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Metal Roof vs. Shingles in Ontario: Cost, Life, Snow, Noise, Resale, and the Number of Years That Decides It
Roofing
Metal Roof or Shingles? It Depends on One Number, and It Is Not the Price
A metal roof costs about twice what shingles cost and lasts about twice as long, so on money alone it is close to a wash, and the thing that tips it is how many years you will be under it. Everything else people argue about (noise, snow, hail, looks, resale) is real and secondary. Here is all of it, side by side, with the Ontario prices.
Side by side
| Architectural shingles | Metal (standing seam; metal shingles similar, panels cheaper) | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed, per sq ft | $5.50 to $8.50 | $13 to $22 standing seam; $11 to $18 metal shingles; $8.50 to $13 panels |
| 19-square bungalow, with HST | $13,000 to $18,000 | $32,000 to $39,000 standing seam |
| Real life in Ontario | 22 to 30 years | 50 years plus; the paint fades before the steel fails |
| Weight | 250 to 300 lb per square | 100 to 150 lb per square |
| Snow | Stays on the roof; slides rarely | Slides off in sheets; needs snow guards over doors, walks, decks |
| Ice dams | Form the same way on both; shingles let backed-up water in sooner | Same dam, but the smooth surface sheds snow before it can dam, and seams are watertight higher up |
| Hail | Dents and bruises; Class 4 resists | Dents on thin gauge; 24 gauge shrugs it off |
| Wind | 110 to 130 mph rated | 140 mph plus; nothing to lift |
| Fire | Class A with the right underlayment | Class A; a spark cannot catch |
| Noise in rain | Quiet | Over a vented attic, the same; on a cathedral ceiling, you hear it |
| Heat | Absorbs; vented attic handles it | Reflects; cooler attic by a few degrees with a light colour |
| Repairs | Any roofer, $350 to $900 a patch | Fewer, but need a metal roofer and the panel profile; $500 to $1,500 |
| Walking on it | Fine | Slippery wet; walk the ribs or the clips |
| Resale | Expected | A selling point; buyers do not pay the full difference back |
| Insurance | Standard | Some insurers discount a few percent; ask |
| Solar later | Panels screwed through the shingles | Standing seam takes clamp-on mounts with no holes; ideal |
| Looks | Everyone’s house | Depends on the house; a 1970s side-split in bright red standing seam is a choice |
The number that decides it
Put shingles on today for $16,000 with HST and again in 24 years at 3% inflation for about $32,000, and add $150 a year in small repairs. That is about $63,000 over 40 years. Put standing seam on today for $36,000 and add $60 a year. That is about $40,000 over the same 40 years, before counting that the shingle roof is on its second life at year 40 and the metal roof has 10 or more to go. The lines cross somewhere between year 20 and year 28 depending on the house. So: staying under 15 years, shingles are the cheaper roof and the buyer will not reimburse you for metal. Staying 25 or more, or a cottage going to the next generation, metal is the cheaper roof and nobody is up a ladder at 75. The metal roof calculator runs the forty-year sum on your roof.
Where metal wins outright
- Cottages and rural houses with nobody to clear snow. It sheds itself. Ice dams are rarer because the snow is not there to melt.
- Steep roofs. A 12/12 roof is dangerous to re-shingle every 25 years; metal makes it a once-in-a-lifetime job.
- Anywhere a spark can land: wood-burning chimneys, forest lots, farms.
- Houses that will get solar. Clamp-on mounts on standing seam, no penetrations.
- Low slopes from 2/12 to 4/12. Shingles are marginal below 4/12 and need special installation; mechanically seamed standing seam is rated down to 1/4 in 12.
Where shingles win
- A house you are selling inside 15 years.
- A roof with a lot of planes, dormers and valleys. Metal on a cut-up roof is expensive, slow and full of custom flashings; shingles do not care.
- A tight budget where $20,000 does more somewhere else, like the windows the water is actually coming through.
- A neighbourhood where metal looks out of place, which is a real thing in older subdivisions, and a thing buyers notice.
- Where the only metal roofers are an hour away and every repair is a trip charge.
Metal over existing shingles
One of metal’s selling points is that it can go over one layer of sound shingles on 1×4 strapping, which skips the tear-off and the dumpster and is allowed in most Ontario municipalities. The catch is the word sound: the deck under those shingles has not been seen, the strapping telegraphs through thin panels in low sun, and the shingles underneath stay damp if the old roof was leaking. On a dry roof with one flat layer, it is a reasonable saving of $1 to $2 a square foot. On anything older or wetter, tear off, look at the deck, and put the metal on a solid, dry surface with a synthetic underlayment. A roofer who insists on going over without looking at the attic is saving themselves the tear-off, not you.
The noise, since everyone asks
Rain on a metal roof over a normal attic with insulation on the floor is no louder in the rooms below than rain on shingles; there are 10 feet of air and R-50 between you and it. On a cathedral ceiling, with the roof deck a few inches from the drywall, you will hear it, more on strapping than on a solid deck with underlayment, and some people like it. Hail is louder than rain on either. If the house has cathedral ceilings and you are a light sleeper, solid-deck installation with a thick synthetic underlayment, and know what you are buying.
Questions people ask
Is a metal roof worth it in Ontario?
If you are staying past about 20 years, on cost alone, yes; sooner on a cottage, a steep roof or a house getting solar. If you are selling inside 15, shingles are cheaper and buyers will not pay the difference.
How much more does a metal roof cost than shingles?
About double: $13 to $22 per square foot installed for standing seam against $5.50 to $8.50 for architectural shingles. Exposed-fastener panels narrow the gap to about 50% more.
Do metal roofs leak?
Standing seam with concealed clips, almost never; the leaks on metal roofs are at exposed screws (panels) and at badly made flashings. A metal roofer who fabricates their own flashings on site is the difference.
Does a metal roof increase home value?
It helps a house sell and may add some value, but not the full cost difference. Buyers like it; appraisers price the house, not the roof.
Can you walk on a metal roof?
Yes, carefully, on the flat of the panel near the clips or over rafters, in soft shoes, dry. Wet metal is a fall. Leave it to the roofer.
Count the years, then pick
Fifteen and under, shingles. Twenty-five and up, metal. In between, the cottage, the slope and the snow decide. Both calculators are a minute each.
Sources and further reading
- Vicwest: Canadian metal roofing panels and standing seam; gauge and finish data sheets.
- Ideal Roofing: Ottawa-made metal roofing, panels and shingles, with the coating warranties on the site.
- Keeping the Heat In, Chapter 5: Roofs and attics: Natural Resources Canada. The best free guide to attic insulation, air sealing and ventilation written for Canadian houses.
