How to choose a metal roofing contractor

Most metal roofs that fail did not fail because of the metal. They failed because of how they were put on. That is the whole reason choosing the contractor matters more on a metal roof than it does on asphalt: metal is less forgiving, and the person holding the seamer decides whether your roof lasts fifty years or leaks in year five.

I am a metal roofing contractor, so read this knowing where it comes from. But everything below is something I would tell you to check about anyone, including us, and some of it will tell you not to hire us. That is fine. The point is to get the right roof on your house, and the right crew under it.

Start by deciding what you are hiring for

Before you compare contractors, be clear about the job. Metal roofing is not a side trade. A crew that installs asphalt on Monday and metal on Thursday is rarely certified to install either system to the manufacturer's standard, and a standing seam panel formed and seamed wrong is a worse roof than good asphalt.

Here is the tradeoff with a general roofer: breadth costs depth. A company that does everything can handle anything on your house. A company that does one thing has to be good at it, because there is nothing else to fall back on. Neither is wrong — but if you are buying a metal roof specifically, you want the depth.

And if what you actually need is one flashing fixed on a sound roof, you are not hiring a metal roofing installer at all. You want a repair contractor. We do not take standalone repair calls, and a replacement company that talks you into a new roof to fix one detail is telling you something about how they sell.

The things that are not optional

Manufacturer certification for the system being quoted. Ask who certifies the crew — the people on your roof, not the company letterhead — and for which system. Certification is what unlocks a workmanship warranty; a manufacturer will not stand behind an install done by someone they have not trained. Without it you have a warranty on the steel and nothing on the work, and the work is where roofs fail.

Insurance you have seen. General liability and workers' compensation, with the certificate sent to you directly from the carrier if you want to be careful. A crew on your roof without workers' comp is your risk, not theirs. "Self-insured" is not an answer.

Licensing where it applies. Indiana and Ohio do not require roofing licenses in most areas, so a contractor who waves a license at you there may be waving something else. Michigan does license; a contractor working there should be able to give you their number. Check what your own state and city require rather than taking anyone's word, including mine.

A scope in writing that names the system. Not "metal roof." The system, the gauge, the coating, what goes under the panel at the eaves and valleys, how flashing is built, whether the deck is being replaced and at what unit price if rot turns up, ventilation, snow retention, cleanup. The quote guide walks through each of those. A thin scope is the most common way a low bid gets low.

What a good contractor does before they quote

This is where I would pay the most attention, because it is hard to fake.

They get on the roof, or at least on a ladder at the eaves, and they get into the attic. A quote written from the driveway is a guess with a number on it. The attic is where you can see whether the decking has been wet, whether the insulation is blocking the soffit intake, and whether the roof can breathe at all. A contractor who never asks about your attic is quoting a product, not a roof.

They ask how long you plan to stay. If nobody asks, nobody is thinking about whether metal is right for you — only about whether you will sign. I would rather tell someone on the phone that asphalt is the rational choice for a three-year hold than drive out and pretend otherwise.

They tell you what their system cannot do. Every system has a minimum pitch, a maintenance reality, and a situation it is wrong for. An exposed-fastener panel needs a fastener pass around year ten to twelve. A snap-lock seam is fine on steep roofs and a poor idea in standing snow. Stone-coated steel manages water after it gets in, which is why I am cautious recommending it for long-term residential use. If a contractor presents their roof as having no weaknesses, they have either not installed enough of them or are not telling you.

The warning signs

A price that is only good today. Roofing material costs do move, but a number that expires when the salesperson leaves your kitchen is a pressure tactic, not a quote.

Full payment up front. A deposit for material is normal. The whole job before a panel is formed is not.

A "lifetime warranty" with no paper behind it, or one that is material only and does not say so. Ask what it covers, who pays the labor if a panel fails, and whether it transfers to the next owner.

Sealant as the answer to a flashing question. Where a roof meets a wall or a chimney, the detail is formed metal with a counterflashing let into or lapped behind the wall covering. If the answer is "we caulk it," that joint has a service life of a few years and you will be calling someone.

Panels cut with an abrasive saw. The hot filings embed in the finish and rust in place, and the roof looks like it failed when the panel was fine until a grinder got near it. Panels get cut with shears or a nibbler. It is a small thing to ask about and it tells you a lot.

No addresses. Ask for roofs you can drive past — recent ones and ones from five or ten years ago. A metal roof that still looks right after a decade of winters is the only reference that matters.

What reviews can and cannot tell you

Read them, but read them for the right thing. A hundred five-star reviews about a friendly salesperson tell you about the sales process. The ones worth weighing are about what happened on the roof and afterward: did the crew clean up, did the flashing hold, did someone come back when something was wrong, and — the one I find most honest — did the customer think the company was not the cheapest and was worth it anyway. We have plenty of reviews that say exactly that, and I would rather you read those than the ones that only say we were nice.

Who should not hire us

Being told no early saves everyone time.

If you want shingles again, you want a different contractor; we install metal only. If your roof has one bad detail and the rest of the field is sound, you want a repair contractor. If you are selling in the next few years, you probably do not want a metal roof at all, and I will say so. And if you would rather have a crew that is ten minutes away than one that is an hour out, that is a legitimate thing to want — there are good installers closer to you in some of the towns we work in, and the drive does not change the roof either way.

What this cannot tell you

It cannot tell you who is good. It can only tell you what good looks like, so you can recognize it across the table. Ask the questions above of everyone you talk to, including us, and notice who answers in specifics and who answers in adjectives.

Now you have enough to choose with confidence instead of pressure.