Standing seam and metal roofing in Los Angeles
The metal roofing contractors Los Angeles homeowners spend weeks trying to find. Standing seam, metal shingle and commercial metal roofs, installed by a crew that does the seaming itself. The longest lasting roof we install, and the lightest, Class A fire rated, and cool roof rated in the finishes you'd want anyway.
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Get a free metal roof estimate
A crew lead measures the roof, talks through profile, gauge and finish, and prices it in writing beside a shingle roof if you want the comparison. We call you back within one business hour.
Why metal roofers are hard to find in Los Angeles, and why we do it
Plenty of Los Angeles roofers install shingle and tile and, if pushed, a flat roof, and not much else. Standing seam is a different trade. The panels are formed to length, fastened to the deck with hidden clips, and joined at the seams by hand or by a seaming machine. There are no exposed screws, no shingles to overlap, and no room to be roughly right. A crew has to be trained on it and equipped for it, and not many are, which is why a homeowner who wants a metal roof here ends up calling ten companies to find one.
We're one. Kevin's crew installs standing seam, metal shingle and exposed fastener panel roofs, does the seaming itself, and repairs metal roofs other people installed. It's a small part of what many roofers do and a real part of what we do.
Typical life
40 to 60 years
Weight
The lightest roof we install
Fire rating
Class A
Cool roof
Yes, most finishes
Solar
Clamps to the seam, no holes
Cost
The most per foot, and the least per year
Profiles, gauges and finishes, in plain English
Three things decide what a metal roof looks like, how long it lasts and what it costs. Every proposal names all three.
Standing seam
Vertical panels with raised seams and no exposed fasteners. The roof on a modern home. Snap lock seams for most pitches, mechanically seamed where the roof is low or the wind is high.
Metal shingle and stone coated steel
Metal pressed to look like shake, slate or tile, at a fraction of the weight. For the house that wants the look of tile on framing that can't carry it.
Exposed fastener panel
Corrugated and ribbed panels screwed through the face. Workshops, garages, warehouses and barns. Cheapest metal roof, and the screws are what fail first, which is why they need checking.
Gauge
The thickness of the steel. 24 gauge is the standing seam standard and what we recommend on a house, because it lies flatter and resists dents. 26 gauge is thinner and cheaper, and fine on a shed. If a quote doesn't name the gauge, ask, because the price only makes sense once you know it.
Finish
The paint is the roof's sunscreen. A PVDF finish, sold under the Kynar name, keeps its color for decades in Los Angeles sun. Cheaper polyester finishes chalk and fade in ten. Most PVDF colors are cool roof rated, so Title 24 is met without choosing white.
What metal is good at, and what it isn't
We install shingle, tile and metal, so we don't need you to choose metal. Here's the honest version.
Lasting, staying light, and shrugging off fire
- 40 to 60 years, the longest of any roof we install, with a finish warranted for decades
- Light. Goes on framing that could never carry tile, and on ADUs and additions without a structural fuss
- Class A fire rated and doesn't ignite from embers, which matters on every hillside and in every fire zone in the city
- Reflective finishes meet Title 24 and cut attic heat in August
- Solar panels clamp to the seams with no holes through the roof, so the roof and the array can both last
- Sheds rain and debris. Nothing to rot, crack, curl or grow moss
Cost, details, and finding a repairer
- The highest cost per square foot of any residential roof. It earns it over thirty years, not over five
- Expansion and contraction. Metal moves with heat, and the clips, the flashings and the trim have to be detailed for it or the roof works loose. This is the part that separates a metal roofer from a roofer with a metal job
- Oil canning. Slight waviness in flat panel areas on a hot day. Cosmetic, reduced by thicker gauge and striations, never fully gone
- Noise is mostly a myth on a house, where the deck and the attic insulation absorb it. On a bare warehouse roof it's real
- Repairs need a metal roofer, and there aren't many. We are one, and we fix roofs we didn't install
Weighing it against shingle on your own house? Read metal roof versus shingles in Los Angeles, or ask us to price both on the same estimate.
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Metal on homes, ADUs and buildings
The same steel, three very different jobs.
Homes
Standing seam on modern and mid century homes, metal shingle on the house that wants the look of shake without the fire risk, and any home in a fire zone where a Class A roof that won't catch an ember is the sensible spec. The standing seam metal roof Los Angeles architects draw is the one we install.
ADUs and additions
Light, quick, and it flashes cleanly into an existing roof. Metal roof installation Los Angeles ADU builders ask for because it goes on in days and carries no weight the new framing wasn't designed for. See ADU and new construction roofing.
Warehouses and workshops
Commercial metal roofing across the South Bay is mostly older corrugated roofs with backed out screws and surface rust. We replace fasteners, treat the rust and coat the panels for years more service, or replace panels where they've rusted through. See industrial and warehouse roofing.
