Tallahassee Metal Roof Co.: Standing Seam, Metal Shingle & R-Panel Roof Installation

Each standing seam panel runs in one piece from the eave to the ridge. Neighboring panels join at a raised rib, and the clips that hold them to the deck sit hidden under that rib. No screw goes through the flat of the panel, so there are no exposed screw heads to leak. Snap-lock seams press together by hand. Mechanically seamed panels are folded shut with a seaming tool, which gives a tighter lock on low pitches and long runs.

• Installed cost: $9 to $16 per sq ft (HomeGuide), $8 to $14 (Modernize)
• Steel vs aluminum: Galvalume steel $8 to $16 per sq ft, aluminum $10 to $17 (Modernize)
• Lifespan: 40 to 55 years for steel, 40 to 60 for aluminum (Modernize)
• Lowest slope the code allows: 1/4 in 12

Steel is the usual choice inland. Aluminum makes more sense on a house beside a lake or pool deck, or wherever corrosion has eaten a steel roof before.

See standing seam metal roofs for seam types, gauges and finishes, or aluminum roofing if rust is the worry.

Metal shingles are pressed steel or aluminum panels shaped like cedar shake, slate or a dimensional shingle. They lock together on all four sides. They suit steep cottage roofs and historic-looking houses where long vertical seams would look out of place. HomeGuide prices them at $6 to $14 per square foot installed. The Florida code wants a slope of at least 3 in 12 and uplift testing to a listed standard such as UL 580 or ASTM D3161.

Profiles, weights and prices are on the metal shingle roofing page.

Stone-coated steel is a steel panel with crushed stone granules bonded to its face. It's stamped to look like barrel tile, shake or shingle. Up close it reads as tile or shake, without the weight of clay or concrete. HomeGuide lists it at $700 to $1,300 per square installed, or $10,500 to $32,500 for a typical roof. If hail is your worry, ask for the product's UL 2218 rating. Class 4 means a 2-inch steel ball dropped 20 feet didn't open the panel. It doesn't mean the roof is hail-proof.

See stone-coated steel roofing for the tile, shake and shingle profiles.

5V crimp has five small V-shaped ribs across each sheet and is screwed through the face into the deck. It's the Southern farmhouse look, silver Galvalume over a deep porch. It also costs less than standing seam: HomeGuide's range for 5V and other ribbed screw-down panels is $5 to $12 per square foot installed. Angi puts exposed-fastener systems at 30% to 50% below hidden-fastener ones. The upkeep is the screws: each one through the panel face is a spot to check, and HomeGuide prices a screw replacement job at $150 to $1,000.

More on screw patterns and Galvalume coatings: 5V crimp metal roofing.

R-panel (also sold as PBR) has tall square ribs and wide flats. Corrugated has the rounded wave. Both are screw-down panels, and both turn up on barns, shops and houses across rural Leon County. Lapped panels like these need a slope of 3 in 12 without lap sealant, or 1/2 in 12 with it. Gauge matters here. Most residential metal is 24 or 26 gauge, and 29 gauge is a thin sheet that HomeGuide ties to sheds and mild climates. Ask for the gauge on the quote, in writing.

See R-panel and corrugated metal roofing for rib heights, gauges and where each panel fits.

Few houses get a whole copper roof, at $1,300 to $3,000 per square installed (HomeGuide). Copper turns up on the small roofs instead: a bay window, an entry portico, a dormer or a porch over a front door. It starts penny-bright and darkens to brown, then slowly green. The code sets 16-ounce copper as the minimum for sheet roofing and calls for copper, brass, bronze or stainless fasteners, never plain galvanized ones.

See copper roofing for bay, portico and dormer roofs and how the patina develops.

Most metal jobs in an older city start with a tear-off. The shingles come off, rotted decking gets replaced, and the deck is re-nailed. Both the City and Leon County have a deck re-nailing inspection code. Then the underlayment goes on. For metal, the Florida code allows three underlayment methods: a full self-adhered membrane, self-adhered tape over every deck joint plus underlayment, or two half-lapped layers of felt or synthetic. HomeGuide adds $1 to $3 per square foot for the tear-off. Ask which underlayment method the quote includes, because Leon County's re-roof affidavit makes the roofer tick one.

See metal roof replacement for the tear-off, permits and inspections, or metal roof installation for additions and new roof decks.

Skipping the tear-off saves the removal cost and the dumpster. The Florida Building Code allows a recover only in limited cases. You can't recover over two or more existing layers, or over a roof that's water-soaked or deteriorated. A standing seam system that carries its load straight to the framing is the exception. The catch is that nobody sees the deck under a recover. A soft spot or a nail line that's been leaking stays hidden under the new panels. A good roofer will walk the roof and probe the deck before quoting a recover.

When a recover is allowed and when it isn't: metal roof over shingles.

Back porches, sunrooms and additions often have roofs that are close to flat, where water drains slowly and shingles don't belong. Standing seam can go down to 1/4 in 12. Inside city limits, a roof under 4 in 12 needs approval from codes review staff before the permit is issued, so allow for that in the schedule. Screw-down panels need lap sealant on anything below 3 in 12.

See metal porch and patio roofs, or metal carport, garage and shed roofs for detached structures.

A roof-over puts a new metal roof on a manufactured home. Purlins or a framing system go across the old roof, and ribbed metal panels are fastened over them. The panels usually run slightly past the walls to push water clear of the siding. Leon County's re-roof affidavit lists "Metal (with Purlins)" as its own system. That type of roof needs a Florida Product Approval number like any other, so ask for it on the quote. A white or light panel also helps here: single-wide homes have little attic space to buffer the heat.

Single-wide, double-wide and pitched roof-overs are covered on mobile home metal roofing.

Leaks on a metal roof usually trace back to a screw, the flashing at a chimney or wall, an open seam or a pipe boot. HomeGuide puts a typical repair at $300 to $1,500. Screw replacement runs $150 to $1,000, seam resealing $250 to $1,100 and leak repair $200 to $1,000. One code rule to know: if more than 25% of a roof is repaired in 12 months, the whole roof has to meet current code. The exception is a roof built or replaced to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, where only the repaired part does.

See metal roof repair for leak and panel fixes, and metal roof screw replacement when the fasteners are the problem.