Metal Roof Cost 2026: $13,000–$30,000, 2,000 Sq Ft House

A metal roof on a 2,000 sq ft US house — galvalume steel, about 15 to 25 squares, one layer torn off, ordinary high-temperature underlayment, and ordinary flashing — often clusters around $13,000–$30,000. That is the typical metal roof cost for that house. The metal roof cost for a 2,000 sq ft house of that scope is the size row below. Standing seam metal roof cost, once the squares are known, is typically $1,100–$1,800 a square. Metal roof cost per square for exposed-fastener panels is typically $700–$1,100. The wider national spread, about $8,000–$80,000, covers a small exposed-fastener roof at the low end and a large standing-seam roof, or copper on a full house, at the high end. An asphalt roof is the shingle job. Gutters are the eave. Attic insulation is the ceiling under the roof. These are typical planning ranges, not a survey and not a quote.

This page is a metal roof on an existing single-family house. A bid may call it standing seam, exposed-fastener, corrugated, R-panel, metal shingles, or stone-coated steel. Shingles are the roof replacement guide. New gutters are their own bid. Blown insulation on the attic floor is the attic guide. A barn on open purlins, a commercial low-slope roof, and a copper accent on a bay are different products.

A square is 100 square feet of roof, not of living area. The roof replacement guide uses the same square counts: a compact two-story of a given floor area is the low half, and a one-story is the high half. Pitch, overhangs, dormers, and a cut-up hip add squares on either house. Two thousand square feet of floor at $7–$14 a square foot of roof is $14,000–$28,000. That product can land inside the typical band and still be the wrong measurement. $7–$14 a square foot of roof is $700–$1,400 a square, which sits inside the panel table. Use the size row for the house, then the panel rate for the system.

The panel price in a catalog is not the job. The bid is the tear-off, the underlayment that can take the heat of the metal, the panels, the trim, and the flashing at every hole. Price the roof you can measure.

The rows below are ways to read one job. They are not added together. The size table is galvalume steel with one layer torn off, ordinary underlayment, and ordinary trim and flashing. The low end of each squares range is a compact two-story. The high end is a one-story of the same floor area. The installed column is a straightforward roof of that size: exposed-fastener or metal shingles toward the floor, standing seam toward the top. The panel table is that same kind of installed roof, by profile, on galvalume. The metal table is a standing-seam profile in a different metal, and it replaces the standing-seam row. Use an add-on row only when the bid left that line out. A tear-off the bid already includes is not a second tear-off. Flashing inside a panel price is not a second flashing bill.

Floor area	Typical roofing squares	Typical installed cost
1,200 sq ft	12–22	$11,000–$28,000
1,500 sq ft	14–26	$12,500–$36,000
2,000 sq ft	15–32	$13,000–$45,000
2,500 sq ft	18–38	$16,000–$54,000
3,000 sq ft	22–42	$20,000–$63,000

Panel	Typical installed cost per square
Exposed-fastener / corrugated	$700–$1,100
Metal shingles	$900–$1,400
Standing seam	$1,100–$1,800
Stone-coated steel	$1,000–$1,700

Metal	Typical installed cost per square
Galvalume steel	$1,100–$1,800
Aluminum	$1,400–$2,200
Copper or zinc	$2,500–$4,500

Add-on	Typical planning range
Tear-off, one layer, when the bid leaves it out	$1,500–$5,000
Underlayment, when the bid leaves it out	$700–$2,500
Decking repair	$75–$160 per sheet
Trim and flashing, when the bid leaves it out	$400–$2,500
Snow guards	$600–$3,000
Permit, when the bid leaves it out	$150–$600

The roof replacement guide lists a common metal cluster at $900–$1,600 a square. That shorthand sits inside these panel rates. Exposed-fastener can sit under it. Standing seam on a cut-up roof, aluminum, and copper can sit above it. The two tables there and the tables here are ways to read a roof. Multiplying a panel rate on top of a size row double-counts the job.

