# Best alternative to asphalt shingle?



## user182

What would be the best alternative to an asphalt shingle?

What would be best to offer to keep the price close and offer more benifits at the same time?

The only other material I have used is Cedar.


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## Grumpy

Depending how high the price goes on asphalt I may start pushing decra as an alternative to standard asphalt shingles. Cedar is ok but isn't for every house. Decra looks alot of like asphalt shingles. 

I haven't really focused much effort yet but have been keeping alternatives in the back of my mind.


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## user182

*Condensation on metal roof?*



Grumpy said:


> Depending how high the price goes on asphalt I may start pushing decra as an alternative to standard asphalt shingles. Cedar is ok but isn't for every house. Decra looks alot of like asphalt shingles.
> 
> I haven't really focused much effort yet but have been keeping alternatives in the back of my mind.


Will humidity condensate on the bottom of a metal roof?

If so is that a problem?


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## Grumpy

Use a good roof felt like maybe titanium udl or perhaps shark skin or something and let it condensate all it wants. 

A very low cost alternative may be cooley illusions, which is a single ply membrane with a shingle design imprinted on the membrane.


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## Ed the Roofer

IB roofing has the single ply membrane with the shingle patterns on them. I didn't know about Cooley.

Ed


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## serrano

I have been offering the Gerard Stone coated steel shingle instead of the lifetime shingles because it only averages about 15% more than the asphalt lifetime shingle on a basic roof.On more cut up jobs the labor rises quick.

Serrano


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## Grumpy

Ed the Roofer said:


> IB roofing has the single ply membrane with the shingle patterns on them. I didn't know about Cooley.
> 
> Ed


I didn't know about IB having the printed patterns and that's something I might want to look into. LOL yesterday after spending a couple hours doing cut edge sealant on a tpo roof, I said to my production manager that we should switch to IB because they don't require cut edge sealant because their scrim is fiberglass, not polyester. He nodded in agreement and we both got back to work. LOL It'll probably end there too


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## apehangeralfy

Metal panels. Check some of your prices, I can get some panels for less than shingles... labor makes it almost a wash. I offer to upgrade at no extra on easy houses.


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## Ed the Roofer

apehangeralfy said:


> Metal panels. Check some of your prices, I can get some panels for less than shingles... labor makes it almost a wash. I offer to upgrade at no extra on easy houses.


Which metal panel manufacturer do you use?

I used to use MBCI, Pac-Clad, and Berridge for most of any metal roofs that I did.

The nice thing about Berridge, was that you could rent their panel pump out machine and run your own panels right in their warehouse for just a $225.00 per day rental fee. It never took me longer than 2 hours to run whatever I needed. Then you just puy the coil roll for the per square foot cost, which at that time was pretty darned low, like around 72 to 78 cents per square foot.

Ed


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## Grumpy

apehangeralfy said:


> Metal panels. Check some of your prices, I can get some panels for less than shingles... labor makes it almost a wash. I offer to upgrade at no extra on easy houses.


 I can get some metal panels cheaper than shingles too... but not any quality I'd want on my home. Menards has some .019 (not auge, mills, same mill as trim coil) steel panels, the snap rib kind. Looks real cheap to me. It is cheap too. About 1/4 the price if I were to purchase some snap lock standing seam from 24 gauge Kynar.


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## Ed the Roofer

Grumpy said:


> I can get some metal panels cheaper than shingles too... but not any quality I'd want on my home. Menards has some .019 (not auge, mills, same mill as trim coil) steel panels, the snap rib kind. Looks real cheap to me. It is cheap too. About 1/4 the price if I were to purchase some snap lock standing seam from 24 gauge Kynar.


I don't even consider that to be an option.

Ed


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## Grumpy

Nor do I Ed, but that's what we are competing against when it comes to metal panels. Lowest price, lowest quality crap wins.


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## peterjames

Roof shingles are available in a great range of varieties, each offers various benefits. Asphalt shingles are inexpensive, easy to repair and fire-resistant. Wood shingles are natural at looking and also easy to repair installation as well.


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## jimsonburg

Metal is one of the best alternative to asphalt shingle roofs.
Unlike conventional asphalt shingle roofs that tend to last an average of 12 to 17 years, professionally installed metal roof can last well over 50 years! In fact, it is not uncommon for copper and aluminum roofs to last well over 75 years. Metal roofs are considerably more expensive to install than even architectural shingle roofs.


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## Bonanza

jimsonburg said:


> Metal is one of the best alternative to asphalt shingle roofs.
> Unlike conventional asphalt shingle roofs that tend to last an average of 12 to 17 years, professionally installed metal roof can last well over 50 years! In fact, it is not uncommon for copper and aluminum roofs to last well over 75 years. Metal roofs are considerably more expensive to install than even architectural shingle roofs.


Thank you Jimsonburg. I am seriously considering metal roofing for my house and for my projects. I find it very attractive and long lasting. The one I am considering is from www.50roof.com The only consideration I have is that I don't see anywhere this type of roof. Is there a reason I should be aware that people prefer asphalt shingles? I am a designer and I would like to also specify this type of roof in my projects, commercial and residential. Any comments from professionals who are very familiar with pros and cons of metal roofing will be appreciated. Thank you.


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## buildpinnacle

Pros: 

1. Energy efficiency. Metal is a product that remits UV transfer rays in lieu of absorbing them upwards of close to 57%. An installation of a metal roof can decrease utilities by up to 25% in some regions.

2. Class IV impact resistant. This usually equates to a discount on your insurance premiums ranging from 20 to 30% in high risk areas.

3. Longevity

4. Aesthetic.....re-sale.

Some metal products can be installed over existing asphalt in optimum conditions according to the mfg specs. I personally don't like putting anything on top of existing product, but it is an option. Initial outlay may be more but with the potential energy savings and insurance discounts and longevity the extra costs can be easily justified and packaged into a good sales pitch. It is one of the few roofs that can actually pay back some of the extra cost on what you save on the utility and ins premium bill. 

BTW, I'm a fan of the Metalworks shingle acquired by Tamko.


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## Mr Roofer

The best alternative I can think of around here is the Lightweight Concrete tile from Unicrete. It is comparable to the Cedar pricing, yet in terms of lifecycle costing on roofs longterm is one of if not the cheapest. I say that because around here metal roofing typically is outta the ballpark into a differnet timezone, sometimes two or three times the cost of tile. The really nice thing about the Lightweight Tile is it is available for most any re-roof purpose (NO structural upgrade neccesary). This tile is typically about 2-2/12 times the cost of your standard 30 yr laminate. I would be curious to hear of any reasonably priced, decent, metal alternative. Im not talking Decra or Metro, I figure those are just expensive shingles.


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