The Carolina Contractor Show
The Carolina Contractor Show
The Roofing Breakdown You Need...Big Decision!!!
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Football jokes aside, we pivot hard into a practical, no-nonsense guide to choosing the right roof. Donnie draws on decades of contracting and roofing experience to decode the real trade-offs between asphalt shingles, designer lines, and metal systems, with blunt talk about warranties, wind ratings, and the hidden details that make or break a roof over time.
We walk through why certified, local, licensed, and insured roofers matter far more than a slick quote. You’ll hear how modern architectural shingles can carry 50-year warranties when installed to spec, why three-tabs are fading, and where designer shingles earn their keep with striking curb appeal. We also get tactical about metal: paint systems like Kynar vs cheap coatings, steel versus aluminum near the coast, and how gauge and fastening method change your long-term risk of leaks and hail dents. If you’ve ever wondered whether a white metal roof slashes your power bill, we break down the building science—attic ventilation, radiant barriers, and duct placement do the heavy lifting.
Tile gets a reality check for weight and cost, while mixed-material strategies deliver a smart middle ground: shingle main roofs with metal accents on porches and returns. We round it out with insurance insights you can use today—why notifying your carrier after a new roof can reduce premiums, why some insurers scout roof age ahead of binding coverage, and how documentation protects your wallet. Looking to upgrade? Ask for recent local installs, validate certifications and licensing, and confirm how warranties transfer when you sell.
If you’re planning a roof or just want to be a sharper homeowner, this is your field guide. Subscribe, share with a neighbor comparing bids, and leave a review with your roofing questions—we’ll tackle them on a future show.
Welcome to the Carolina Contractor Show with your host, General Contractor Donnie Blanchard. Oh, the conversations Donnie and I have off the air. How you doing, Donnie Blanchard? Man, I'm having a great day, great night ahead. How about you? It's good. It's a new year and kicked it off with some unseasonably warm weather in the new year, but that's North Carolina, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:No doubt. January came about a month early, and I was over here complaining until I got 70 degrees with New Year's, you know, 65 degree Christmas, and I don't think you could ask for much more than that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, just everybody gets temporarily inspired and gets this weird spring fever, but I'm sure February's gonna, you know, come in and knife us in the back and say, I'm here, MFers, with a hammer. Before you get into uh today's episode of the Carolina contractor show, we need to jump back a little bit and talk some football because as I've talked throughout uh the football season, I accidentally got into a fantasy football league and I've never done it before and uh accidentally did pretty well. How'd you do this year? Because I know you're a big fan of fantasy football. It's so funny.
SPEAKER_00:Uh you already know the answer to this, but I appreciate you bringing it up on the show. Um I made it to the playoffs and I fought from 10th place to third and finished third in the regular season, but um I got knocked out by a couple of points by the guy who ended up going all the way to the championship and got beat there. But I think that our championship in our league, to say how kooky it was this year, was the fifth and sixth place team in the finals. So everybody that did good paid attention to it, you know, had to succumb to somebody with a losing record and, you know, just kind of a weird football season.
SPEAKER_01:Listeners of the show over the past couple years know my uh skill with the NCAA uh sweep the bracket system, 64 teams. Uh I started a new gig and I won it the first two years consecutively, and they didn't like it, so fantasy football popped up and I accidentally got involved in that. Finished eight and six on the year. Not bad. But then everybody has a chance in the playoffs, and I ended up winning the whole thing. And I didn't know what I was doing, and they're mad at me now.
SPEAKER_00:Well, let them be mad, dude. I'm proud of you. And and I will say that honestly, you never asked me for any kind of advice in your first year. And usually when somebody starts out and we start talking about it and we we get into these text messages, and I'm giving waiver wire referrals and all the things, but yeah, you did that one on your own, dude. I mean, that's that's something to hold your head high about.
