugated metal roofing. They make a very thick aluminum one that I have heard good things about and it lasts forever. The other option is galvalum that is metal with a galvanized/aluminized coating. It is supposed to last 20 years in salty conditions.

l wouldn't see a problem with putting it right over the shingles, except remember that you are adding weight to the roof. Make sure it can take that much weight, which probably won't be too much for metal roofing. If you get hit by a hurricane, you have shingles up under your panels, so even if some panels blow off you have a second layer!

As for the ones that look like tiles, my friend has that on his roof... or he HAD that on his roof. He lost a number of the tiles during the storm. They have a lot of windage, and they seem to me to be less sturdy than just corrugated or standing seam.

[Jerome Stanek]

I am in the process of getting quotes for metal roofs and the exposed fastener is about half the cost of the standing seam. The material I am leaning for is a premium metal that looks like standing seam

[Mark Bolton]

I can only give you my personal experience from 30+ years as a GC, have always been an asphalt guy, but we did a LOT of metal....

First, its done here locally all the time but we have never, nor will we ever, install ANY metal roofing over an existing shingle roof. The issues are numerous. Even with underlayment, metal moves. The sun hits it, it expands, sun goes down, it cools. This works fasteners beyond belief when they are perhaps 1/2" (thickness of the shingle bed) off the substrate. Second, the installer has no idea whether their run of screws is landing on the high of a shingle course or the low. If their run (we pre-drill all our sheets on the ground) happens to land in a shingle valley, you are relying on the strength of the metal to compress the sealing washer. Through time, you will without a doubt have leaks behind these washers that will cause the screws to pull out. You may not see the leak internally because the installer relies on the fact that you have a roof below their roof. But it will happen guaranteed. Third, the vast majority of installers that will fly a metal roof over shingles do NO RE-FLASHING whatsoever. They rely on the existing step flashing, side wall flashing, they install NO pitch breaks and simply nest classic rib over top of the lower course (you have about 1/4" of protection from the weather), they install NO BUTYL tape under ANY of their trim (all corners, ridge, side wall, end wall, etc. is to be installed with butyl tape between the trim and the roof sheet), they do NOTHING but caulk roof penetrations, chimneys, turbine vents, all are left with only caulk as their protection. There is NO caulk on a metal roof we install other than for a counter flashing. None of the installers in our area do any of that detailing. They dont close the profile ends (we fold all our ridge and corners CLOSED, so there is no opportunity for wind, weather, or bug, infiltration).

With regards to standing seam or tile, as has been stated, most now are buying standing seam pans and using a blind clip and the subsequent panel simply laps over the clip and the initial panels seam. This option in our area is about double the cost for material and slightly less than double on the labor. True standing seam involves the installer running a motorized roll crimper up every seam that literally crimps the two panels together. This would be in the high range of your estimate in my opinion.

In the end, I would never allow someone to install a metal roof over shingles in any home I intended to be in for more than perhaps 5-10 years regardless of classic rib, pre-manufactured standing seam, or tru standing seam (a true standing seam guy will not off that option anyway).

I would ask the installer specifically if they install ALL NEW side wall flashing, end wall flashing, closures, and the like.

If your even considering classic rib (doesnt sound like it) you need make sure your installer installs as already mentioned, they must stitch every lap, they must stitch up both sides of the lap, they must pre-drill all panels, they must install fasteners to the manufacturers spec's for your area. Otherwise your warranty is void on the material. Mind you the warranty from most any manufacturer will only cover material replacement. NO LABOR.

Last, if you opt for rolled material over tiles be very careful about length. Many installers will run the longest lengths they can to speed the job. Again, metal expands A LOT. There was a commercial job here where the installer had a portable roll former come in on a trailer and they ran very long material and the minute the sun hit the sheets they sheared screw heads off like popping the heads off a dandelion.

As I said, Ive been a shingle guy for 30 years but in hurricane territory Id be looking for a different roof material.

Just my $0.02

[Jerome Stanek]

When I had my quotes they are removing the shingles and installing new flashing along with ice guard along the edges and in the valleys. They gave me a choice of metal and paint options. The company I am leaning for also figured the job on site and was on time when he came. Not a big company but he gave me several people that they have done business for and also let me know where I can see their crew working on the kind of roof I want.

[Jerome Stanek]

Just figured it up and 3 different roofers all came in at about $3.25 a square foot

[Mark Bolton]

Just make sure they all do the flashing details. And if there are any overlay flashings you have to make sure.. butyl tape, butyl tape, butyl tape. At least around here no one uses it. When we ordered roofs and ordered butyl tape, our suppliers would laugh at us.