Metal vs Asphalt Roof with Solar?

Philip53 · Jan 22, 2024

xagijon said:
Anyway, all the roofers are booked through Oct/Nov but my younger son and his buddy are currently available. Was wondering whether metal roofing would be a good option.

If you plan to stay in your home for a while, or pass it down to your kids, I think using a metal roof is a great decision. If your son and his buddy are up to it, have the ability, and if they use one of the residential 'snap together' standing seam roofs that are available, they could do it themselves. I did it, and I am not a roofer. The company I used had an installation booklet available that illustrated the different trims that are available. I found that installing the actual panels was fairly easy, but all of the associated trim necessary to complete the roof, took as long or longer than installing the actual roof panels.

Here is a link to the metal I used, which is made near our location in Louisisana, but this type is available nationwide, I believe:

Meridian Snap Together Standing Seam Roofing | McElroy Metal

Learn about our Meridian snap together standing seam metal roofing system, an economical and easy to install metal roof.

www.mcelroymetal.com

The smaller building in the first picture I added this year. The larger building is my home, showing a couple hot water panels on the roof in addition to one of the two solar arrays on the house roof. I have 2 - 2.8kw arrays on the house, and one 4.8kw array on the backside of the smaller building.

Crowz · Jan 22, 2024

I prefer a shingled roof but its a looks thing not a which is better thing.

Being old and from the south has allot to do with it. For me shingles are what nice homes have and metal is what the barn gets or cheap houses had.

Today they are pretty common and don't look bad but that old fashion view of them is why I prefer the look of a shingled roof.

I will have to have the shingles on my house replaced in a few years and I have been looking at the metal roofing that looks like shingles

Wife prefers metal roofs since she loves the sound of the rain on a metal roof and that is actually the only reason I have been looking into the shingle look type metal roofs.

Philip53 · Jan 22, 2024

One suggestion I would also add, is to not go with a dark metal roof. The darker the colors (red especially), the quicker they will fade, and to a greater extent. I do think the green panels shown above, match my wooded surroundings, but if I could do it over again, I would go with simply the raw galvanized finish. Would make for a cooler roof (temp wise), and still match my rustic stone & wood construction.

parksnorris · 2024-05-28T04:02:14-0700

Philip53 said:
I went with a residential, snap together, standing seam roof approximately 15 years ago. I did it myself, so the cost wasn't too prohibitive. Later I installed solar - very easy with the available clamps. No roof penetrations, except where the PV wires are combined & sent down through the attic to the PV disconnect. One thing that I would definitely change would be to use a lighter color. I used a forest green color, and while I love the color and it goes with my wooded surroundings, it does not reflect heat as well as a lighter color, and it is beginning to lighten up - it is not as bright green as it was. And yes, it was the premium paint finish, kynar, I believe.

As others have said above, go with metal. If you use a good quality metal, you'll never regret it.

Edit: AND, if you went with asphalt, you WILL be replacing the roofing much, much sooner than with metal (maybe never have to change out). What are you going to do then; try to stictch in replacement shingles around your panels? R & R all of the solar install? What about the ya-hoo roofers up on your roof working near your solar installation with the help of Metal shingle manufacturers? Don't chance it, use metal or use a ground mount install.

We are replacing our solar system and the asphalt roof though in decent shape should probably be replaced as it is 25 years old (we used three-layer shingles and did a killer job, some of the shingles are shiny in areas as the little rocks come off but that's it in terms of wear).

All the roofers are booked through Oct/Nov, but my younger son and his buddy are currently available. I was wondering whether metal roofing would be a good option.

Philip53 · 2024-05-28T05:44:50-0700

If your son and buddy are relatively competent, will study and understand the directions, and would have a genuine interest in building quality and attention to details, then yes, they could do the job. That is, with the commercially available snap together standing seam roofing. You can buy this roofing system with all of the panels cut to length, but you would have to rip the length of a few panels. It gets more interesting though, with cutting the angled panel ends if you have roof valleys to contend with.

Best bet would be to visit your local metal roofing supply company and get a booklet on how to install their system. Probably also available on the internet and most likely several youtube videos as well. If you want to talk about it, just PM me.

Good luck!

Metal vs Asphalt Roof with Solar?

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