SPEAKER_01:And I want to mention also, I let the machine auto draft for me, but on week three, somebody dropped uh Matt Stafford with the Rams, and I picked him up, and then he went on a storm. Yeah. Uh I had games where he was doing 50, 60 points by himself. So whoever in my league dropped uh Stafford, thank you very much. It was a big part of me winning the um whole thing this year. And I'm gonna get one of them big, like the wrestlers wear those big belts and parade around work for a week, uh just letting everybody know. I didn't know what I was doing, but it don't matter in the end because I got the W for that. All right, real football. Um, I'm gonna ask you a question here, Donnie, before we start on today's uh topic. I don't want to know who you think is gonna win wildcard games, playoff games. I don't even want to know who you think is gonna lose the Super Bowl. Who do you think is gonna win the Super Bowl and a reason why? And then I'll tell you mine.
SPEAKER_00:Well, this might not sound realistic, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyway, and it is it is definitely uh something to think about, very thought provocative. I'm gonna stick with the Carolina Panthers because they squeaked into the playoffs. I know it's a long shot, I know it. But I'm also a tried and true Carolina Panther fan. We've been through some tough stuff, and if anybody out there listening uh has followed Carolina, the the last few years have been just brutal, and we are in a total rebuilding phase. However, I think we're in that uh crossover moment where several games last year were within two or three points, and we lost those games. Several games this year we were within two or three points, and we won those games. You know, we got a home playoff game coming up. We played great at home against a team that we've already beat one time this year, but that's not why I'm saying this. The Carolina Panthers have made Super Bowl appearances in 2003 and 2015, okay? Follow me here. Their first game of those seasons were against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jennifer Lopez also got a divorce from her husband in both of those years, and the Ohio State Buckeyes won the college football championship in the season prior to both of those years. Well, guess what happened last year? Mm-hmm. I'm sorry, before this season.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Jennifer Lopez divorced again. Yep. We started the season out against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which we lost, but they were a worthy opponent. And the Ohio State Buckeyes won the championship last year. So that's my logic and reasoning. I'm going to stick to it. And um we're going to plow through the playoffs. We're going to beat uh the Rams again at home. Um, calling it right now. And um I think that it's a fresh start in the playoffs, man. It's anybody's game. And if anything, this year it's as up in the air as it's ever been. So go Panthers. Keep pounding, baby.
SPEAKER_01:And I would be perfectly content and happy if that happened. I don't think there's a chance in hell it's gonna happen, but I'd be perfectly content with that. Um, Carolina also set a record by making the playoffs this year. They've done something no other team has done twice now. Do you know what that is? No. Made the playoffs with a losing record. Ah. So maybe it is. I think it was 2014 that they did it. But uh that would be cool. I mean, I will be rooting for the Panthers. Now, I have no allegiance to this team. Everybody knows I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Of course, they self-imploded mainly because the Taylor Swift jinx. Um I mean, she she's making the team move. That's how much of a jink she is. They have to get a new stadium. Um, but I go on one thing, and that is who had the most points for and against who dominated in those categories. And it's straight up uh Seattle Seahawks uh scored the most, uh allowed the second fewest points of the season. And when it comes down to it, it's your margins. If you can score a lot and keep your other team from scoring a lot, you can go deep. And I think Seattle has gotten stronger and more cohesive as the season wound down. So I think that they're gonna win the Super Bowl. And also the last time they won the Super Bowl, um, uh Ben Affleck got divorced. So I don't think that's true.
SPEAKER_00:But um he was one of he was one of the Lopez uh divorcees. So um, and to your point, I agree with the Seahawks are strong and they have the momentum going in the playoffs, and we saw how important that was last year. You know, the Redskins. Oh, am I allowed to say that? Anyway, uh everybody knows that's what they are. So exactly. They went up against the 15-2 Detroit Lions last year and just blew them out of the water. So again, it's anybody's game in the playoffs, and um I do I don't fear Seattle. Uh they've always been a thorn in Carolina side because they're our you know one of our biggest uh NFC opponents. But uh side note there, we played them a couple of weeks ago and the score was three to three at halftime. So yeah, you know, that that gave me a little more hope, and we made you know just a couple of plays in the second half uh determined the outcome of the game. But Seattle is very strong. I can't disagree with that, but I am hopeful that the Cats pull it out.
