An architectural shingle roof typically runs about 4.50 to 8 dollars per square foot installed. Standing seam metal usually runs 10 to 18. On a common roof that is roughly double. An exposed fastener metal panel narrows the gap considerably, sometimes to almost nothing.
Get Metal Roof Cost Guide connects you with licensed local companies. We are not a roofing contractor and do not perform the work ourselves.
Numbers per square foot are abstract. Here is the same 2,000 square foot roof quoted three ways, which is closer to how the decision actually presents itself.
| Option | Typical installed total |
|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt shingle | $9,000 to $16,000 |
| Exposed fastener metal panel | $8,000 to $18,000 |
| Standing seam steel | $20,000 to $36,000 |
The overlap between shingle and exposed fastener metal surprises people. The gap that matters is to standing seam.
That is the whole comparison. An asphalt roof generally lasts 15 to 30 years and a standing seam roof 40 to 70. If you replace shingles twice in the life of one metal roof, the arithmetic changes.
It follows that the answer is different for someone selling in four years than for someone staying for thirty. Neither answer is wrong. What is wrong is quoting a payback period without asking how long you intend to own the house.
Several things, and they mostly favour metal without being easy to price. Lighter weight on the structure. Better shedding of snow. Insurance treatment that varies by carrier and region. Resale effect that depends on what buyers in your market expect to see.
Treat any confident figure on resale value with caution, particularly one supplied by a company quoting you for the work. For how quotes are built, see what the components are called, and for how the systems differ mechanically see what drives a metal roof quote.
It depends on how long you will own the house. Metal costs more to install and lasts considerably longer, so the case strengthens the longer you stay and weakens if you are selling soon.
An exposed fastener panel on a simple roof can land close to an architectural shingle quote. Standing seam almost never does.
Some carriers offer a discount, particularly in hail and wildfire regions, and others do not. It is worth asking your own insurer rather than assuming.
Metal, by a wide margin. Asphalt commonly runs 15 to 30 years and standing seam 40 to 70, with coating quality and installation deciding where in that band you land.
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