Metal roofing in New Castle, Indiana
Standing seam for houses, ribbed panel for barns, garages and pole buildings. A metal roof costs more than shingles and lasts about twice as long. We will tell you plainly whether that trade is worth it on your building.
Panels are cut to the length of your roof, eave to ridge, so there are no joints across a slope.
When a metal roof makes sense
It is not the right roof for every building. These are the cases where it earns its price, and one where it does not.
You plan to stay 20 years or more
Standing seam should last 40 to 60 years here, against 20 to 25 for shingles. If you will still own the house when a shingle roof would need doing again, metal is the cheaper roof.
A barn, machine shed or pole building
Ribbed panel screwed to the purlins is the standard farm roof for good reason. It is light, quick to put on and spans the framing without solid decking.
A low porch or addition roof
Shingles need a pitch of at least 2 in 12 and do poorly near that limit. Standing seam sheds water on slopes too shallow for shingles.
Snow and ice dams have been a problem
Snow slides off metal before it can melt and refreeze at the eave. The other side of that is a roof-load of snow landing at once, so we fit snow guards above doors and walkways.
An old ribbed roof with rusty screws and drips at the fasteners
The rubber washer under each screw dries out in 15 to 20 years. Often the panels are sound and the roof needs new, larger screws rather than new panels.
When it does not make sense
If you expect to sell within ten years, you will not get the extra cost back. And on a roof with many valleys and dormers, the cutting and trim work pushes the price up sharply.
How a metal roof goes on
The measuring matters more than on a shingle roof, because the panels are made to order.
Shawn measures every slope.
Eave to ridge, to the inch, and checks the roof for square. On a barn he looks at the purlins and trusses from inside.
You choose the panel and the color.
From real metal samples, not a printed chart. The written estimate names the panel, the gauge, the paint finish and every piece of trim.
The panels are made.
Cut to length for your roof. This is the wait in a metal job, usually two to three weeks from order.
Tear-off and underlayment.
On a house the old roof comes off, the decking is checked and a high-temperature underlayment goes down. Metal gets hotter than shingles and ordinary felt sticks to it.
Panels and trim.
Eave trim first, then panels from one gable to the other, then ridge, valley and wall flashings. Standing seam is clipped down so each panel can move as it heats and cools.
What the days are like
A house takes two to four days, longer than shingles, because the trim is fitted piece by piece. A plain barn roof often goes on in one or two.
The panels arrive on a long trailer and need a flat place to lie, usually the lawn beside the house, on blocks. There is less hammering than a shingle job and more of the sound of a screw gun and sheet metal being cut.
Metal cutting leaves small steel filings. We sweep and blow the roof off each day, because filings left on a panel rust and stain the paint. The magnet goes over the lawn at the end, as on any job.
On a house with solid decking and attic insulation, rain on a metal roof is a little louder than on shingles and nothing like the drumming in an open barn.
The warranty
All work is backed up by our workmanship warranty.
Who does the work
Tabor’s own crew. Metal is less forgiving than shingles: a panel cut an inch short or a screw driven at an angle cannot be hidden. The people who measure your roof are the people who fit it.
Questions about metal roofing
Standing seam or ribbed panel: what is the difference?
Where the fasteners are. Ribbed panel is screwed down through the face, so there are several hundred screws exposed to the weather, each sealed by a rubber washer.
Standing seam is held by clips hidden under the raised seams, with no screws through the surface. It costs about twice as much and has far fewer places to leak. On a house we recommend it. On a barn, ribbed panel is the sensible choice.
Will hail dent it?
Large hail can, especially on thinner 29 gauge panel. The dents rarely cause a leak.
Check your policy before you buy. Some insurers exclude cosmetic damage to metal roofs, which means dents that do not leak are not paid for. Your agent can tell you.
Can it go over my old shingles?
It can, over a single layer, and on a garage or outbuilding we will often do it that way.
On a house we prefer to tear off. It lets us see the decking and gives the panels a flat surface, which shows in the finished roof.
Does a metal roof drip inside a barn?
It can. Warm, damp air from animals or a thawing floor meets the cold underside of the panel and condenses.
On an unheated building we use panels with a felt backing that holds the moisture until it dries, or put a vapor barrier under them, and make sure the ridge is vented.
Does metal attract lightning or make the house hot?
Neither. Lightning strikes the highest point, whatever it is made of, and a metal roof does not burn.
Painted metal reflects more of the sun than dark shingles do, so the attic tends to run a little cooler.
How long does a metal roof last here?
Standing seam, 40 to 60 years. Ribbed panel, 30 to 40, with the screws replaced once along the way.
What ends a metal roof is usually the paint and the fasteners, not the steel.
Related work
We install metal roofing in New Castle, Muncie, Anderson, Indianapolis, Carmel and Fishers. See where we work, or everything under Roofing & Exteriors.
Get your free estimate
Shawn calls you back the same day. The estimate is free. Prefer to talk? Call or text (765) 465-1208.
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