SPEAKER_01:I will say this. Carolina greatly impressed me with how they turned around the season. Remember, they had um a young bench for what, two games? Oh, yeah. So he recovered. Some quarterbacks could just self-implode, they'd just become a mental case, and he came back. So I think that they are only going to get better over the next couple of seasons. They have a couple positions they need to address, but the team as a whole is greatly improved and I think surprised a lot of people. Well, they're in the playoffs. No one had them in the playoffs.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, there were a handful of games we should have won this year, and we can say that every year. But um, yeah, I I do I do feel like when things are hitting on all cylinders and everybody's healthy on the roster that that we're a pretty darn good team.
SPEAKER_01:All right, I I didn't plan to ask this question, but we'll make this quick. Who do you not want to win?
SPEAKER_00:Oh gosh, everybody that I don't like is kind of out of there, but uh I don't want San I I'm I'm torn on San Francisco. I'm a Christian McCaffrey fan. I'd like to see him uh have a championship under his belt before he retires. But um, yeah, I'll just say that. The Jaguars, you know, they're they've got a little momentum in the AFC going into this thing. Um, but we were the same, we were the expansion team that came into the NFL with the Jaguars in the 90s, so I don't want them to win one before we do, so I'll go Jaguars.
SPEAKER_01:And I have um I but see uh that game in particular is what I want the Jags to win. I have Josh Allen fatigue. Their fans are so obnoxious about how great he is, and I'm not gonna knock his his talent. He has a little bit of a choking problem in that last game uh the season that he really needed to win. I mean, he just blew a wide open pass, and everybody's oh, this is the year, you had to go through Burrow and Jackson and Mahomes, and they're out this year. And I'm like, so you have no excuse. But I'm just tired of the Buffalo fans of how great he is. So if he doesn't make it to the Super Bowl, they need to find new QB. Sorry if that insults you, Buffalo fans, but the guy's five years in a row been talked about the man, but he can't do it. He just that might be more of a Buffalo curse. I don't know. Yeah, you're right, because I mean 0-4 and four straight Super Bowl sings. Yeah. All right, let's uh let's get the show because this isn't the sports show, but it was pretty cool to talk about sports. This is a Carolina contractor show, and uh, we like to talk about houses and building and construction and DIY, and and we also like to watch football. We're sure the uh men and women out there too who like to do DIY and stuff, also like football this time of year. So, what we do every week is we talk about uh those subjects, and sometimes we narrow in on one. Today we're gonna do that. Uh hit the website, thecarolinacontractor.com. That's where we got all the links to the show. We also are on YouTube, so you can watch us uh in our uh just incredible physiques, talk about uh home repair and and DIY projects. And if you have a question about your house or something you want us to talk about as a topic, there's an ask the contractor button. Those go to Donnie. Donnie is a general contractor, so he can answer all those questions. And sometimes we do a questions only show. We got podcasts, literally hundreds of episodes. Most podcasts average three to five episodes and then they're done. We've been doing those for years, so we've got a lot of information you might want to check out at the Carolinacontractor.com. But today we decided to ask AI uh what it thought about roofs, a roof rundown, shingles, tile, metal. What did it think? Its pros and cons. So today we're gonna talk about some of its answers and if they are true or not. Uh do we, Donnie, want to go in why you you're good to be on this episode? Uh sure. Have a Donnie owns SureTop Roofing. So uh this isn't a commercial for his business, but it shows the experience he has in roofing. So he's gonna give some insight on uh roofing and and these answers. So maybe I'll kind of sometimes, Donnie, give the answer AI did to a a question or an inquiry, and and you can give your opinion on that. Sure. Uh I do want to start off with two things that we've always preached about roofing. Number one, use a local roofer who's licensed, who's insured, and certified with a roofing material they're gonna be installing, like it's uh GAF or Certain Teed or whatever it is. And no roofer will be hesitant to show you all that paperwork, show you that, hey, I'm certified to do this because warranty work and warranties on roofing is going to be dependent on if a certified installer did it. This has nothing to do with people who aren't installers or certified installers. There are many, many fine roofing companies that may not be certified, but you need to know about the warranty and take that in consideration.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. That's a great point. I want to add one thing to that, Eric. Um, if you get a certified roofer, uh basically you're eliminating the need to ask for their insurance because if they're certified with a manufacturer, they vet you and they check your insurance uh qualifications from the get-go. So that's one thing. However, you can be certified and not local, and you can be certified and not licensed. So those are the right questions to ask from a homeowner standpoint. You want to make sure that that they have a either a contractor license or a roofing license in that state. Uh I want to say the threshold is up to$40,000 now. So if you've got a project, you definitely need to make sure they have the license to cover that. And then with the internet and the research you can do on your own, you can determine whether or not they're local or if they're just a you know a local branch of an of a national company. So I definitely encourage local. And you know, if something happens, you want to be to be able to pick that phone up and have somebody who lives in your town to come do the repair or address any kind of issues you have. But yeah, those are local, licensed, insured, and certified are the four main things to look for.
