Someone recently asked me to “park the price of a metal roof.” I’m afraid I insulted him when I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The useful answer is so long and conditional that it is almost useless. Only our company offers metal roofing ranging from less than $1.00 per square foot to more than $15. If you add labor to these numbers, you can easily have a price range that could equal almost a 20-to-1 spread. So you might have answered, “Something between $5,000 and $100,000. that for a ballpark?”
The fact is that there is such a variety of options that any attempt to park can set a ridiculous standard against which any given job will be unmatched. We have “inexpensive” roofs that are meant to be utilitarian and quick to install. They’re not particularly pretty, and a lot of people wouldn’t want them in their home, but they do work for what you pay for, and some people are just thrilled with the result. On the other hand, I have clients who want the best and want their investment to be a showcase for their home. For that kind of client, few things advertise “Real Estate Quality” like a solid copper or zinc roof.
Metal roofing materials also have the distinction of having possibly the widest variance in labor rates for their installation. Since there is such a colossal difference in levels of detail between the cheapest and the best material styles, the cost of labor is correspondingly very different. The time it takes to slap and “clamp” long, seamless panels on a walkable pitched roof is possibly a tenth of the time it might take to fine-tune around architectural details on a steep and complex English Tudor mansion. As one considers the range of variables, it becomes easier and easier to understand why “ball park” is fraught with danger when it comes to metal roof prices.
One thing is for sure, whether you are looking for the most functional or the most impressive, few materials offer the breadth of value and appearance that metal roofing materials do. If you visit our metal roofing sales website, metalroofnet.com, to research metal roofing options, you’ll quickly see from the wide variety of appearances why metal roofing prices are difficult to approximate. What would be helpful, though, is to pick a profile or two from a few of the photos you like and see if there’s a style of building or house that matches yours. With a profile and rough roofline to consider, a quick phone call to us and a few more questions answered and you might have something close to a useful number. Of course, if you really want to do your homework, go to http://www.ReRoof101.com and ask for a computerized aerial photo map and pricing formula for your house and get VERY helpful figures. Then you’ll be way ahead of even experienced roofers in having good numbers from which to make decisions about your next roof, metal or otherwise.
