I so wanted metal roof.....but alas, it was too expensive

A portion of ours is tile, another part is tar and gravel - neither of which are my favorite. :)

While it was expensive, the metal roof on our house has been great.Prior to metal, our steeply pitched roof was composite tile and despite the pitch,snow sat on the roof in great quantities and then would avalanche off with a great "THWAPT" Now it sheds snow rapidly with less noise!

Our house has the original 1922 metal shingles on everything but the front porch. We've had to repaint them once in the 7 years we've lived here (silver Rustoleum paint), but they're good and tough. And our roof sounds wonderful when it rains!

My New Hampshire cape had asphalt shingles & was susceptible to ice-damming. After a terrible winter where the ice dams caused leaks in the house, I decided to replace the roof with standing seam metal & it was brilliant -- no more ice dams and expensive repairs (although I had to protect the bushes planted at the foundation from falling ice and snow). I moved to Michigan and am purchasing my grandparents' home from the estate & am remodeling. The pitched part will be standing seam metal in silver and the flat parts will be a membrane system.

Steel shingles in hurricane country - 50 year warranty; 150 mph wind warranty. Look great and most people cannot tell what they are when viewed.

Finally installed a metal roof and love it. 50-100 year life span - looks like shingle but constructed of aluminum. Only drawback - cell phone signal can cut in and out sometimes.

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Nothing says cottage like real cedar shingles.

I noticed a lot of comments that metal roofs are out of budget range due to high expense. In my area (S. GA), I found that a metal roof cost about $500 more than shingle -- and lasts twice as long. And it would take a direct hit by a tornado to damage it. When you're spending $6500, a $500 leeway is negligible, given the longevity.

Steel shingles or tiles in our area of Florida run about double the price of a standard asbestos shingle roof but the cost is offset by lower insurance rates and a significantly longer life span and warranty. Steel shingles are not the same as the metal roofs as seen on many beach homes as they look like normal shingles or tiles and so are acceptable in gated developments with roof finish covenants. The contractor and manufacturer will tell you that the roof must be torn off the frame of the house before a shingle will come off they are that tight. And they do sound wonderful in the rain when the house has been foam insulated. Correct installation is critical as with any roof product.

Regular shingles on the house, but we put the rubber shingles that look like Slate on our barn...and it looks fantastic. Rated for something like 50 years or more, and easy to work with, and a lot lighter than actual Slate, and not as slippery. But looks just like Slate. A bit expensive though.

On the beach here in Northeast Florida. Standing seam stainless steel roofing would be needed in this harsh coastal environment. Cost on our roof maybe 150% - 200% more than our asphalt architectual roof shingles. 50 year warranty, 135 mph warranty. Easy decision here.

Other: My house has a flat concrete roof with a parapet facade, which is very common here in coastal Mexico.

We added onto my in-laws' house, which was a modular home with a red tile roof. I love the sound of the rain on the roof and the red is quite cheery!

Flat roof (city townhouse) with silver paint. Now featuring some solar panels too!

Metal - the only choice [except if the house style dictates wood shingles or tile].
Do not understand why some say metal is more expensive. Certainly it isn't when one considers how long it will outlast [petroleum! yuck] shingles.

We have an EPDM roof. It is a rubber roof which works great for low pitched roofs.

Something to consider- Metal roofs are very practical in the arctic climate and wilderness I live in. Unfortunately some are installed without powder coating. With others the anti-glare finish almost always wears off. What one is left with is a mirror (when the sun angle is right). What is more ruinous to the wilderness ambiance than a huge mirror-like reflection shining through the trees. There are metal roofs that appear to be shake shingled. I haven't priced them but I expect they are very, very expensive. Please, please for nature's sake (and your neighbors) use something that is guaranteed for life not to turn into a mirror.

Metal roofs make attaching solar arrays very easy. They also are 100% recyclable and fire proof.

Just as an additonal comment; my roof has been installed since 2006, no leaks, no fading, no problems of any sort. I have a little over 3600/sf roofed with gables, chimneys, skylights etc so it'a a fairly complicated roof. As with any roofing material, you get what you pay for and metal or steel shingles are not exception. They are stoned or pebbled exactly like regular shingles so perhaps that is why they do not fade; and they do have a color/fade warranty. I don't think all steel shingled or metal roofs are necessarily equal in quality and endurance. I would still recommend these in harsh or difficult climates.

We live in the urban/forest interface in southern Colorado. Having had two horrendous forest fires in the last few years we were constantly reminded of why the only choice for us, even that somewhat costly, was a metal roof. We also put stucco over the wood sided exterior at the same time. We sleep a little easier when the conditions get vey dry and windy - though we know there are no guarantees.

thick shake shingles

I had jumped on the metal-roof bandwagon a few years ago... then we had a hail storm that absolutely ruined it (I had several leaks as a result). I changed back to a black 50 yr. architectural composites after that. My 1 1/2 story Williamsburg looks much better now.

When we bought our home in San Diego county 40 years ago the wood shingles were an upgrade, I loved the look. Looking back now, it wasn't the smartest roof for a hillside canyon house in fire country. When I replaced it 7 years ago, I still loved the look on our single story beach ranch style. I replaced The roof with lightweight concrete tile that look baAalike the original shakes except, fireproof and with a 50 year warrante. It was 30% more costly than a good comp roof with a lot more class. It will also increase the resale value of the same house with composition roof.

We have a colonial from 1782. The original roof was cedar. It was changed to slate in the 1950s.

We live in the midwest and just had some biggie hail. Calling the agent today to have an inspector out. I have great inspector stories for another time, but... I have composite now, but a contemporary home. I am just DYING for a metal roof, no matter what, and not the shingles either...the ridges w/ our varied angles of steep roofline will be perfect...thinking of a bronze color.

I have 1" thick cedar shakes. Great insulator since the R-Value is 5 times better than asphalt and 50 times better than metal.

We have thick, very traditional roof tiles
on our present home – the only thing I like about them is they are glazed black
instead of the usual traditional red. My favourite roofing material is slate
shingles. They are so sleek and elegant and they adapt to the shape of the roof
so beautifully. An added plus is they last nearly forever. I would love to have
slate.

I have roof made from clay roofing tiles.

When my old asbestos shingled roof started to leak, I replaced it with a cold roof system, metal clad roof. No more leaks, no ice damming, no icicles, and snow slides right off.

I really love the look of metal roofs, especially copper. Right now we have old asphalt shingles, but they will need to be replaced soon. I'm saving up so I can get the metal roof installed that I have always wanted! http://www.us-roofing.com

I absolutely hate composite. It just looks cheap. Whether a home owner can afford to put another material on or not, it looks/ feels like it devalues a house.....