SPEAKER_01:It also allows you to go ask them, hey, where are some houses around here you've done recently and go look at them in person to a company that's coming, you know, 50 miles, 60 miles away might not have any of that. It's good to be able to see some of the work in the neighborhood and maybe even chat to people that live in your town about the work that was done. Absolutely. Uh another big thing, if you have your roof redone, especially if you have a new roof put on, let your insurance company know. Anytime you have major work done on your house, an improvement or repair, let your insurance company know because they might change the rates they're charging you on premiums, but a new roof will in most cases they'll give you some sort of uh discount. We're talking dollars. It's not like you're gonna see your insurance go down 50%. Um, but it's always a good thing to find out hey, I just got a brand new roof put on. It was by a certified installer, it was this. Is that a good thing to know? They want to know that. And you talked about, you know, some companies are very hesitant to insure you if your roof isn't new or is very old.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, they actually are proactive about that now, and and I run into this more now than I did, say, even two or three years ago, and they go out and scout these people. So if you apply for a new policy, they're gonna go check that house out before they issue your your policy and bind you to that coverage because they want to know if you're coming to them with a 30-year-old roof and you've got a three-tab shingle, they know that that's prone to wind damage or hail damage or something like that. And they're probably going to ask you to replace the roof before they insure you, or they're going to jack the coverage up uh enough that they come out on the good side of that should you have a claim for the roof. So what you said was true a couple of years ago. You're talking dollars to that are that are saved monthly on your premiums if you do have a new roof. I think that that's probably in the hundreds uh over a uh the span of twelve months because now they care so much more about that and they they assess you as a bigger risk if you have an older roof. Um a lot of times they don't know what they're talking about. They'll do a drive-by on a roof that's five, eight years old and tell you you need a new roof just because they see algae streaking and things like that. But it's a real thing, and it is good to be proactive if you do um if you do replace your roof. I agree with you 100%. Please let them know because uh if you've been paying the same premiums for years and you qualify for a lesser premium premium, that's only to your advantage. And what you said earlier, uh, we talked about fortified roofs and the way that those are installed. When you get a little closer to the coast, there's definitely significant savings from an insurance standpoint on those. Uh fortified is the word. Very good.
SPEAKER_01:The thing I asked the uh AI was uh what are the most popular types of materials? And it said asphalt shingles, tile, clay, and metal. And you would agree with that, maybe not in that order, but you would agree those are probably the top three or maybe top two. I don't know how many people ask for tile.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, a lot of people call shingles tile. They they they have been told that, and their parents said that, and grandparents said that, so they they call shingles tile, but I know what you're saying. Tile's more more like a uh slate tile that's made from real slate, and uh those are we we never do those. We repair those. So we do a lot of work at the Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, and uh we repair those, but we we don't put on anything as heavy as that anymore because uh the impacts it may have structurally on the foundation on an older home. You know, that slate's awful heavy, and they also make so many verses of synthetic slate now that it just doesn't make sense to go with the real thing.