A 1,200 sq ft house is typically $11,000–$28,000. The squares are often 12–22. Twelve times $917 is $11,004, the floor. Twelve times $900 is $10,800, just under the floor. Twelve times $700 is $8,400, under the row, because a real small-roof crew does not shrink to the large-roof exposed rate. That $8,400 sits inside the wider spread. Twelve times $1,100 is $13,200, inside the row and just inside the typical band. The typical band is a 2,000 sq ft house. A 1,200 sq ft house can land on the same dollars and still be the smaller roof. Twenty squares at $1,400 is $28,000, the top of the row. Twenty-two squares at $1,800 is $39,600, which has left the row and stays inside the wider spread. Do not add the panel rate on top of this row.

A 1,500 sq ft house is typically $12,500–$36,000. The squares are often 14–26. Fourteen times $893 is $12,502, the floor. Fourteen times $900 is $12,600, just over the floor. Fourteen times $700 is $9,800, under the row and inside the wider spread. Twenty squares at $1,800 is $36,000, the top, and that is standing seam at the top of its rate. Twenty-six squares at $1,800 is $46,800, which has left the row. From $12,500–$13,000 the job sits under the typical band. From $13,000–$30,000 the dollars overlap the typical band, and the house is still 1,500 sq ft. From $30,000–$36,000 the job has left the typical band and stays inside the wider spread. Do not add the 1,200 row to this one.

A 2,000 sq ft house is typically $13,000–$45,000 on the size row, and the typical band of $13,000–$30,000 is the straightforward half of that row. The squares are often 15–32. A compact two-story is the low half, often about 15–22 squares. A one-story is the high half, often about 22–32 squares. Fifteen times $867 is $13,005, the floor of the row and the floor of the typical band. Fifteen times $700 is $10,500, under both, inside the wider spread, and that is a low exposed-fastener price on a small two-story. Fifteen times $900 is $13,500, inside the typical band. Fifteen times $1,100 is $16,500, the floor of standing seam, inside the typical band. Twenty-five times $1,200 is $30,000, the typical top. Twenty-five times $1,800 is $45,000, the top of the size row and the top of standing seam. Thirty-two times $1,100 is $35,200, which has left the typical band and stays inside the size row. Thirty-two times $1,800 is $57,600, which has left the size row and stays inside the wider spread. The overlap of the size row with the typical band is $13,000–$30,000. From $30,000–$45,000 the house is still 2,000 sq ft and the job has left the typical band. Pitch, overhangs, and dormers add squares on either house. Do not add a panel rate on top of this row.

A 2,500 sq ft house is typically $16,000–$54,000. The squares are often 18–38. Eighteen times $889 is $16,002, the floor. Eighteen times $900 is $16,200, just over the floor. Eighteen times $1,100 is $19,800, inside the row. Thirty squares at $1,000 is $30,000, the typical top, inside the row. Thirty squares at $1,800 is $54,000, the top of the row. Thirty-eight squares at $1,800 is $68,400, which has left the row and stays inside the wider spread. The overlap with the typical band is $16,000–$30,000. From $30,000–$54,000 the job has left the typical band. Nothing in this row is a 2,000 sq ft roof someone stretched. Do not add the 2,000 row to this one.

A 3,000 sq ft house is typically $20,000–$63,000. The squares are often 22–42. Twenty-two times $909 is $19,998, the floor. Twenty-two times $900 is $19,800, just under the floor. Twenty-two times $1,100 is $24,200, inside the row. Thirty-five squares at $1,800 is $63,000, the top. Forty-two squares at $1,200 is $50,400, inside the row. Forty-two squares at $1,800 is $75,600, which has left the row and stays under the $80,000 top of the wider spread. The overlap with the typical band is $20,000–$30,000. From $30,000–$63,000 the job has left the typical band. A steep or cut-up roof at the high square count can clear the row without being a different metal. Do not add the 2,500 row to this one.

