Got a roof that will need replaced in the next 3 years or so, it's a lower pitched 3/12 or 4/12 two plane (front and back) roof. I'd like to get at least 30 to 40 years out of it if possible and be as low maint. as a roof can be. Thinking a steel panel roof but also thinking dimensional asphalt shingles with a 50 year rating. What are the pros and cons of each based on personal experience ? -Thanks

Are you doing it yourself? Contractor once told me if you are hiring done, steel is cheaper. If your doing yourself, shingles are cheaper. This is if cost is an issue. Personally, if it was me, I would go with steel because of low maintenance and durability. Is hail a possible? Here seems we have a damaging hail storm every 5-10 years.

I'll be needing one in the next few years myself. I'm going with steel. It will be the last roof I ever need.

I'd put on standard shingles...we do a lot of certainteed landmarks

Metal roof gets hailed bad and if no leaks no insurance money. You are now stuck with a beat up looking roof for 40 years. They get algae and moss on them just like shingles. And they look just plain dumb with their weird colors.Pick a good color not a dumb one you are going to be looking at it for a long time.

I go with steel. Shingles will not last 50 yrs, but who will be around in 20 yrs to deal with a warranty?

I have installed a lot of steel and asphalt shingles. Never had a problem with shingled roofs leaking. We have had to fix a number of steel roofs. Screws work loose over time and there are places on a steel roof where caulk is the only thing keeping your roof from leaking. Steel roofs are also very loud as they expand and contract with changes in temperature. Me, I would go with shingles.

I have seen some pretty good looking metal roofs, everyone around here just lays those ribbed tin panels down though and they look awful. I couldn't imagine having to come home every day and look at that on my rooftop

Right,a roofer told a me a good 50 year "should" get me at least 30 years. I learned this whole shingle rated warranty thing on the last house where a 25 year shingle lasted about 18 years. I swear the shingle company rep was holding back the laughter when I asked how I'd go about getting my new replacement shingles that were covered by the warranty.

The steel sounds good, but I also hear the screws have to be replaced after 10 or 15 years when the rubber washer rots. Any truth to that ?

Speaking as former GM of a construction company and service manager before that, I'd also go steel.

Shingle warranties are a farce.

First, the warranty covers material only. Labor is typically 50% of the job, sometimes more. This means that if you experience some sort of failure, you're still out a bunch of money, even if the shingle manufacturer replaced the entire roof, which will NEVER happen.

Then, they are pro-rated, so if you get 25 years out of your "50 year" shingles and something happens and the manufacturer covers it, you're looking at being covered for half the cost of half the job.

Then, ONLY the affected shingles are warranted. The sun fades everything, often pretty rapidly. If you experience a shingle failure in the middle of your roof and only a few shingles are affected, all you will get is pro-rated replacement value on the bad shingles and the replacement shingles, even if left over from the original purchase, will not match. Labor is always on you, and if you do the repair as warranted by the maker, you will have a non-matching patchwork of new/old shingles. In reality, if few shingles go bad in the middle of a roof, the entire roof facet should be redone, and depending on the viewing exposure, sometimes the entire roof has to be redone to make it look OK. Unfortunately, "performance" is warranted, not "appearance".

Then, you'll need your original receipts and have to make a claim yourself, sometimes through the original supplier. It can sometimes be difficult to get help with something like this, especially if the supplier doesn't normally deal with the public, like a professional building supply company.

Finally, it can take the manufacturer months to settle even a clear-cut claim, let alone some sort of ambiguous problem or something they could blame the installer for.

In other words, shingle warranties are about as empty as they get. We would only consider the "year rating" as a way of comparing general quality vs something we would get useful support on.

The best way to go is cedar shingles. You can, easily, get 50 years out of them. Unfortunately, I think you would want an 8/12 or steeper roof pitch. Not to mention, the shingles would probably rn about $400/sq..

If you do a steel roof, I would make sure your homeowners insurance is up to date also. One thing that the fire departments have run into here is , god forbid you would ever have a fire, a house with a steel roof is a lot harder to put a fire out because they cannot go down through the roof to put out hotspots in the middle of the house so often times anything with a steel roof turns into a total loss. Some people would prefer a total loss should that happen if they have good insurance, but some would rather save it if possible.

The other thing I have been told is the screw rubber washer after not to many years start to crack. The seals around the screws just don't stand up and then you thousands of possible leaks etc.. Like others said the screws loosen up and then you have issues.

As much as it would be nice to put on a roof and not to have to touch it again is not going to happen. I have thought about tin but when my is do it will be singles again. For many reasons.

Steel here and not even close.

Not all steel roof are the same, the kind they put on pole barns is not the kind you want on your house. In time the screws work loose. All metal roofs expand and contract. A good steel roof will cost three time as much as shingles. 50 years shingles is BS, they will not be in business in 50 years. I forget the name but they make a real good shingle that is much thicker than the old shingles.
Also put snow shield over the hold roof. JMO

I do wildlife control. Maybe it is the workers in my area. But you could not run fast enough to get me to put on a metal roof. Can't keep the bats and flying squirrels and insects out of the houses. Like I said, maybe it is just the workers that don't know how to put metal on. Lots of holes around the edges and dormers.

All I know is.....the snow slides right off them metal roofs....no more roof shoveling and ice dams and leaking

Put a hidden fastener steel roof on. They make some with a butyl caulk in the seams and the only exposed screws would be the eave and trim. You can go with zero exposed screws but the labor and trim are expensive. Make sure all existing roofing materials are removed. And a steel roof must have a CDX plywood to attach to, osb gives you the screw problems later on.

I was a licensed contractor for years building post frame buildings with steel roofs. The better steel manufactures use a longer lasting washer. 50 years is asking a lot no matter what you do. If you go with steel just don't go with cheap Menards stuff. And if the steel is screwed on correctly you will not have the problem of the screws backing out.

The main problem with steel is sealing it around obstacles or in valleys.

Me personally on a house I would recommend shingles.

Either way realistically I would buy quality product but wouldn't bet on anything for 50 years. The steel company I use their paint warranty is rated for 45 years.