SPEAKER_01:So the AI said the most popular is asphalt shingles, and I'm sure you would agree with that, um, that they're the lowest cost, easy to install, 20-30 lifespan is what AI says they are, and the pros were that cheap up cheaper upfront cost, quick install, easy to repair, and you have tons of options when it comes to look. Uh, how much of that do you agree with?
SPEAKER_00:Uh 20 to 30. Uh that's that's partially right. Uh three tab shingles range anywhere from twenty to twenty-five years. We never ever do. We've done three three tabs in 17 years, something like that. And um architectural shingles kind of replace the three-tab, and architectural shingle warranties are 50 years nowadays, uh, and that is only if you install them a certain way and have a certified contractor install those, so that's important to reference back to the beginning of the show. But um the when they said you have more options color-wise, that's that's for sure. But also there are more designer shingle lines out and available than there were 10 years ago. So those are different shapes that are made to simulate things like slate and cottagey looks on the house. As a matter of fact, where our showroom, we have all the prominent designer shingles on a big uh display board, and we also have pictures above the display board showing how they look on a real house. But uh, my prediction is that designer shingles will not displace architectural shingles, but they'll be a big part of the market sometime in the next decade. And if I had to say three tabs will become obsolete in that same amount of time.
SPEAKER_01:So we've got some of those designer shingles, and you compare them against the architectural, man, they look pretty. And if you're in a neighborhood that everybody's got architectural, if you can afford it and you bump up to those designer ones, just that alone will make your house just stand out in such a great way. I think they're beautiful. There is a price point on them, though.
SPEAKER_00:The price point's the big the big uh difference, but the warranty is the exact same. They're still 50-year shingles, just like the architectural. So I'm up front with all of our customers because that's the only way to do business. But the the fact that um you know some people want to spend that extra five, six, eight thousand dollars on the uh designer shingles, it just gives me the feeling that maybe they're in a contest with their neighbor. They just want to one up that guy, and hey, so be it. I'll give you anything you want.
SPEAKER_01:And uh I think don't the designers take like five bundles of square versus three? Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Uh some are four and some are five because uh because of the weight, and they're they're just that much heavier, and which I don't understand how they still are a 50-year warranty, but because of the weight, they can only put so much per bundle. And I want to say a bundle of architecturals is about 75 pounds, the designers can get up closer to 90 to 100.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Uh AI says the problem with asphalt shingles, Donnie, is they have a shorter life compared to metal. Uh, they're prone to wind and hail damage, and they're less efficient unless you do some special prep. True or false.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, um, so just in comparison to metal, uh, that with a 50-year non-prorated warranty that's transferable one time with shingles, that's pretty darn strong. And that's only been a thing for the last, what, 12, 15 years. Uh, with metal, uh, there's two the the paint system is everything with metal. And basically uh you want to make sure that you don't get a siliconized polyester paint system. When you see all these sheds and uh carports on every corner in the county for sale, that metal only has a 10-year paint warranty. So red's gonna be pink, black's gonna be gray, and it's only a matter of time before that happens. When people want to put that on a residential house because they like the look of metal and they like the price, they're not thinking of the end game because you're not gonna be happy with the product in a decade. Uh the Kainar and Valspar, and people are familiar with those names in the paint world, those have a 40 year paint warranty on those. So you want to make sure if you go with metal that you want to get the 40 year paint warranty. So just in terms of years, 40 year paint warranty on metal versus a 50 year shingle warranty, the shingles still are the best bang for the buck. However, uh the folks from the metal uh place will tell you pretty quick that if you maintain that and you have it cleaned every So often, you know, keep the algae buildup off of there. You're not under a bunch of trees. Uh plenty of wind and sun exposure for that, then you know that that metal roof could technically last forever. And that that is the truth. Uh I've seen older metal that's um far inferior to what we can get our hands on today on these old barns, and you know, it may have a rough spot here and there, but it did its thing for over uh a century, and that's really strong. And considering how far uh the product is advanced nowadays, then then that's not out of the question. But I think it's a look thing more than anything. Uh look and a price thing. Uh, I don't know if I'm getting ahead of myself um with the show here, but metal tends to be three to four times more than shingles. So when you consider that price point of ten thousand versus forty thousand, that's usually uh what makes a decision for folks.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's that upfront costs, and and that's understandable. Sometimes you need to measure the uh bang for the buck is over a time span. If you're gonna pay up front, you might get something that's gonna last longer. Uh, I do want to address, and we're gonna talk very little about um tile roofs because there's since you don't do a lot with it and it's mainly repair, this is gonna kind of automatically jump to shingle asphalt shingles versus metal. But talk about the wind warranty real quick because that's what AI said. Well, the problem is it's really prone to wind and hail damage.