Exposed-fastener, including corrugated and ribbed panels, is typically $700–$1,100 a square. The screws are in the face of the panel. That rate is the whole installed roof in galvalume: one layer torn off, ordinary underlayment, and ordinary flashing. It is the first panel row, and it is how a size-row floor gets built. On 15 squares, 15 times $700 is $10,500, under the typical band, and 15 times $1,100 is $16,500, inside it. On 20 squares, 20 times $700 is $14,000, and 20 times $1,100 is $22,000. Both ends sit inside the typical band. On 25 squares, 25 times $700 is $17,500, and 25 times $1,100 is $27,500. That product sits inside the typical band. On 32 squares, 32 times $700 is $22,400, and 32 times $1,100 is $35,200. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left it and stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. A 12-square roof at $700 is $8,400, under the 1,200 size floor, because the crew and the tear-off do not shrink to a barn price. The screws and the washers are the maintenance on this roof. Do not add the standing seam row on top of it.

Metal shingles are typically $900–$1,400 a square. They are formed shingles, usually galvalume, that read as shingles from the curb. That is the whole shingle system, not exposed-fastener panels plus a second profile. On 15 squares, 15 times $900 is $13,500, and 15 times $1,400 is $21,000. That product sits inside the typical band. On 20 squares, 20 times $900 is $18,000, and 20 times $1,400 is $28,000. On 25 squares, 25 times $900 is $22,500, and 25 times $1,400 is $35,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left it by $5,000 and stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. On 32 squares, 32 times $900 is $28,800, and 32 times $1,400 is $44,800. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left the typical band and stays just under the $45,000 top of the 2,000 sq ft size row. A metal-shingle bid and an exposed-fastener bid can land on the same dollars when the yards differ. Ask which profile the bid is.

Standing seam is typically $1,100–$1,800 a square. Standing seam metal roof cost is that whole system. The fasteners are hidden in the seam or on clips. The rate includes one layer of tear-off, ordinary underlayment, and ordinary flashing. It does not include the exposed-fastener row under it, and it does not include snow guards. On 15 squares, 15 times $1,100 is $16,500, and 15 times $1,800 is $27,000. That product sits inside the typical band. On 20 squares, 20 times $1,100 is $22,000, and 20 times $1,800 is $36,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left it and stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. On 25 squares, 25 times $1,100 is $27,500, and 25 times $1,800 is $45,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top is the top of the 2,000 sq ft size row. On 32 squares, 32 times $1,100 is $35,200, and 32 times $1,800 is $57,600. The whole product has left the typical band. The floor stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. The top has left that row. The $1,100 rate is how a straightforward house roof starts. It is not a price for a 12-square roof. Twelve times $1,100 is $13,200, and a real small standing seam roof often sits higher per square because the crew does not shrink.

Stone-coated steel is typically $1,000–$1,700 a square. The panel carries a granular coat and usually reads as shake or tile. It is its own system. It is not metal shingles plus a bag of granules, and it is not standing seam. On 15 squares, 15 times $1,000 is $15,000, and 15 times $1,700 is $25,500. That product sits inside the typical band. On 20 squares, 20 times $1,000 is $20,000, and 20 times $1,700 is $34,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left it. On 25 squares, 25 times $1,000 is $25,000, and 25 times $1,700 is $42,500. On 32 squares, 32 times $1,000 is $32,000, and 32 times $1,700 is $54,400. The stone-coated floor is $100 under the standing seam floor. The stone-coated top is $100 under the standing seam top. On the same squares, the two rates overlap. Ask which profile the bid is. A stone-coated roof and a standing seam roof can land on the same dollars when the yards differ.

Galvalume steel, on a standing-seam profile, is typically $1,100–$1,800 a square. That row is the standing seam row. Galvalume is the coated steel most house bids mean when they say metal. Do not add it on top of the standing seam rate, and do not add it under an aluminum price. Exposed-fastener galvalume is the $700–$1,100 row, not this one. The metal table is the standing-seam reading so the metals can be compared with each other.

