Roofing, explained
Metal or shingle?
Most Atlanta houses could take either. What decides it is usually how long you are staying, what shape your roof is, and which problem you would rather stop thinking about.
Free · no payment today or after
The real difference
One costs less now. One asks less later.
Shingle costs less to buy and less to install than metal. That is true of the material anywhere and it is not a quote. It is also stocked everywhere, which is why a shingle repair rarely waits on an order.
Metal costs more up front and carries a longer rating. On a standing-seam roof nothing penetrates the surface, so there is no line of rubber washers ageing in the sun — the trade is paying earlier for having less to think about later. That trade only pays if you are staying.
And sometimes the roof decides rather than the owner. Shingle needs pitch to shed water, so a porch roof or a shed dormer that is nearly flat is a job for standing seam whatever you would have preferred.
What actually decides it
Four questions that answer it faster than a spec sheet.
How long are you staying?
Metal's economics live in the years after the years you would own a shingle roof for.
What shape is the roof?
Simple runs with few penetrations suit standing seam. Complicated roofs with many hips, valleys and vents suit shingle.
Does anything on it lie nearly flat?
If yes, that part is metal regardless of what the rest of the roof wears.
What does the street look like?
On a block of architectural shingle, a roof that matches is worth more at resale than one that argues with its neighbours.
What does not decide it
Three things people think matter and they do not.
Noise
The drumming people remember is a barn roof on open purlins. Over solid decking and underlayment, rain on metal is close to rain on shingle.
Lightning
Metal conducts, it does not attract. And unlike shingle it will not catch fire if a strike lands.
Hail dents
Hail can mark a metal roof cosmetically while it keeps doing its job. Whether that is worth a claim is a conversation with your insurer, not with us.
You might ask us
Straight answers.
Is metal worth the extra?
If you are staying, usually. If you are selling inside a few years, the money is better spent on a roof that matches the street.
Can I put metal on part of the roof only?
Yes, and it is common — standing seam on the low-slope sections, shingle on the pitched field. Every roof that has a porch already does something like this.
Which is better in a storm?
They fail differently rather than better or worse. Wind lifts shingles; hail dents metal. Both are repairable, and the walk is free either way.
Roofs we install
The roofs we install.
Start with a free site walk.
Send it and our phones buzz. You'll hear from a human the same day — or first thing in the morning if it's late.
Prefer to talk? 678.815.4115
Licensed Georgia general contractor · GA Lic. No. GCLT-CO000732
Earthcore Roofing is a division of Earthcore Group. All of Earthcore Roofing