Residential Case Study A Metal Roof Can Mean Energy Savings

When a major hail storm tore through their neighborhood in 2007, Gary Rutledge and his wife Barb had some decisions to make.  Their existing asphalt shingle roof was destroyed and the insurance company was ready to replace the roof. Since the 41 year old property had already had two asphalt shingle roofs, the thought of doing the same thing for the third time and expecting different results didn’t make much sense to them.

The Beginning

Gary shares, “I was initially interested in metal roofing because it looks rich.  But once I started learning more about it, the long life expectancy and low maintenance were actually really intriguing benefits to me too.  And then when I learned that I could actually lower my utility bills with metal roofing, it just sealed the deal. I was 53 years old at the time (64 years old now) and it didn’t take me long to realize that a metal roof would be the last roof I’d ever need to buy.  It would literally last me the rest of my life.”

So with the decision made to go with metal, they began to search out reputable contractors to perform the work. 

The Opportunity

One night, while watching TV, Gary saw a commercial for a local company called Cool Roofs that specialized in residential metal roofing.  Ever the researcher, Gary’s wife, Barb, hopped on the internet to see what she could learn about the company and their reputation. Barb shares, “they are the best find I’ve ever had on the internet” and Gary agrees.  “Todd was excellent to work with and I still constantly recommend him and his crews to folks.” 

Gary and Barb decided to go with a ribbed panel with exposed fasteners.  And since their home had white siding and green shutters, they chose a green metal roof to pull it all together.  Gary shares, “I’m just tickled pink with our decision to go with metal roofing. It just looks so rich.”

With their contractor, roof panel and color selected, they were finally ready to put the hail storm behind them.  But their contractor had one more decision for them to make when he asked if they wanted to remove the shingles before the metal was installed.  Todd @ Cool Roofs explained that in many cases, metal roofing can be installed directly over the existing roof. It didn’t take Gary and Barb long to decide that leaving their remaining shingles on the roof was a double win.  Not only could they save the cost of tear off and disposal in the local landfill, but they were also doing something better for the environment.

The Result

Fast forward 10-12 years later and they have only one regret.  Gary shares, “I love our metal roof. It has NO maintenance, it looks great and I’m done worrying about the continual cost and hassle of replacing my shingle roof.  We’ve had some pretty good hail storms since we installed it. I don’t see any dents at all and that’s better than my shingle roofs held up. In fact, I’d absolutely never put shingles on again.  I only wish I had done it a lot sooner.”

In the meantime, Gary has also retired and echoes the sentiments of many other homeowners:  “You know, I just don’t get excited about maintenance anymore. There are too many other things in life I’d rather be doing. Now that I’ve gone to a metal roof, I just have to worry about sealing my deck.  I can handle that. And the $30 we save every month on our utility bills since we went to a metal roof comes in handy too!”

Advice

After owning a metal roof for over a decade, Gary has become such a fan that he’s even started slowly converting his neighbors.  As he talks to them, he’s always surprised to learn that one of their primary concerns is that the roof will be noisy during rain.  He shares, “It’s no louder than a regular roof. As long as you insulate it like a traditional roof, the noise is no different.”

So how is he doing on that neighborhood conversion?  Here’s the latest update, “We’re just about surrounded by metal roofs now.  Of my seven close neighbors, four now have metal roofs and I’m constantly working on the other three.  I’m not there yet, but I’m winning the fight.”