If you live in the Atlanta metro area or North Georgia and it’s time to put a new roof on your home, this article will go over five reasons you should consider metal roofing for your next roofing project. Or you can find information on different types of roofs on our metal roofing page.
Reasons To Choose Metal Roofing
- Energy Savings
- Return On Investment
- Low Maintenance
- Durability
- Reduction Of Insurance Premiums
First Reason To Install Metal Roofing: Energy Savings
If you are like the typical Atlanta homeowner, you probably dread opening your power bills in the summer. Air conditioners are great and make otherwise unbearable summers something to look forward to. The only problem with running the AC all day is that energy isn’t cheap. According to a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, homeowners can save up to 40% on cooling costs in the summer and 10-15% on home heating in the winter simply by installing a metal roof.
The same study showed that metal roofing using an emissive paint such as white can even reduce the surrounding air temperature by as much as 12%. Just imagine how much cooler August could be if every home in Atlanta had a metal roof.
Furthermore, metal roofing is environmentally friendly. A large portion of all metal roofing in Atlanta is made from recycled metals.
Second Reason To Install A Metal Roof: Return On Investment
Sometimes homeowners come to me with an idea for a project they would like to do on their home, and the first thing I try to do is talk them out of it. It’s not that I don’t appreciate work, I really do. However, not every home renovation project is worth the money it will cost to complete it. If you are considering selling your home in the next 10 years, it’s important to consider the return on investment you will get from various home improvement projects.
While replacing your roof is usually a necessary project that must be completed regardless of the ROI, some systems will return more of your investment than others. The typical homeowner can recover up to 85% of their investment when installing a metal roof vs 52% on an asphalt shingle roof. I would be disingenuous if I didn’t point out that some shingled roofs offer a competitive return on investment, but it must be a complete roofing system backed by a manufacturer such as GAF.
Third Reason To Replace Your Roof With Metal: Low Maintenance
I love homes, and I love working on them, but even I dread weekend projects around the house. The truth is most of us live busy lives and the idea of spending a weekend maintaining a roof is about as exciting as having a tooth pulled. The typical asphalt shingled roof will need maintenance about every 5-8 years to secure shingles, repair valleys, and apply new sealant to pipe flashings and nail penetrations.
Perhaps one of the greatest selling points to me personally is the idea of a roof I never have to think about. In Atlanta, you should expect to get around 50 years of use from a properly installed metal roof with little to no maintenance.
Fourth Reason To Get A Metal Roof In Atlanta: Durability
I’ll admit that durability seems a whole lot like no maintenance, but I think it’s important enough to talk about twice. Regardless of the roofing system you install on your home, you are talking about a costly project. Most shingled roofs in Atlanta last anywhere from 12 years for builder grade shingles to 20 years for architectural shingles. While 12 years may seem like a long time, it can sneak up on you quickly. The roof you just spent thousands of dollars on “a few years ago” needs to be repaired. Metal roofs can easily last 50 years, and some have even lasted over 100 years. Will every metal roofing job last forever? No, some are improperly installed and others are made from inferior low quality metal. Be sure your roofer is installing a full roofing system.
Fifth Reason To Go With Metal Roofing: Lower Insurance Premiums
If you have lived in Georgia for a few years, you know there is a chance of hail almost yearly, and this natural weather phenomenon is starting to cost insurance companies millions and millions of dollars in damaged roofing every year. Some insurance companies in Georgia are going as far as having a separate policy just for the roof with a much higher deductible than the rest of your home.
The problem is that asphalt shingle roofs aren’t very durable when it comes to withstanding impacts from hail. Shingles have surely improved over the years, but it’s hard to create a shingle that will withstand golf ball sized hail. Metal Roofing, on the other hand, has two advantages when it comes to hail.
- Heavier gauge metal roofs withstand hail hits better than shingles, which depend on granules for their protection of a fiberglass mat.
- Small dents in metal will not harm its integrity, whereas small hits to shingles can tear the mat, causing the shingle to fail.
Some insurance companies in the Atlanta area are now offering reductions in premiums when homeowners install a metal roofing system. Be sure to verify with your agent if this is important to you.
If you have any questions about metal roofing, take a second to download our metal roof buying guide here, an easy to read ebook that covers the basics of metal roofing systems. You can also give me a call at 770-744-5992.