Emergency tarp going on
Leak stopped at the source
Storm damage before repair
Metal roof repair, including roofs we didn't install
Metal roofs rarely fail in the panel. They fail at the screws, the seams, the flashings and the finish, and every one of those is fixable.
Backed out fasteners
On exposed fastener roofs the screws work loose and their washers perish. Replaced with oversized fasteners and new washers, panel by panel.
Seams and flashings
A seam that's opened, a ridge cap that's lifted, a chimney or wall flashing that's pulled away with the movement. Resealed or refabricated.
Rust and finish failure
Surface rust treated and the panels coated. Panels rusted through are replaced. A chalked finish is recoated before it becomes rust.
Damaged panels
A dented, punctured or wind lifted panel replaced with a matching profile, seamed back into its neighbors.
If you've got a metal roof and can't find anyone to look at it, call us. Metal roof repair is a big share of the metal work we do, and much of it is on roofs someone else put on. See roof repair for how a repair visit works.
How a metal roof goes on
Four steps, and the second one is longer than on any other roof, because the panel plan is the roof.
Measure and plan
Every run measured to the inch, because panels are formed to length. The deck, the pitch and every penetration mapped.
The proposal
Profile, gauge, finish and color, the underlayment, how the seams and every flashing will be detailed for movement, the warranty on the finish, and shingle priced beside it if you want the comparison.
Panels and install
Panels formed and delivered, high temperature underlayment down, clips set, panels laid and seamed, trim and flashings fabricated on site.
Inspection and warranty
City inspection passed, the roof walked with you, the finish warranty registered and our guarantee in writing.
What a metal roof costs in Los Angeles
More than shingle, less than you'd think per year of roof. Quotes from the metal roofing contractors Los Angeles homeowners compare vary a lot, and here's what moves them.
- Profile. Standing seam costs the most. Metal shingle sits below it. Exposed fastener panel is the cheapest metal roof by a distance.
- Gauge and finish. 24 gauge with a PVDF finish costs more than 26 gauge polyester, and lasts decades longer. This is the line to compare between quotes.
- Roof shape. A simple gable is quick. Hips, valleys, dormers and a lot of penetrations mean more trim, more flashing and more hand work.
- Tear off and deck. Old roofing off, and the deck sound and flat, because metal shows every bump beneath it.
- Details. The clips, the underlayment, the fabricated trim. The parts a low quote leaves out and a roof works loose without.
Every estimate is free, in writing, with the profile, gauge and finish named, and shingle priced beside it if you ask. Read metal roof versus shingles for the long term math.
Metal roofing near you
Our office is on La Brea Avenue in Inglewood, and we're the metal roofing contractors Los Angeles homeowners call from the South Bay, the Westside, the hillside fire zones and most of the city. If you searched metal roofing contractors near me and got a list of shingle roofers, we're the one on it that does metal.
- Inglewood, our home base
- Culver City
- Gardena
Metal roof questions we get asked most
How long does a metal roof last?
40 to 60 years for a standing seam roof in 24 gauge steel with a PVDF finish, which is longer than any other roof we install. The finish is usually warranted for decades on its own. Exposed fastener panel roofs last less, because the screws and washers need replacing along the way.
Is a metal roof loud when it rains?
Not on a house. The roof deck, the underlayment and the attic insulation absorb it, and most people can't tell the difference from shingle. On a bare warehouse roof with nothing under the panels, yes, it's louder.
How much more does metal cost than shingle?
Roughly two to three times a shingle roof for standing seam, depending on the profile, gauge and finish. Over thirty years, when the shingle roof has been done twice, metal is usually the cheaper roof. Read metal roof versus shingles.
Does a metal roof make the house hotter?
The opposite, with the right finish. A cool roof rated PVDF finish reflects more sun than shingle does, and the roof cools off fast after sunset because it holds almost no heat. It's one of the easiest ways to meet Title 24. See cool roofs and Title 24.
Is metal a good roof for a fire zone?
It's the best one. Class A fire rated, and it won't catch an ember, which is how most homes in a wildfire are lost. Paired with ember resistant vents and closed eaves, it's the roof the hillside codes are written around.
Can I put solar on a metal roof?
Yes, and it's the best roof for it. Panels clamp to the standing seams with no holes through the roof, so there's nothing to leak, and the roof outlasts the array instead of needing replacement halfway through its life.
Standing seam or corrugated?
Standing seam on a house. Hidden fasteners, clean lines, the longest life. Corrugated or ribbed panel on a workshop, garage, barn or warehouse, where cost matters more than looks and the exposed screws can be checked and replaced over the years.
Can you repair a metal roof someone else installed?
Yes, and it's most of the metal repair we do. Backed out fasteners, opened seams, pulled flashings, rust and dented panels. If you've been told nobody works on metal, call us.
The last roof you'll put on the house
Get a free estimate from a crew that actually does metal. Profile, gauge and finish named in writing, the details for movement explained, and shingle priced beside it if you want to see the difference.