Drive through almost any neighborhood built in the last decade and you'll start noticing something: the mix of roofing materials has shifted. Metal roofs used to be the exception , the barn, the modern architect-designed house, maybe a beach cottage. Now they show up on plenty of ordinary suburban homes right next to traditional shingle roofs, and homeowners planning a replacement increasingly...

A roofer once put it to a homeowner this way: shingles are the cheaper decision today, steel is the cheaper decision eventually , and both of those things can be true at once. That's the honest starting point for anyone comparing the cost of steel roof versus shingles. Look only at the number on the first invoice and asphalt wins by a wide margin. Look at what each roof costs you across the...