Aluminum vs Asphalt
When it’s time to choose a new roof for your southern New England home, here’s a tool for quickly comparing our aluminum roofing products to any and every brand of asphalt shingles. You can choose your future in each of these important areas of impact on your roofing decision.
Our Aluminum Metal Roofing
Any Asphalt Shingle
ENVIRONMENTAL
Aluminum metal roofs are manufactured with up to 95% recycled post-consumer metals. And, they are completely recyclable. That’s good for the planet.
The National Association of Homebuilders Research Center has estimated that 20 BILLION pounds of asphalt shingles are thrown into American landfills every year.
MAINTENANCE
Aluminum roofs when properly installed need no maintenance service. Of course, you should inspect the roof to make sure that no damage has occurred from falling or blown debris after a significant storm.
Asphalt shingle roofs need to be inspected on a regular basis. Damage can occur on several fronts: wind, rain, snow, hail, even insects and animals. It is best to stay ahead of problems in order to minimize the cost of repairs.
ENERGY
Our aluminum metal roofs are Energy-Star rated. Tests have shown 25% savings in cooling costs when a house has an aluminum roof. In the winter, an aluminum roof will keep a house marginally warmer due to the reflectivity back into the house of heat that would otherwise escape.
Standard asphalt shingles have no cooling or heating-related advantages. The opposite is true. One can expect a large heat gain in the summer and no retention of heat in the winter.
DURABILITY
Aluminum roofs are made to last. Hurricane-rated winds, ice, snow, hail, and sunshine will not affect a properly installed aluminum metal roof. Our aluminum roofs are designed with durability that’s guaranteed for a lifetime.
Asphalt shingle roofs are effectively manufactured to fail. “Planned obsolescence” is the key concept here. The usual failures start with the sun causing asphalt shingles to break down and cup, and move on to damage from hail, wind, water, and ice dams. Asphalt shingles have an inherently flawed design, that will not protect your home.
STYLE CHOICES
Aluminum metal roofs are available in multiple shingle styles including a traditional shingle, a slate, a shake, and a Mediterranean barrel tile design. Standing seam in several widths is also a good choice. All are available in many colors.
Asphalt products are available in a few colors, and various shades of brown, gray, and black. Style choices are limited.
STRUCTURAL STRESS
Depending on the style of the roof, our aluminum roofs weigh between 50 and 75 pounds per 100 square feet of coverage.
Depending on the type and manufacturer of the shingles, asphalt roofs weigh between 240 and 400 pounds per 100 square feet of coverage.
BLACK STREAKS
Black streaks are a type of algae that live off the minerals in some types of asphalt shingles. Algae thrive in moist conditions, so it is most commonly found on shaded or north-facing roof slopes that do not get a lot of direct sunlight. There is no place for the algae to get a foothold on the aluminum to cause black streaks.
Black streaks are everywhere on asphalt shingles. It is true that algae do not damage roofing, but it certainly looks bad. It attaches to the granules and indentation of the shingle roof.
INFESTATIONS & SQUIRRELS
Bug infestation is a non-issue; interlocking aluminum panels give bugs no place to go. It’s impossible for squirrels to chew through an aluminum roof to gain access to your home.
Asphalt shingles overlap each other on the roof, which holds moisture and attracts bugs. Squirrels love asphalt roofs because they can chew right through them and enter your home.
LONGEVITY
An aluminum roof can last over 100 years when properly installed. There are aluminum roofs still in service in the U.S. that are well over 100 years old. Our aluminum roofs are warranted for a lifetime.
Asphalt shingle roofs here in New England last an average of 15-20 years, based on location conditions.
TRUE COST
With all the advantages of aluminum as a roofing material, you would expect to pay more. They do have a substantially higher up-front price but the cost of ownership and return on investment over the roof’s lifetime will actually pay you back. Low longterm cost and a transferable warranty for a lifetime line up in our aluminum roofing for cost-effectiveness.
If you want a roof where the up-front price is cheap, asphalt is the way to go. But high long-term costs are what you get with asphalt, in the form of repair, maintenance, and – ultimately replacement costs.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Aluminum metal roofing is one of the best home improvement investments you can make to enhance the value of your home. Recent statistics here in New England assert that you can expect to recover 85% or more of your investment when the house is sold. Of course, then there are all the other benefits you reap every year that your house has an aluminum metal roof.
Asphalt delivers no return on investment, just depreciation of your investment. This type of roof is considered a liability and is often a point of negotiation for lowering the offering price at the time the house is resold.
CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE
Classic Metal Roofs, LLC would love to be a part of it. Born and raised in New England, our family and team will personally serve you with knowledgeable consultants, ironclad factory warranty on workmanship, product and installation, affordable metal roof pricing, and anything else to suit your roofing needs.