Aluminum, on a standing-seam profile, is typically $1,400–$2,200 a square. It replaces galvalume. It is the metal people price in salt air, where steel coatings are the thing that fails. On 15 squares, 15 times $1,400 is $21,000, and 15 times $2,200 is $33,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left it. On 20 squares, 20 times $1,400 is $28,000, and 20 times $2,200 is $44,000. The floor sits inside the typical band. The top has left the typical band and stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. On 25 squares, 25 times $1,400 is $35,000, and 25 times $2,200 is $55,000. Both ends have left the typical band. The floor stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. The top has left it. On 32 squares, 32 times $2,200 is $70,400, inside the wider spread. Do not add the galvalume row under an aluminum bid.

Copper or zinc, on a standing-seam profile, is typically $2,500–$4,500 a square. That is the premium metal, and it replaces galvalume and aluminum. On 15 squares, 15 times $2,500 is $37,500, and 15 times $4,500 is $67,500. The floor has left the typical band and stays inside the 2,000 sq ft size row. The top has left the size row and stays inside the wider spread. On 20 squares, 20 times $2,500 is $50,000, and 20 times $4,000 is $80,000, the top of the wider spread. Twenty times $4,500 is $90,000, which has cleared it. A compact copper or zinc roof can sit inside the wider spread. A full house at the top of the rate clears $80,000. A small copper bay or a chimney cap is not this row. Do not add a galvalume size row under a copper price.

Tear-off of one layer, when the bid leaves it out, is typically $1,500–$5,000. The size rows and the panel rates include tear-off and haul-away of one layer of asphalt. Add this row when the price is panels only, or when you are comparing an overlay with a tear-off. On 15 squares, 15 times $100 is $1,500, the floor. On 25 squares, 25 times $200 is $5,000, the top. On 32 squares, 32 times $200 is $6,400, which has left the row. A second layer already on the roof is more weight and more dump fees, and it can leave the row. A tear-off the hired price already includes is not a second tear-off. Adding this row on top of a size row double-counts the haul-away.

Underlayment, when the bid leaves it out, is typically $700–$2,500. The size rows include a high-temperature underlayment. Metal gets hotter than shingles, and the sheet under it has to be rated for that. Add this row when the bid is panels on a deck that already has no underlayment in the price. On about 14 squares, 14 times $50 is $700, the floor. On 25 squares, 25 times $100 is $2,500, the top. A full ice-and-water membrane on every square, rather than at the eaves and valleys, can leave the top. An underlayment the bid already names is not a second sheet. The roof replacement guide treats ice-and-water at the eaves as part of a normal shingle bid. The same habit belongs in a metal bid, with a product that can take the heat.

Decking repair is typically $75–$160 a sheet. That is the same per-sheet price as the roof replacement guide: a 4×8 sheet of plywood or OSB, material and labor, once the roof is open. The size rows assume a sound deck. A few sheets are an allowance. Ten sheets are $750–$1,600. A whole slope of rotten deck is a different number and can leave the typical band, and on a large roof it can leave the wider spread. The per-sheet price belongs on the proposal before tear-off. A bid that says “decking as needed” with no price is a blank check. Do not add a lump sum on top of a bid that already priced the sheets.

Trim and flashing, when the bid leaves it out, is typically $400–$2,500. The size rows include drip edge, pipe boots, and ordinary wall flashing. Add this row when a chimney, a skylight, or a long sidewall was left out of the panel price. The floor is a short extra run. The top is a chimney and a skylight on the same roof, or a long wall. A chimney rebuild is not this row. New gutters are not this row. A bid that already says the flashing is included does not get this row on top.

Snow guards are typically $600–$3,000. The size rows stop at the panels. Smooth metal sheds snow in a sheet, and the eaves over a door, a walk, and a driveway are where that sheet lands. Forty feet at $15 is $600, the floor. One hundred feet at $30 is $3,000, the top. A rail on every eave of a cut-up roof can leave the row. Guards that clip to a standing seam do not put a screw through the panel. Guards that screw through an exposed-fastener panel are a different detail, and they belong in the same bid as the screws. Snow guards are not a substitute for gutters. The gutter still carries the rain. Add the row when the bid left the guards out.

