Had a talk with a roofer that made me ditch my 'all metal roofs are better' take

I used to swear metal roofs were the only way to go for any house. Then I talked to a guy named Dave who's been doing roofs for 30 years near me. He pointed out that in our climate the expansion and contraction from temp swings wrecks the fasteners after about 15 years, and you end up with leaks you can't patch easy. He showed me a 20 year old asphalt job that still looked solid. Has anyone else had a pro completely flip your opinion on something you thought was settled?

2 comments

2 Comments

miller.rowan7d ago

My buddy had the same roofer Dave from up near Portland tell him almost the same thing. He's not entirely wrong about the fastener thing but I think he's overselling it a bit for asphalt. The real problem with metal roofs isnt the fasteners themselves, it's that you have to use a completely different type for every single climate. Like down here in the south we have expansion issues too but its more about the moisture than temp swings. I've seen 30 year old metal roofs on barns that still hold up fine with no leaks because they used the right coated screws from the start. The cheap builders just use whatever galvanized stuff they can get and that's where it all goes sideways. Asphalt is fine for a 15-20 year fix but if you want something to outlast you metal still wins if done right.

jana_shah7d ago

Oh man, @miller.rowan you basically just said what I've been screaming at my neighbor for the last year lol. He keeps insisting asphalt is the way to go and I'm like dude have you ever actually seen what happens to a cheap metal roof after two years in the pacific northwest? It's not pretty. You're totally right that the coated screws make or break the whole thing, cheap builders just ruin it for everyone and then people blame the material. But honestly I still think if someone does their homework and spends the cash upfront metal is the way to go, just gotta live somewhere your roof doesn't expand like a balloon every summer.