Metal RoofingBased in Cleburne, TX

The Difference

What to know before you decide.

Exposed-fastener panels are the practical, lower-cost side of metal, and Mueller, a Texas manufacturer, is one of the best-known names. Profiles such as R-panel and 5V are screwed straight through the face of the panel into the decking or purlins, with a rubber washer under each screw head to seal the hole. They are a natural fit for barns, shops and farmhouses on acreage, and they look right on plenty of country homes. The screws and washers are the maintenance item: sun breaks the washers down over time, so plan on checking and replacing fasteners somewhere around 10 to 20 years in.

Stone-coated steel suits the homeowner who wants metal's durability without a metal look. TILCOR panels are steel coated with bonded stone granules and formed to look like shake, shingle or tile, so they sit comfortably in a neighborhood of shingled houses and often satisfy HOA rules that would turn down a standing seam roof. The interlocking panels and granule surface also soften rain noise, and stone-coated systems typically carry a Class 4 impact rating.

Two worries come up often. Rain noise is mostly a myth when metal goes over solid decking and underlayment, because the deck and attic absorb the sound, and a stone-coated surface is quieter still. Hail is the real question. Metal resists punctures far better than shingles, but large hail can dent it, and some Texas insurers add a cosmetic damage exclusion for metal roofs that pays only for dents that let water in. Ask your agent about that exclusion and about a Class 4 discount before you choose.

As North Texas market ranges, installed residential metal roofing commonly runs about $6 to $10 per square foot for exposed-fastener panels, $10 to $16 for stone-coated steel, and $12 to $20 or more for standing seam. Roof pitch, the number of valleys and penetrations, tear-off of the old roof and the gauge and finish you pick all move the number. Spread over a service life that can pass 50 years, the yearly cost often compares well with replacing shingles two or three times. Financing is available.

Color does real work on a metal roof in this climate. Lighter finishes and the newer cool-roof pigments, which reflect infrared light even in darker shades, can keep the roof surface dozens of degrees cooler than a dark shingle on a July afternoon. Independent solar reflectance ratings from the Cool Roof Rating Council let you compare finishes on paper before you pick one. Galvalume left bare is the most reflective and least expensive option, and it suits barns and shops, while a painted PVDF finish gives a house a color that will match its trim for decades.

Metal is less forgiving of shortcuts than shingles. Panels are cut and bent to fit, and leaks on a metal roof almost always start at the trim: valleys, sidewalls, chimneys and pipe penetrations. A good install uses a high-temperature synthetic underlayment, flashing and trim made for the panel profile, and fastening patterns that follow the manufacturer's wind rating. Some metal systems can go over one existing layer of shingles and some cannot, depending on the panel and local code, and we will tell you at the estimate which applies to your house. If you are weighing metal for a home, barn or shop in Cleburne or elsewhere in Johnson County, call for a free estimate. We install Mueller panels and TILCOR stone-coated steel alongside standing seam, so you can compare systems side by side for the same roof.