A permit, when the bid leaves it out, is typically $150–$600. Where the city requires a permit, an ordinary fee usually sits inside the bid. Ask anyway. Add this row when the proposal says the permit is extra. A high-fee city can leave $600. The permit is not the inspection that finds soft decking, and it is not a warranty.

Metal roof vs shingles

Metal roof vs shingles cost is two products on the same squares. The roof replacement guide prices architectural asphalt at $450–$700 a square, and a straightforward tear-off of about 15 to 25 squares at $8,500–$15,000. This page prices galvalume metal on a 2,000 sq ft house at $13,000–$30,000 for the typical scope, and standing seam at $1,100–$1,800 a square.

Take 20 squares, a roof that sits in both bands. Twenty times $450 is $9,000. Twenty times $700 is $14,000. That is architectural asphalt, inside the shingle typical band. Twenty times $700 is also $14,000 at the floor of exposed-fastener, and twenty times $1,100 is $22,000 at the top of that rate. Twenty times $1,100 is $22,000 at the floor of standing seam, and twenty times $1,800 is $36,000. The exposed-fastener floor and the asphalt top can be the same $14,000. Ask which product the bid is. A low metal number and a high shingle number are not the same roof.

Lifespan is the other half of the comparison, and it is a planning life, not a warranty. The roof replacement guide plans architectural asphalt around 20 to 30 years. Standing seam and stone-coated steel are often planned around 40 to 70 years. Exposed-fastener is often planned for a shorter span than standing seam, because the screws and washers are the pieces that age first. Copper and zinc are the long-life metals, often planned past 60 years. The coating, the underlayment, and the deck decide whether any of those calendars mean anything. A metal roof on a soft deck does not get the long plan.

Set today’s ranges next to each other and stop there. One asphalt roof at the typical band is $8,500–$15,000. Two, at today’s prices, are $17,000–$30,000, before a third, and the second roof is decades away. One metal roof at $13,000–$30,000 can cover a similar run of years for someone who stays. That is not a forecast of future prices, and it is not a promise that the second asphalt roof will cost what the first one costs. The metal check is the larger one up front on most of the range. The overlap is the exposed-fastener floor against the asphalt top.

Choose the asphalt band when the shingles are the project, the stay is short, or the bids at the same squares are far apart and the metal premium is not a roof you will still own. Choose the metal band when the deck is sound, the stay is long enough that a second asphalt roof is the real alternative, and the bid names the panel. A stone-coated roof and a standing seam roof can cost similar money and still be different roofs. The profile has to be named before two metal bids are the same job.

Noise, insurance, and energy

Rain on a metal roof is the barn people remember: panels on open purlins, with no deck and no ceiling. A house roof is panels on a solid deck, with underlayment under the metal. That assembly is generally in the same conversation as asphalt for rain noise inside the rooms. Insulation on the attic floor is another layer between the roof and the ceiling. Price that on the attic insulation guide. This page does not quote a decibel level. A vaulted ceiling with no attic, and a roof with no deck, are the assemblies where the rain is louder. Say which assembly the bid is.

Insurance is a contract. Some carriers credit a roof that carries an impact-resistance rating, and some credit metal for fire or wind. The credit is whatever that policy says. It is not a line in the $13,000–$30,000 band, and this page does not turn it into a percent of the premium. A covered storm may pay to repair or replace the roof you have. Age and a leak from failed flashing are usually maintenance, the same distinction as on the roof replacement guide. An upgrade from asphalt to metal, when the claim pays for shingles, is the difference you pay. Read the form. These planning ranges are not an insurance estimate.