SPEAKER_00:Um, up until the code book was rewritten for the 2019 ASTM standards, which is what we still go by today, we had a 130 mile an hour wind rating on the the primary shingles we use, which are GAF and Certainteed. Uh, GAF figured out how to re-engineer that shingle so that they now have an unlimited wind rating. There's never been anything like it. They're the only company that actually does that where uh if you lose shingles because of a windstorm, then GAF will actually replace your shingles or your roof or whatever uh they see fit, as opposed to you filing an insurance claim. So there's never been anything that strong in terms of a warranty. And uh certain teach still has a 130-mile-an hour wind rating. I want to say Owens Corning has the same thing, but in my book, from a practical standpoint, if we get 130 mile an hour wind, we're gonna be worried about a whole lot more than the roof, dude. So um, you know, I don't really let that come into play until they got as strong as unlimited, and I definitely think that's a great selling point from that manufacturer. Why do you think AI said uh sh asphalt is less efficient? Because it probably it probably dug way back on the internet. And and you know, when you when you think about if if I were AI and somebody asked me what's the most wind-prone shingle to damage, uh I'm sorry, wind prone roof covering to damage, I would say shingles as well, because they're lumping everything in together. They're lumping in designer shingles, uh, architectural, and three tab. And really, three tabs the only thing you see with a lot of wind damage, unless it's a straight line wind, uh, in just the perfect situation. Maybe the shingles were high-nailed, uh, something like that. So usually if you have a wind issue with architectural, it was an installation error. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:And again, we were gonna talk a little bit about clay or concrete tiles, but I think we should kind of skip it because that's something you think in the Mediterranean, maybe in the southwest, there are areas here, as you mentioned, uh in your neck of the woods that you might uh do maintenance on them, but for the most part, they're not around. Uh looks great. They have a great lifespan. Um, they're elegant. Uh you think ritzy people living out under palm trees and and things like that, but it's expensive, heavy. I'm assuming you definitely have to know if that roof can hold it and do some reinforcement before you'd put something like uh literal clay or ceramic tiles on a roof. Yeah. Um, and I imagine they're a bear to install.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh. Well, it's really it's funny. I learned something, and this is when I was an insurance adjuster in my 20s because I spent a lot of time in Florida and uh they had terracotta tile roofs everywhere. And I figured out really quick that when those terracotta tiles would blow off, number one, they turn into missiles, so they're extremely dangerous during a hurricane. They did more damage uh coming off of a roof than the winds did to the house. But um, the terracotta tile that you see is is really just decorative. The real roofing is a 90-pound felt under that. To give you an example, uh the roofing felt we used before we had synthetic underlayment available was a 15 or a 30-pound. So there's a 90-pound, uh, a 90-pound felt that goes down below that and it's actually put together with an ad with an adhesive. And then, of course, those um those terracotta tiles act as a sunscreen for that. So they they work in terms of keeping the uh sun exposure limited and and um and they keep a lot of the water off of that 90-pound felt, but they're not even the real roofing product when it comes to to water intrusion, it's the 90-pound felt.
