Metal Roofing or Asphalt Shingles? An Honest Comparison

We install metal roofs, so you should read this knowing that. But asphalt shingles are on most of the houses in Ontario for good reasons, and pretending otherwise would not help you make a decision. Here is how the two compare on the things people actually ask about.

Price on the day

Asphalt wins. A shingle roof costs less to buy and less to install, and on a tight budget that can settle it. If the choice is between asphalt now and leaving a failing roof in place another year, put the asphalt on.

Cost over time

Metal usually wins, if you stay. A metal roof lasts a great deal longer, and every shingle replacement it saves you comes with a tear-off, disposal and whatever repairs turn up underneath. The coating on Highland's tile-profile panels carries a 45-year manufacturer warranty. Whether that adds up for you depends mainly on how long you plan to own the building. What a metal roof actually costs over its life works through it.

Weather

Wind: shingles lift and tear in high winds, and a few missing tabs after a storm is a familiar sight. Properly fastened metal panels and trims hold up far better.

Snow and ice: snow slides off metal, which is mostly an advantage and occasionally a hazard. That is why Highland fits snow guards as standard; see where the snow goes. Neither material stops ice dams on its own, because those start in the attic. Ice dams explains.

Hail: large hail can dent metal, depending on the profile and the size of the stones, while it bruises and knocks granules off shingles. Neither is hail-proof.

Noise and heat

These are the two objections we hear most, and both are mostly myths when the roof is installed over a solid deck and an insulated attic. Are metal roofs loud in the rain and do metal roofs make a house hotter cover both properly.

Weight and installing over the old roof

Metal is light, much lighter than shingles. On the right roof it can go over the existing shingles, which saves the tear-off. Laying new shingles over old ones is more limited, and the bumps tend to show.

Looks

Shingles have a familiar look, and on many streets they are what fits in. Metal today is not just barn sheeting: there are tile, slate-look, shake-look and standing seam profiles in a wide range of colours. How to choose a metal roof profile and the roof visualizer show what is possible.

Repairs

Asphalt wins on convenience. Almost any roofer can patch a shingle roof, and the materials are in every building supply. Metal repairs need the right profile, the right trim and someone who knows the system. They are needed far less often, but when they are, you want the installer or someone equally familiar with that roof.

The environment

Old shingles mostly go to landfill. Steel has scrap value and is widely recycled, and a roof that lasts several times longer is several fewer roofs made and thrown away. Metal roofs, energy and sustainability separates the real benefits from the marketing.

So which one?

Asphalt makes sense if the budget is tight now, you are selling in the next few years, or the building does not justify a long-life roof. Metal makes sense if you are staying, if you are tired of re-roofing, if the building is a cottage that spends winter unattended, or if the roof takes a beating from wind and snow.

If you are on the fence, ask us for a quote and a straight opinion. We would rather tell you asphalt is the right answer than sell you a roof you will not get the value from.