Energy is the color, the coating, and the attic, in general terms. A light or reflective metal roof can shed more sun than a dark shingle roof. What that does to a cooling bill depends on the climate, the color, the ventilation at the ridge and the eaves, and how much insulation is on the attic floor. A dark metal roof in a mild climate can be a small change. A reflective roof over a bare attic is still a bare attic. Price the insulation on the attic guide. This page does not turn the roof color into a percent of the power bill.

Installing over shingles

The $13,000–$30,000 band is a tear-off. The crew strips one layer, hauls it away, and sees the deck before the new underlayment goes down. That haul-away is the tear-off row, typically $1,500–$5,000, when a bid left it out.

Some cities allow metal over one existing layer of asphalt, when that layer is still sound and the deck is solid. Skipping the tear-off is the tear-off row you do not pay. On a straightforward roof that is often about $1,500–$5,000 under the tear-off price for the same panels. You also skip the chance to see soft decking. Flashing at chimneys and walls still has to be rebuilt, or the new layer leaks where the old one leaked. The underlayment still has to be a product that can take the heat of the metal. Ordinary felt that was fine under shingles can be the wrong sheet.

Standing seam wants a reasonably flat deck. An overlay on cupped, curled shingles can show through the panels. Exposed-fastener panels hide less of a rough surface than people hope, and the screws still have to land in the deck, not in a void. A roof that already has two layers is a tear-off. A roof that is leaking into the attic is a tear-off. Soft decking, from the attic or from underfoot, is a tear-off. Choose the overlay only when someone has confirmed a single sound layer, a solid deck, and a code that still permits metal over asphalt. The panel rates on this page assume the tear-off. An overlay is those rates without the haul-away only when the bid says so.

What the range includes

The typical band assumes galvalume steel on a house of about 15 to 25 squares, tear-off and haul-away of a single layer, high-temperature underlayment, drip edge, pipe boots, ordinary flashing at walls and penetrations, and a crew that can stage from the driveway. Exposed-fastener and metal shingles sit toward $13,000. A straightforward standing seam roof sits toward $30,000 and leaves it when the rate or the squares go up. Where the city requires a permit, an ordinary permit fee usually sits inside the bid. Ice-and-water shield along the eaves and in the valleys, in climates where that is the normal practice, usually sits inside a normal bid rather than as a surprise line.

A compact, walkable gable in a lower-cost area sits toward the lower half. A two-story hip with several valleys, or a roof that already has a second layer, sits at the top of the band and leaves it when the deck is soft across a slope.

The floor of the wider spread, near $8,000, is a small, simple exposed-fastener roof in a lower-cost market, a little under the 1,200 sq ft size floor. Twelve squares at $700 is $8,400. The $8,000 floor is that kind of roof when the squares or the market sit a little under the row. It is not a standing seam roof someone discounted. The top, $80,000, is a large standing-seam galvalume roof with some decking, or about 20 squares of copper at $4,000 a square. Twenty times $4,000 is $80,000. Forty-two squares at $1,800 is $75,600, inside that top. Twenty squares of copper at $4,500 is $90,000, which clears it. A full copper or zinc house at the high rate clears the top. A chimney rebuild, new sheathing on every slope, and a gutter replacement as its own project can clear it too.

How long the work takes depends on the squares, the tear-off, and the weather, and the bid’s schedule is the one that counts. A straightforward house the crew can stage from the driveway is often a few days to strip and panel, longer when the roof is cut up, the deck is soft, or the panels are formed on site. Standing seam is the slower profile. These are typical planning spans, not a warranty.

None of the bands include new sheathing across the whole roof, a chimney rebuild, a skylight replacement, new gutters as their own project, snow guards, or new attic insulation. Those show up beside a metal roof more often than the panel price suggests. New windows are a different project. If the same season includes them, price the openings on the window replacement guide. Step flashing where a roof meets a wall is part of the roof. The window unit is not.

