Metal Shingle Options for Midland Homes
Metal shingles come down to two choices: the metal, and the look pressed into it. Steel and aluminum are the two most common metals in HomeGuide's guide. The look is usually slate or shake.
Steel Metal Shingles
Bare steel rusts, so the code requires a corrosion-resistant coating under the paint. The minimum coating weights are set out on our standing seam page. Ask which coating the shingle has and which paint system goes over it.
Stone-coated steel is a steel shingle too, with a layer of granules over the paint. It has its own page: stone-coated steel roofing.
- Installed cost: in the $6 to $14 per sq ft range above, before trim and tear-off
- Corrosion protection: a metallic coating is required by 2018 IRC R905.4.4
Aluminum Metal Shingles
Aluminum doesn't rust, which is why it shows up on coastal roofs. In Midland the draw is weight. One maker puts an aluminum roof at about 40 to 50 lb per square, where asphalt runs 250 to 400. The code sets a floor on thickness for pressformed aluminum shingles of 0.019 inch.
- Weight: about 41 lb per square for one slate panel, 58 lb for a thicker shake panel
- Minimum thickness: 0.019 in for pressformed aluminum shingles (2018 IRC Table R905.10.3(1))
Slate-Look Metal Shingles
Slate-look shingles are flat, crisp-edged pieces with a stone pattern pressed in. Real slate weighs 800 to 1,500 lb per square, so a metal version gives the look without the framing that slate needs. HomeGuide prices metal slate at $300 to $500 per square for material and $600 to $1,400 installed.
- Example panel: 0.019 in aluminum, 17-5/8 x 9 in face, Class 4 hail listing
- Slope on that panel's sheet: 3:12 with ice-and-water underlayment, 5:12 with standard underlayment
Shake-Look Metal Shingles
Shake-look shingles have a deeper, ridged face that copies split cedar. One maker forms its shake panel from 0.028 inch aluminum, against the 0.019 inch it uses for slate. A painted shake shingle and a stone-coated shake panel look different up close: paint is smooth and granules are rough.
- Example panel: 13-1/2 x 50 in overall, 47 in exposure, about 58 lb per square
- Slope on that panel's sheet: 3:12 with ice-and-water, 4:12 with standard underlayment
Why Midland homeowners call Midland Metal Roofing
- Free quotes, no obligation to hire
- Panel, gauge and price in writing before any work
- Your request goes to one Midland roofer, not a call list
- Homeowners never pay us for the referral
Code Rules That Decide Whether Metal Shingles Fit Your Roof
Midland's residential code is the 2018 IRC. Section R905.4 covers metal roof shingles, and it settles most of the "can I" questions before a price comes up.
Slope
R905.4.2 bans metal shingles on roofs flatter than 3:12. A low porch or a nearly flat addition needs standing seam instead.Deck
R905.4.1 calls for a solid or closely fitted deck, unless the shingle is made for spaced sheathing.Underlayment
outside the highest wind zones, the code's underlayment table defers to the shingle maker's instructions, so the maker's sheet is the one that counts.Valleys
valley flashing extends at least 8 inches each side of center, with a 3/4 inch diverter rib and a 36-inch strip of underlayment under it.
The manufacturer's sheet can be stricter than the code, as the slate panel above shows with its 5:12 limit on standard underlayment. Ask the installer to show you the slope listed for the exact shingle, and ask whether the quote includes ice-and-water membrane if your roof sits between 3:12 and the panel's standard-underlayment number.
If the old roof stays in place, see metal roof over shingles. If you're weighing shingles against a hail rating, the Class 4 metal roof page covers what the impact test measures.