There is big difference between a house roof and a shed roof. So before talking about pros and cons of metal roofing, you have to consider the differences. Most articles online talk about house roofs. Things are different there. A leak on a house roof can cause lots of damages. A leak is unwanted on a shed roof too, but not so fatal. The aestetics is also very important on houses. Usually it matters on the shed, but again, a shed that's burried between trees in the backyard might be usable even without being super beautiful. Shed roof is also easier to fix because typically you don't need to climb too high and can repair it yourself.
All this leads to the conclusion that shed roof can have slightly lower quality requirements than a house roof. It's usually more important to be affordable and easy to maintain. So shed roofs are not always made of special metal roof tiles. More often it's made of pieces of galvanized steel or even just sheet metal.
Having this in mind we can talk about pros and cons:
Pros of Metal Shed Roofs
- Probably the most important one is durability. Even a tin (terne) roof can outlive you unless it corrodes quickly. And corrosion can be prevented by finishing and painting it.
- Depending on the material you choose, a metal shed roof can be cheap. Of course if you buy special steel roof tiles, they are expensive. But a galvanized steel? This is as affordable as it can get.
- Surprisingly metal roofs weight less than the same roof made of ceramic, concrete or asphalt tiles. Especially (again) if you decide to use the affordable galvanized steel instead of the expensive steel roof tiles.
- Lower roof pitch. Because metal roof tiles has lower leaking potential you can afford using lower roof pitch - this makes installation easier and again cheaper. Use our roof pitch calculator to define your pitch.
- Ease of installation.
- Fire resistance. Do I need to explain?
Of course it's not all roses. Metal shed roofs have their disadvantages and in some cases they can be important:
- While metal roofing can be cheap it can also be bloody expensive. Should you choose high quality metal roof tiles you may end up paying 3 times more compared to shingles or asphalt roofing. I see no reason to buy such roof for a shed but some homeowners do it.
- One of the major disadvantages of metal when used in any kind of construction is the expansion and contraction depending on the outside temperature. You may need to take it into account when attaching the roof to the shed.
- Sheet metal and even galvanized steel is suspect to denting if a stone or large snowball falls on it. Not such a big deal on a shed because you can easily fix it.
- Depending on the type it may require a specialist to install. A simple terne roof or a galvanized steel one might be easy enough for you, if you have worked with metal before. But the metal tiles will need special skills and tools.
When you weight all pros and cons it may turn that a metal roof is excellent solution for a shed. Most alternatives are too heavy and more expensive except probably onduline. And galvanized roofs are even beautiful so why not?
