Standing seam steel typically runs 10 to 18 dollars per square foot installed, with snap lock at the lower end and mechanically seamed toward the top. Aluminum runs higher at 12 to 20. On a 2,000 square foot roof that is roughly 20,000 to 36,000 dollars for steel.
Get Metal Roof Cost Guide connects you with licensed local companies. We are not a roofing contractor and do not perform the work ourselves.
You are paying to remove every hole through the surface of the roof. On an exposed fastener panel, screws pass through the face and rely on a rubber washer at each one. Standing seam hides the fixings under the seam on concealed clips.
That takes more material, more precise setting out, and often a seaming machine on site. What it buys is a roof with no washers to perish and no recurring fastener maintenance. the full cost picture compares the systems in full.
Five, in roughly descending order of impact. Each is a decision you can make knowingly rather than discover on the invoice.
| Choice | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Seam type: snap lock or mechanically seamed | Seaming adds labor and machine time |
| Metal: steel, aluminum, zinc, copper | The widest single spread |
| Gauge: 26 or 24 | Thicker costs more and dents less |
| Coating: SMP or PVDF | PVDF holds color longer and costs more |
| Panel width: 18, 16 or 12 inch | Narrower means more panels and more seams |
Snap lock is less expensive and entirely adequate on a normal residential slope. Mechanically seamed costs more because a machine folds each seam closed on site, and it earns that on low slopes and exposed sites where wind uplift matters.
If a company quotes mechanically seamed, ask whether it owns the seamer or hires one in and who operates it. See how metal roofing is installed for how the rest of the quote is built.
Usually 10 to 18 dollars installed for steel and 12 to 20 for aluminum, depending on seam type, gauge, coating and how complicated the roof is.
On a house you intend to keep, generally yes. It removes the exposed fasteners and washers that are the recurring maintenance item on a screw down roof.
Yes. A 12 inch panel needs a third more panels and seams than a 16 inch panel to cover the same roof, and that is labor as well as material.
PVDF, often sold as Kynar 500, holds its color and gloss longer than a silicone modified polyester and carries a longer finish warranty. It costs more.
Get Matched
Tell us about your roof and we will connect you with licensed companies working in your area. There is no obligation to hire anyone.
