Guide · Metal versus asphalt
Metal or asphalt, on this coast.
An honest comparison from a company that sells metal. Where asphalt is the better answer, this page says so.
We form metal, so treat this accordingly — but a comparison that concludes metal wins on every line would not be worth reading. On a short-hold house with a simple roof, asphalt is often the right call.
Written for Vancouver Island conditions.
The short version
Metal costs more up front
On our own cost page, standing seam starts at $12 per square foot installed and exposed fastener at around $9.50. Asphalt is cheaper to buy and cheaper to put on.
Metal lasts longer
It is the reason people pay the difference. If you are not keeping the building long enough to see a second roof, that argument is worth less to you.
The West Coast tilts it
Sustained rain, shade and moss are what degrade roofs here, and a continuous plane handles all three better than a surface made of laps.
Weight and structure
Metal is light. Asphalt is not — a second layer of shingle is real weight on a deck that may be decades old, which is part of why going over shingles is a decision worth thinking about rather than a default.
That lightness is also why metal is sometimes possible over an existing roof where another layer of asphalt would not be sensible.
Rain, moss and shade
This is where the coast matters. Moss depends on shade and moisture, and it does not eat roofing — it traps moisture and debris against the surface and holds it there. On asphalt it also lifts the courses, which lets water travel where it should not.
A smooth continuous plane gives moss much less to grip and sheds sustained rain rather than holding it at every lap. It does not make the roof moss-proof: a shaded slope under conifers will still need attention.
Where asphalt still makes sense.
Noise
A metal roof over a properly decked and insulated assembly is not the drumming people imagine, but it is not identical to asphalt either. If a bare shop roof is what you have heard, that is a different assembly.
Complex geometry
Lots of valleys, dormers and penetrations cost more in metal than in asphalt, because the work is in the flashing rather than the field.
Short holds
If the building is being sold in a few years, the durability argument is going to the next owner and the up-front difference is yours.
Repairs
A damaged shingle is a cheap fix anyone can do. A damaged metal panel is a more particular repair and matching the profile matters.
Metal roofs and fire
Metal is non-combustible as a panel, and FireSmart lists metal among the Class A fire-rated roofing materials it identifies as offering the best protection — alongside asphalt shingles, which are on the same list.
A Class A rating belongs to a whole tested assembly rather than to the material alone, so this is not a line where metal simply beats asphalt. Anyone quoting you an insurance discount off the back of a panel is getting ahead of themselves.
Resale
Figures floating around for what a roof returns at sale come from surveys in other markets, and there is no Island data worth quoting.
What is plain enough: a roof with decades of life left is one fewer thing for a buyer to price against you, and a roof visibly at the end of its life is a deduction.
Price your roof in about two minutes
Find your house on the satellite map, outline the roof and see an estimated range straight away. It is an estimate rather than a quote, and you see it before we ask for any details.
Common questions.
No. On a short hold, a complicated roof, or a tight budget, asphalt is often the sensible answer. We will tell you when that is what we think.
Over a decked and insulated assembly, much less than people expect. A bare shop roof is a different thing entirely.
Our published starting points are $12 per square foot installed for standing seam and around $9.50 for exposed fastener. Asphalt is cheaper up front.
Sometimes. It is a real decision with real trade-offs rather than an automatic saving.
Metal, and by a margin — that is the whole basis for paying more. How long depends on the system, the exposure and the install, so it is a question worth asking about your specific roof.
Tell us about the roof and we’ll give you the honest answer.
Including when the honest answer is asphalt.