Consider a Metal Roof

Durable material comes in range of colors and styles, including versions that look like shingles

By Teena Hammond Gomez

LOUISVILLE, Ky., November 22, 2008 - Louisville Courier-Journal - When it was time to replace the red metal roof on Rachelle Cassetta's 88-year-old Highlands home, she started researching her options.

Standard asphalt shingles and architectural shingles were among the materials she considered, but in the end, she opted for another metal roof.

"I couldn't bring myself to not have a metal roof on the house," Cassetta said. "It was built in 1920, and I wanted to keep it as close to the original style as possible. I had a lot of flat space on my roof, and I didn't want just a traditional flat shingle because that would look like a landing strip. I wanted something that visually worked and met the structural type and age appropriateness of the house."

The metal roof was more expensive than asphalt shingles, but "it came with so many other perks, the energy efficiency, the wind resistance and the aesthetic I wanted and the acoustics. I wondered if it would sound like my old metal roof, and, no, it doesn't sound like my other roof -- it's a little dampened, but I still hear rain on my metal roof, and it's the best sound in the world."

She said the result has paid off. "My neighbors even today said, 'Hey, I had some friends over, and they like your roof.' I never thought my roof would be a comment-able thing."

Metal is offered in a range of colors and profiles, from the vertical style of a standing-seam roof to versions that look like shingles, shakes or tiles.

More Expensive
In general, metal roofs cost about two to three times as much as a standard asphalt shingle roof. But a metal roof lasts longer than a standard asphalt shingle roof, as evidenced by the 88 years that Cassetta's previous roof was in place.

Cassetta's roof was installed by Joe Knife, owner of Classic Metal Roofing Systems of Kentuckiana. Knife said that many of the asphalt shingle roofs he replaces are about 12 to 15 years old on average.

Another Louisville-area roofing company, American Roofing & Metal Co., includes metal roofs among the styles it installs. Josh Steinrock, vice president of the company, said that he's seen high-quality metal roofs last up to 100 years.

Last Longer
The long lifespan of a metal roof adds a green, eco-friendly angle. There isn't the waste from tearing off old shingles every 20 years or so, nor the petrochemicals that discarded asphalt roofing can leach into the soil of a landfill. There is also an energy savings of 15 percent to 25 percent from a metal roof. An aluminum roof with a reflective coating diverts heat away in summer and insulates in winter.

Knife said the metal roofs he installs are shake and shingle styles, and it gives a house a traditional, yet upgraded look. "The comment I hear all the time is, 'I didn't know a metal roof could look like that.' People think it has to look like a barn metal roof or a flat metal roof."

Metal roofs are available in a range of materials from steel and aluminum to copper, zinc and more exotic metals. "Most people are choosing between aluminum and steel because they're the most affordable. Copper is used mostly as an accent, such as an overhang or a porch roof," Knife said.

On the Rise
Steinrock said that he's seen a boom in the residential market for metal roofs. It's a more upscale look and adds value to a house. Metal roofs are available in more than 100 colors, and custom colors can be created at a higher cost.

"Most of the metal roofs we install are going on high-end residential homes that are new construction, or where an addition is being added and the homeowners are redoing the entire look of the house," Steinrock said.

Send your home story suggestion to Teena Hammond Gomez at teenahammond@gmail.com, or write to her at The Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431.