Metal roofing carries more folklore than any other building material we sell. Most of it comes from people picturing a bare corrugated barn roof, which is not what goes on a house.
Here are the four we get asked about most, answered honestly, including the one where the myth is partly true.
Myth 1: Metal Roofs Are Loud When It Rains
This is the most common objection and it comes from a real memory. A barn roof is a bare panel over open purlins with nothing underneath it, and yes, that’s loud.
A residential metal roof is a different assembly. There’s solid decking beneath it, underlayment over that, insulation in the attic below, and often a batten layer or a stone-granule surface as well. Every one of those absorbs sound. Measured, a properly installed residential metal roof is comparable to asphalt shingle, and some homeowners find it quieter because the mass of the assembly dampens the higher frequencies.
If you want to hear it for yourself, ask to visit a completed job during rain, or ask for addresses. Any roofer with metal installs in the area can give you some.
Myth 2: Metal Roofs Attract Lightning
They don’t.
Lightning strikes based on height and the path to ground, not on what a surface is made of. A metal roof does not make a strike more likely, and the physics here isn’t controversial.
What metal does change is what happens if your house is struck. Metal is noncombustible and it conducts, which means it spreads the energy across a large surface rather than concentrating it in one spot. On a wood-shake or asphalt roof, a strike is a fire risk. On metal, it’s much less likely to ignite anything.
That’s the same reason insurance carriers sometimes discount metal roofing rather than surcharging it. It’s worth asking your agent about, because the discount is real in some cases and nobody volunteers it.
Myth 3: Hail Will Ruin a Metal Roof
This is the one where the myth is partly true, and where you should be careful who you believe.
Structurally, metal handles hail well. Steel panels are commonly available with Class 4 impact ratings, the highest classification there is, and in a typical Middle Tennessee hailstorm a metal roof will keep doing its job while an aging asphalt roof gets bruised and starts failing early.
But large hail can dent metal panels. That’s cosmetic rather than functional, the roof still sheds water perfectly, and it usually shows on the flat areas rather than the ribs. Softer metals like aluminum dent more readily than steel. Stone-coated systems hide it best, because the granule surface breaks up the reflection that makes a dent visible.
Here’s the part that matters and that most articles skip: cosmetic denting is very often excluded. Many metal roof finish warranties exclude hail damage outright, and a growing number of homeowners policies carry a cosmetic damage exclusion for metal roofs specifically, meaning the carrier will pay for a roof that leaks but not for one that’s merely dented.
So the accurate version is this. Metal is more durable in hail than asphalt and will keep working when asphalt won’t. It is not dent-proof, and you should read your own policy and your finish warranty on cosmetic damage before you assume you’re covered. Anyone telling you hail damage on metal is automatically covered has not read a recent policy.
Myth 4: Metal Roofing Isn’t Worth the Cost
Depends entirely on how long you’re staying, which makes this less a myth than a question people answer too quickly.
A metal roof runs roughly two to three times an asphalt roof on the same house. That number is real and it’s the reason most people stop considering it.
What the number leaves out is the replacement cycle. Asphalt gets replaced every 20 to 30 years. Standing seam metal runs 40 to 70. If you’re in the house for the long haul, you are comparing one roof against two, and the arithmetic tightens considerably. Add the cooling benefit, the possible insurance discount, and the fact that metal often goes on without a tear-off and its disposal cost, and the gap narrows further.
But if you’re selling in five years, none of that accrues to you. Resale value does not fully capture what you spent, and buyers in this market don’t reliably pay a premium for metal the way they do for a renovated kitchen.
So the honest answer: metal is worth it if you’ll be there to use the lifespan, and it usually isn’t if you won’t. That’s not a sales answer, it’s just what the math says.
Get a Straight Comparison
L&L Contractors installs both metal and asphalt, which means we have no reason to talk you into either one. We’ll price both on your actual roof and tell you which makes sense given how long you plan to stay. We work across Murfreesboro, Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Smyrna, Spring Hill and the rest of Middle Tennessee.
Call (615) 577-9103 or book a free roof inspection online.