SPEAKER_01:And I don't want to even get into the cost. I mean, I don't want a roof that costs more than the rest of my house. Exactly. Uh so let's jump over the metal. I asked the AI about that. You got steel, aluminum, copper panels, shingles. I mean, there's a lot of things that it kind of group together. Um, and some of them, some of them, some of them look kind of like shingle, which I just find ironic. Hey, I want a metal roof, but make it look like asphalt. That doesn't that just isn't making sense in my in my finite brain. But it also depends on the gauge. You know, usually it's 29 or 26 gauge, what you're looking for when you're getting roofing material. Uh the lower number is actually a little bit thicker. Okay, so real quick, AI says the lifespan is 40 to 70 years. It's more efficient because it reflects heat, uh, lightweight compared to what uh fire resistant. Okay. Uh, and you have some more choices. There's three or four different styles. So, number one, lifespan, we kind of talked about if it's maintained 70, 100 years, not out of the question, right?
SPEAKER_00:I think so. Yeah, and and like I said before, it I think the price point is what seems to be the main determinant for everybody. And um uh this is so darn expensive that I don't know if it um I don't know if that if it's worth it. I I just um think with with the other variations that you mentioned, it's an asphalt-coated metal. There's things like that, and the way they go together, there a lot of them are screwed down, which is the same as a uh standing seam metal system would be installed. I think that's very strong. If I were on the coast, uh I would probably want metal or I'm sorry, aluminum down there because it goes on the same way. And the difference between aluminum and metal, uh, if you held them in your hand, uh metal metal, which is steel, is a pound per square foot. Aluminum is a half pound per square foot. So if you hold them both in your hand, um one is is half the weight and it feels like it shouldn't even be used on a roof, but the kicker there is that aluminum substrate under the paint is warranted as well as the paint. So um it's more expensive because of that reason. And the rule of thumb is that everything within five miles of the coastline should be aluminum. A lot of people do metal anyway, but they get you know a fraction of the lifespan out of that.
SPEAKER_01:Is uh energy efficiency, though, really dependent on what you've got under it, the roof too, not just because nobody just puts metal on a roof with uh the bare structure of the beams or you know, shingles. So isn't it really determined by how you've installed and insulated under it to determine which is more energy efficient?
SPEAKER_00:Um I I don't I don't really see that. I when I was the uh had the adjuster gig in my twenties, I used to have a thermometer that hung off of my tool belt about knee height, and every roof I got on, I was obsessive, compulsive about checking the the thermometer and seeing the temperature of of every uh different color and and from the light gray to the dark black, they all varied about five degrees max. So I really think that from an energy efficiency standpoint, there's a lot of factors that come into play there. Do you have your air handler in your attic? You know, are there is there a lot of ductwork that can sweat and be affected by hot temperatures? Uh like you mentioned before, you can install metal panel, metal panels over stripping. You don't even have to have plywood in place. But I think that the plywood is a is a nice thermal barrier. Um, and then uh you know, having the uh radiant barrier on the backside of the plywood, the the product we talk about tech shield, I think that makes a little bit of a difference for energy efficiency. If you have all your your air handler and uh most of your equipment under the house instead of over the house, that that impacts that. But there's there's so many factors, and every house is different. But just the metal itself, I'm gonna say no, it really doesn't impact that. At the coast, bone white and and bright white are two popular colors. I mean, there's no denying that a white roof is gonna reflect more than a black roof in a hot environment. But in terms of how that affects the cost of your utilities, I don't think it's uh a significant savings at all.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and of course, I do agree it's uh fire and wind resistant. Wind that's relative. I mean, you've got to have it secured correctly. It's not like it's you just set it on your roof, but of course it's gonna be fire resistant. Think California, all the when uh or anywhere a fire goes, when you have embers going through, uh, metal isn't gonna catch fire. So that's kind of a duh answer, I thought.