Warranties are part of the contract, and this page is not a reading of one company’s form. A metal warranty commonly splits the finish, the metal, and the workmanship, and the term on labor is often shorter than any term on the panel. A leak at a screw someone later drove through a standing seam, an overlay on a wet deck, and a dent you accept as appearance are the kind of thing those forms commonly leave out. Read the form. The warranty is not a dollar line in the planning range.

Homeowners insurance and a home warranty are contracts too. A standard homeowners policy is built around sudden and accidental damage. A roof you chose, a finish that chalked, and a fastener that aged out are the kind of loss those policies commonly treat as maintenance. A home warranty may name a roof and still exclude age or any amount over a low dollar limit. Read the form before you treat either one as the budget. Neither one is inside the planning range.

As a cross-check, not a bid: 20 squares of exposed-fastener at $700–$1,100 is $14,000–$22,000, inside the typical band. Twenty squares of standing seam at $1,100–$1,800 is $22,000–$36,000. The part through $30,000 sits in the typical band. The rest has left it. Twenty-five squares at $1,200 is $30,000, the typical top. Thirty-two squares at $1,800 is $57,600, inside the wider spread and above the 2,000 sq ft size row. If a bid and that reading are far apart, the bid is an overlay, a second layer, aluminum, copper, a steep roof, or a deck the reading left out.

What moves the price

Driver	How it changes the bid
Size	Roofers price squares. A 2,000 sq ft two-story house is often 15 to 22 squares and is the typical band. The same floor area on one story is often 22 to 32, and that roof often leaves $30,000. The dumpster and the permit do not fall in a straight line with the squares.
Panel	Exposed-fastener is $700–$1,100 a square. Metal shingles are $900–$1,400. Standing seam is $1,100–$1,800. Stone-coated steel is $1,000–$1,700. Those rates include one layer of tear-off. They are substitutes, not a stack.
Metal	Galvalume standing seam is the $1,100–$1,800 row. Aluminum is $1,400–$2,200. Copper or zinc is $2,500–$4,500. A different metal replaces galvalume. It is not added on top.
Tear-off	One layer is inside the size rows. Left out, that layer is $1,500–$5,000. An overlay, where it is still allowed, skips that row and leaves the deck hidden. A second layer already on the roof costs more to dump.
Deck and flashing	Soft plywood is $75–$160 a sheet once the roof is open. Ordinary flashing is in the panel rate. Left out, extra trim and flashing is $400–$2,500. A chimney rebuild is a different number.
Pitch and height	A walkable slope is the planning roof. Steeper pitches and a second or third story slow the crew and add fall protection. The bid moves toward the top of the row and can leave it.
Snow, underlayment, permit	Snow guards are $600–$3,000. Underlayment left out of the price is $700–$2,500. A permit left out is $150–$600. Each of those is a line only when the bid omitted it.
Region and access	Labor and disposal vary widely. A high-cost metro can clear the top of the typical band on an otherwise simple roof. A backyard the truck cannot reach is labor, too.

The footprint is the first cut, and it is not a rate times the living area. Measure the roof. A 2,000 sq ft two-story has a little over half the squares of a rambling one-story, and it is not half the price, because the dumpster, the permit, and the flashing at the chimney do not shrink in half.

The panel is the second cut, and it is a substitute, not a stack. Exposed-fastener, metal shingles, standing seam, and stone-coated steel are four ways to price one surface. The metal is the third cut, and it replaces the panel’s metal. Adding standing seam, then aluminum, then a tear-off the bid already named, is how a 20-square roof becomes a number nobody can compare.

A thicker gauge and a long-life finish sit toward the top of the panel rate. A standard color is the rate. The same 20 squares in a lower-cost area and in a high-labor city can sit at opposite ends of the standing seam rate without either bid being wrong. Ask how the old roof leaves the property, and ask what the underlayment is.

If the attic is already hot, say so. Intake at the eaves and exhaust at the ridge are the ordinary plan. Depth of insulation on the attic floor is a separate bid. Price it on the attic insulation guide. New gutters are the project that shows up the same week, because the drip edge and the gutter are detailed together, and because metal sheds snow onto the eave. Price the gutters on their own page.

