Metal roofing in Knoxville and East Tennessee

When metal is the right roof

Metal earns its price when you plan to stay 20 years or more, when a steep roof needs to shed rain and leaves fast, on a cabin you can't check every week, and on barns and shops. If none of that fits, architectural shingles are usually the better buy, and we'll say so. Both can be priced for the same roof, so you compare two written numbers instead of a guess.

Fix the old metal roof, or replace it?

A leaking screw-down roof often needs screws, not panels. Washers dry out in the sun and screws back out as the metal moves, and a re-screw with fresh fasteners and sealed laps stops most of those leaks. Panels rusted through, split seams, or a roof patched over and over is a replacement. Planning metal over old shingles? Read Metal roof over shingles? first.

Standing seam

Standing seam panels run from the eave to the ridge in one piece, joined by raised seams that lock together. Clips hidden under the seams hold the panels down, so no screw goes through the face of the roof. The panels move with summer heat and winter cold without fighting their fasteners. It costs more than screw-down metal, in material and in labor, and it's the pick for a house or cabin you plan to keep.

Exposed-fastener panels

Ribbed panels screwed straight through the face, with a rubber washer under each screw head. They go on fast and cost less, which suits barns and shops. The trade-off is upkeep: plan on checking and replacing screws over the life of the roof.

Metal that looks like shingles, shake or slate

Metal also comes pressed into pieces that read as shingles, wood shake or slate from the street. The pieces interlock, with the fasteners hidden under the piece above. It suits a street, or an HOA, that wants a traditional roof. It costs more than plain panels, so ask to see a sample before you decide.

Gauge and finish, in plain words

Gauge is the thickness of the steel, and the scale runs backward: a lower number means thicker metal. Thicker panels cost more, dent less in hail and lie flatter. The finish is the paint baked onto the steel at the mill. Better finishes hold their color and resist chalking longer, and the maker's paint warranty says for how long. Your written price names the panel, its gauge and its finish. See the metal brands we install.

What a metal roof job includes

Under the panels goes a synthetic underlayment rated for the heat that builds under metal. Around them goes the trim: drip edge at the eaves, rake trim on the gable ends, a vented ridge cap, and closures that keep wasps and wind-driven rain out of the panel ribs. Pipes get boots made for metal, and walls and chimneys get flashing bent to the panel profile.

What moves the price

• Standing seam or exposed fastener.
• The gauge and the finish.
• Pitch, height and how cut up the roof is. Each valley, dormer and chimney means trim bent to fit.
• Tearing off the old roof, and any soft decking under it.
• Snow guards over doors and walkways, where a steep roof needs them.

How long it takes

Panels are often made to length for your roof, so the start date waits on the order. Once they arrive, most houses take a few days, longer for a steep or cut-up roof. Whatever is open at the end of the day gets covered before the crew leaves.

Cabins, barns and shops

Steep cabin roofs in Sevier County are a natural fit for metal: rain and leaves slide off, and there's less to maintain on a rental you can't check every week. For a rental, the job gets scheduled around your bookings so a roof doesn't cost you a weekend of guests. Barns, shops and outbuildings in Karns and Powell are usually exposed-fastener jobs, priced to the building and how it's used.

Warranty and finished work

The steel carries the maker's warranty, and the paint usually carries its own. Ask for both in writing, along with our workmanship terms, when you get your price. See finished metal roofs from our crews on the projects page.