Asphalt Shingles VS Metal Roofs

Wow! It’s now time to put up a new roof. If it’s for your first home, congratulations you are very close to living in as your new home starts turning into shape. If it´s to replace your expired shingles, finally you can give your home a new look that will make many passerby’s take a quick glance at your now more defined home.

 

The most important part of your home is what is on top. Just like a mother bird uses her wings to cover her babies, what covers us has the most difficult task to keeping what´s inside our home protected. Our roof is constantly the forerunner of environmental attacks and can be the most expense if not maintained well. Unfortunately, we are more concerned about the finishing touches to a home rather than what can damage it, if we don’t give our roof what it truly deserves.

 

Now it’s time to choose what kind of material you want. Asphalt shingles are the most commonly known roof material in the Western World. However, there are other materials like metal that can be just as good or even better than shingles.

 

Let’s take a look at the PROS and CONS of Asphalt Shingles vs. Metal Roofs before you make your decision.

Asphalt Shingles

Which first? The PROS or CONS?
Let’s get rid of the CONS first.

CONS of Asphalt Shingles

A Cookie Cutter Home
Many home builders stick to asphalt shingles because it is the most generic material. It’s like when your spouse always uses that same shirt day after day and doesn’t want to change. It can look very boring and monotonous.

Top Heavy
When a person is top heavy, you can’t beat gravity. Having a lot of weight above your head is not recommended and most shingles are super heavy. There are a few shingles that are lighter in weight but on average they can be up to 500 pounds per square. One square equals 100 square feet. Most of the higher quality shingles are the heaviest.

Early Retirement
Most frequently, shingles don’t last as long as they should. As about 90% of homes in the United States are not insulated correctly, many shingles need repairs or replacements very early in their lifecycle. When shingles are your main defense against nature, moisture is your worst enemy. As many homes have improper ventilation and are not considered as an important home maintenance issue, this type of retirement is a negative one.
Can’t Escape Global Warming
You might have said ¨We’ll never get it here! ¨ Never say never, because our weather man has a hard time predicting the forecast. Now it is common to hear of hail storms, unending rain fall and extreme winds hit us in places it had not before. Asphalt offers decent uplift protection, but when your hit with a pile of snow or ice along with extreme weather, your daily news is your problem.

Maintenance cost than an Investment
A shingle flew or you have a leak, either way you need to fix it. Just like how you fill those driveway cracks every year, it doesn’t increase the value of your home. Putting on new shingles costs way more than filling cracks and doesn’t increase any value to your home investment. But it needs to be done.

Now the PROS of Asphalt Shingles

It’s all about the Money, Money, Money!
You may not actually care about how your roof looks, and asphalt is the least expensive material to replace your shingles or to cover your new home. The cost is about two Starbucks Grande’s of coffee a square foot. Not bad for any home owner.
Easy to find Good Roofers
Since asphalt shingles are very simple to install, you can call your local Professional Roofer down the street and get it done in one day! The fact that it is super easy to install, you will not be paying for extra labor costs.
Innocent until Proven Guilty
No one can deny that asphalt shingles don’t work. For many years it has been used for homes and better yet if installed by a professional you will not be denied the 20 to 30 years warranty that many manufacturers provide. Why change something when it has always worked?
Fewer Headaches on Repairs
In time we cannot avoid repairs but you do avoid spending on more labor costs. Asphalt is very easy to do repairs that you could probably be able to fix a leak on your own to buy more time before you call your professional to fix it. Read the blog on ¨how to fix your own roof leak until you can afford a professional fix.¨
Manufacturer’s want to keep their Rein
As new ideas hit the home industry, many companies need to keep the pace. You have many colors available to choose and styles that can look like wood or other materials.

Metal Roofing

The Negatives

Can empty your savings
It is not attractive for many who have a budget and have other important expenses to cover. Metal is triple the amount than asphalt and can be even more when you use material like zinc, stainless steel and copper.

Adaptability of Metal
With the varying weather conditions, many are biased and say there will be too much expansion and contraction of the material, causing the integrity of the roof to dwindle. Leaving gaps that will easily allow the attacks of nature to penetrate. However, this is only caused when installment is poorly done.

You Need a True Professional
Only the best better work on your metal roof. The process of installing metal takes patience and time as it demands a lot of detail and expertise. This is why the cost of putting up metal is very costly and can even take up to a month to install.

The PROS

A Necessity to an Investment
Changing the material to metal is a total upgrade to your home. Metal is an awesome resistant against all kinds of weather and is known to last about 60 years or even more as in other counties some have lasted over 100 years. To a home buyer, this is a definite positive for them as they don´t have to worry about repairs and can even gain later on if they decide to move again.

Light Weight
Metal is about 40% lighter than asphalt shingles. It is the lightest material offered in the home industry which is super for the structure of your home

Fully Guaranteed
What kind of manufacturer would offer a long warranty? Yes, Metal offers up to 50 years of limited warranties because they know it will last.

A Green Promoter
Asphalt disposes about 11 million tons of unrecyclable material every year, and on the other hand, metal is eco-friendly. This product is recyclable and even more, metal keeps you from spending more energy costs as it is a good reflector of heat and keeps your home cooler during the sunny days.

There you have it! These are some common things to think about before you top off your home with something new!