DIY or hire

Hire for a house. A roof is a fall hazard, the disposal is a real line, and standing seam is a seamer, clips, and panels that have to land in order. Many panel warranties expect a credentialed installer. Underlayment, flashing, and the screws or the seams are the parts a weekend crew is most likely to rush, and they are the parts that decide whether the roof lasts.

Exposed-fastener panels on a low, simple outbuilding — a shed or a detached garage you can work without a steep pitch — can be a careful DIY if you have done the height before and you will stay off a roof that feels wrong. That is the $700–$1,100 material conversation, and the dumpster and the underlayment are still real. A house, a two-story eave, a valley, and any standing seam are a hire. A tear-off on a house is a hire. The deck you cannot see from the yard is a hire.

Do not walk a roof to save a service call if you are not equipped for the height. A ceiling stain can be diagnosed from the attic, with a flashlight, before anyone climbs. Soft decking shows up as a give underfoot and as daylight or staining on the underside of the sheathing. If you are pricing a harness, a dumpster, and a crew’s worth of panels, you are pricing a contractor’s job without the crew.

Repair or replace

Repair an exposed-fastener roof when the field is sound and the leak is a screw, a washer, or a short run of flashing. Replacing washers, tightening fasteners, and swapping a damaged panel is a repair. Price one damaged area on the roof repair guide. A standing seam roof with one damaged panel, a solid deck, and seams that are still closed is a repair. Flashing and boots fail before the field does.

Replace when the washers are cracked across the slopes, the coating has failed, rust is through the panel, the seams are open, or the deck is soft. A patch on a roof that is leaking in many places buys a season. If a repair quote is a large fraction of a replacement quote, price both in writing. An overlay on a roof that is already failing hides the deck and keeps the leak. Tear off.

Leave the metal for later when the asphalt still has years and you are selling soon. A new metal roof does not fix a deck that has failed, and it does not fix an attic that is wet. Dry the leak, replace the soft sheets, and then panel. Price a shingle replacement on the roof replacement guide when metal is the larger check and the stay is short. Price gutters with the roof when the old troughs are at the end of their life, so the drip edge and the gutter are detailed once.

How long the roof lasts is the planning life in the comparison above, not a warranty card. Exposed-fastener lasts in that plan when someone maintains the screws. Standing seam, stone-coated steel, and the premium metals last in that plan when the underlayment and the deck were done. A roof that was laid over rotten plywood can fail in a few seasons. That failure is not the 40-year plan.

How to use this number

Ask two or three roofers for a written price that names the squares, the panel, the metal and the gauge, the finish, whether the job is a tear-off or an overlay, the underlayment, the flashing scope, who pulls the permit, the per-sheet price for decking, and whether snow guards are included. Compare a 2,000 sq ft house of about 15 to 25 squares of galvalume, with one layer torn off, with $13,000–$30,000. Compare the squares on your house with the size table. Compare the profile with $700–$1,100 for exposed-fastener, $900–$1,400 for metal shingles, $1,100–$1,800 for standing seam, and $1,000–$1,700 for stone-coated steel. Compare the metal with $1,100–$1,800 for galvalume standing seam, $1,400–$2,200 for aluminum, and $2,500–$4,500 for copper or zinc. Keep the tear-off, the ordinary underlayment, and the ordinary flashing inside the panel rate. Put a left-out tear-off, a left-out underlayment, decking, extra flashing, snow guards, and a left-out permit on their own lines.

A very low bid on a full house is a reason to ask whether the tear-off, the underlayment, and the flashing are included, not a reason to celebrate. A quote near $8,000 should say a small exposed-fastener roof, not a standing seam house. A high bid should point at squares, standing seam, aluminum, copper, a second layer, access, or the labor market. Two or three local bids on the same roof, the same panel, and the same tear-off are the number that matters. How this site sets the band is explained on the methodology page.