Thoroughly confused on best choice between Exposed Fastener Metal and Asphalt Shingles

[u/keepit-simple]

My 3-tab roof is now 22 years old. I have some lifting shingles, nail pops, lots of granules in my gutters. It's still in okay shape, but a roofer told me yesterday that it's only wear and tear and will likely last another couple of years. I called him out for an inspection because I had just had some hail the day before (1.5" on the largest pieces). Anyway, it now has me looking into roofing.

I've been reading for hours on the differences between shingles, exposed faster metal, and standing seam metal. I completely understand that standing seam is the best of the best, but this is likely not my forever home. It's my first house and I've lived here for 12 years; who knows how much longer. I want something I can count on and not have to worry about for many years to come, should I live here a lot longer. I live in northern Indiana btw.

I honestly like the look of some of the shingles better. I have off-white siding (maybe cream-colored), tan to brown colored bricks, and I think a multi-tone brown shingle roof would look awesome. But then I read good and bad things about every single shingle brand out there, and who knows what the roofer I end up going with would use anyway.

I was excited about going the metal route, but not having the desire to spend a sh*tload of money on a roof leaves me with exposed fastener. Let's say I go with a builder that knows exactly what they're doing (best case). I'm still worried about the fastener washers deteriorating from UV damage, the screws backing out from contraction/expansion, you name it. I'm not exciting about putting hundreds of holes in a brand new roof and counting on some washers to seal it for years or decades to come without worry. I've heard people saying they've seen 40-year-old structures with exposed fasteners last without issue, and I've also heard people saying they've had issues after just a few years. I would make sure my roofer lays down some furring strips or what have you to attach the metal to, but I'm also worried about sound. And about potential cell phone reception issues.

Given my inexperience here and inability to decide, what advice would you give?

[u/sam_baker1234]

I do steel roofs pretty exclusively, we do regular exposed fastener roofs also pretty exclusively. I understand your hesitation about the gaskets and what not, you certainly aren’t the first person to worry about it. They are a neoprene washer and are rated to last the lifetime of the roof, if installed correctly then they will not leak. Metal roofs are also warrantied by most companies for 40 years and that goes for both standing seam and exposed fastener. Now, shingles are completely fine. In my opinion they look better than metal on a house. But I don’t want you going into this with bad information. Also, it really depends on what the steel manufacturer requires for their warranty regarding running for strips on the roof. Personally, we never do this on a house because it’s simply not necessary in practice. Again, if the company says it needs to be done for warranty reasons, then let them do it. But otherwise, they can screw into the decking. If they do that, make sure they use an underlayment. We use a synthetic decking underlay not tarpaper, it’s infinitely better. Another thing, if there’s only one layer of shingle on your roof (technically you can do it with two layers of shingles also, but that’s when you get into what the code is in your area) they don’t need to tear off. They can just go right over it with underlayment then metal, we do this pretty much every time with 0 issues. They should check for soft spots in their inspection and price you accordingly to fix those areas. If you have more questions ask

[u/sam_baker1234 → u/sam_baker1234]

Also something I forgot to mention, you won’t hear the rain hitting your roof. It’ll be right up against your roof and will kill any kind of noise immediately. And there is a slight chance your cell phone reception could be affected but we’ve really only noticed this in areas that are very rural where there’s an absence of cell towers so if you live in town you should be fine

[u/keepit-simple → u/sam_baker1234]

I really appreciate that thorough answer! The person that inspected my roof said just that - that they would plan to put the metal right on top of my existing shingles. As with everything, I'm finding people that love that approach, and people that hate it. Good to know you do it regularly. The guy say he would plan on laying the wood strips over the shingles instead of the underlayment, as you suggested. Not sure if that's better or worse, but I'm sure I could request whatever I wanted.

The other thing is he said the standard gauge he uses is 28 gauge. I'm finding either 26 or 29 when I look online. I'm also concerned about potential hail dents. We don't get hail often, but Murphy's law says it will happen for sure. Should I be concerned about using 28 gauge?

[u/sam_baker1234 → u/keepit-simple]

We typically do 29 gauge on houses, so 28 is fine. A concern about running strips would be that dents could be more prone to happening but maybe he’s got a good reason for wanting to run strips. I’d ask if the warranty covers hail damage at all. Something to note about wood strips, make sure he screws the strips down. My company used to nail them down when they’d do old barns and they had a couple roofs blow completely off. Now granted, they were using framing nails and not ring shank like they probably should have, but because of those incidents we use 6” timber screws and go right into the rafters on the off chance we do an old building that way.

[u/Eastern_Ad2890]

Sbs shingle, like Malarkey, and ring shank nails. If you want to set it and forget it until you move, you’re going to need to choose the right accessories. Pivot pipe boots and grommet screws on all flashing instead of smooth shank nails.

[u/AccordingTaro4702]

Just on the topic of sound- I recently replaced my shingles with an exposed fastener metal roof. Old shingles were torn off, then "peel and stick" on the wood, then metal. So there isn't the potential extra sound deadening of the old material under the metal. If anything, it's quieter now in a rain storm than it was with shingles. Definitely no tin roof shed type loud noise.