Cost of metal roof that looks like shingles

Cost Factors For Metal Roofing

What Factors Affect The Cost Of Metal Panels? 

• Type Of Metal By Cost
• Panel Profile Options
• Paint System Types
• Gauges
• Job Size (Size of Project)

The Different Types of Metal Panels

When you’re looking into buying a metal roof, be sure you know what metal roof type you’re interested in. When we use the term “metal roofing”, we are referring to a steel roof unless we specify otherwise. While steel is the most common type of metal roofing material, it is not the only kind.

Metal roofing can refer to:

• Copper Roof
• Zinc Roof
• Aluminum Roof
• Painted Steel Roofing
• Galvanized Steel Roofing

Each of these types of metal has a different price point. While they are all under the category of metal, they are completely different materials.

Below is a chart of general price ranges for material only for each metal roofing type.

Metal Roofing Materials Cost

Metal Panel Profile Options

The type of profile you choose affects price due to the quality of the panel and the difficulty of installation. 

There are two types of metal roofing systems:  

1. Exposed fastener panels such as a wavy corrugated metal roofing 
2. Concealed fastener panels such as standing seam roofing. 

Exposed fastener panels will cost about half the price when compared to standing seam metal roofing panels.

A standing seam metal roof and a corrugated metal roof have more differences besides just price. Watch the video below for a deep dive about the differences between standing seam panels vs corrugated metal roofing.

Paint System

There are two main paint systems for metal roofing panels: SMP and PVDF.

• SMP paint finishes are more affordable, but will fade at a faster rate than PVDF.
  
• PVDF paint is the higher quality paint system that stays bright and vibrant longer than SMP. PVDF products also usually come with a longer paint warranty than SMP.

PVDF panels usually cost 30% to 40% more than SMP painted roofing panels. Besides being a better paint system, the increase in price is also because PVDF panels are only available in heavier gauges.

Keep in mind that there is currently a paint resin shortage that will play a role in the cost of paint in 2022. Since the resins required to make paint have become more scarce, it is expected to drive up the cost of paint and painted materials such as metal panels.

Metal Gauge Choices

Gauge refers to the thickness of the metal. The thicker the metal, the more durable it is. The price of metal also increases as it gets thicker.

Metal roofing panels will range in gauge from as light as 29 gauge to as heavy as 20 gauge. 

Most metal roofs will be 26 gauge or 24 gauge steel. The heavier 24 gauge steel will cost 25% to 40% more than 26 gauge steel.

The Size Of Your Home Or Job

The larger your home or project area is, the more material you will have to buy. It’s easy to see how this would make sense. But did you know that if you’re buying directly from a metal roofing manufacturer larger jobs will cost less than smaller jobs. This is due to the manufacturer having less labor costs and the delivery charges costs less per square foot.

As long as your job is at least 1,000 square feet the price differences are minimal. Generally a really large job and a job of a couple thousand square feet are within 10% to 25% of each other.

Conversely, really small jobs, under 500 square feet, will cost significantly more than larger jobs. These small jobs could easily cost double to triple the price of a larger job.

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