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I want to add one more thing. Um, we've talked about this on several shows, but the big breakdown uh when you consider the comparisons between the two products with metal, uh, because everybody in their brain that's not uh up to speed on on roofing thinks it's all the same stuff. And they have one that's called exposed fastener and one that's called concealed fastener. The exposed fastener is what you see on the carport roofs um and the sheds, and that means all of the fasteners, the screws, are on the outside of the metal. You can see those. I'm not a fan of that because number one, they're exposed to the weather, and uh the ceiling agent's just a washer on on the bottom of that screw head, so you're at the mercy of that washer. Uh southern exposure is usually going to go before any other slope on the roof, and uh, when that happens, it's a needle in a haystack effect. Whereas the standing seam system, you know, 16-inch wide uh panels with one one and a half inch ribs, all those uh clips that hold that on are under those ribs. And so the concealed fastener means all the pancake screws, the flathead screws, are all under that and not exposed to the weather, not exposed to the wind. And I just think those are far superior. And um, with all the houses we have going now, uh the one thing that I'm seeing trend is that people see the price of the metal. And and side note there, metal's up 50% since before the pandemic. And what I buy metal for, I used to could do labor and materials for. So it's a sticker shock on every roof, but some people just want it. If you want it and you just don't want that price tag, my recommendation to everybody is if you have porches, water tables, returns on your house, uh, a gable that's kind of offset, you can you can do metal on those and then just match that with a shingle color. Even though it's two different textures between asphalt and metal, it's a really good look to have uh a mixture of metal and shingles. As a matter of fact, on our uh Facebook, Instagram, and and website, we have tons of examples of that because that seems to be what people have found as a nice financial compromise over the last several years.
SPEAKER_01:Those accent pieces look really good. I've seen several of the houses you've done and definitely works. We address that it has a higher initial cost to metal over asphalt, so we know that can be noisy in the rain. I don't know. I might find that enjoyable, but I guess you could insulate, but that's just kind of a given. That's one of the things you want. Metal, it's gonna kind of react to the weather and sound good. Uh hail might be pretty noisy. Um, and I guess you could get some possibly dents and dings on it, but you can with an asphalt roof. You just would see it on a metal roof easier than uh asphalt roof.
SPEAKER_00:The threshold for that seems to be when you go from 26 to 24 gauge metal, and 24 being the thickest that you would put on a residential application, you know, it doesn't it takes a heck of a hailstone to impact 24 gauge, but the the metal itself is more expensive. The labor is usually the same, but back to what you said on rain on a tin roof, dude, I hear that all the time. I love it. And I have uh I have a uh covered porch outside that borders my deck, and I love sitting out there in the rain because you know there's nothing between me and the metal, and you can just hear it coming down, very relaxing. But we've put metal on people's house, and uh, and they said, Well, I can't hear it. And I'm like, Yeah, well, there's a layer of plywood, a big layer of insulation, a layer of drywall, and maybe even a second floor above your head. So, you know, probably needed to think that through if that's why you went forward with the metal. But uh rain on a tin roof, it isn't something that you hear in in most applications.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's uh Edwin McCain song, rain falls angry on the tin roof. And it's a nice, it's an it can be a nice sound. So I guess overall, again, we're not gonna go focus on the tiles we wrap up, but uh asphalt, it is more um economical to go with that. It's uh it's so popular, your choices are great. Um metal is probably a uh, we're gonna have to call it, it is somewhat of a luxury, and it has a unique look. I've seen some houses in residential areas that put it on a blue metal roof, and you just want to say, oh my Lord Jesus, what were you thinking? This does not fit in a residential area, but they wanted to do it. Could be HOA rules regarding metal roofs. You might want to be careful with that.
SPEAKER_00:The blue roof is the only scenario I've ever seen where people were thankful uh or really needed a homeowner association in place because they would definitely put a stop to that.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, those are if you have a question about a roof, you can go to our website, the Carolina Contractor.com. Again, Donnie knows a lot about them. He's a general contractor. Uh click ask the contractor. And if you have a question about your roof or even just a straight up uh you know, I haven't had anybody look at mine, you can do that. What we do want to stress again that we start at the beginning of this show, what's so important when you are considering that is you need to find someone who's the what was the three L's local, licensed, and uh loving insured local licensed, insured, and certified. L L I C. We're gonna have to work on have uh AI give us uh an acronym for that that we can remind people. Uh very important because when it comes to warranties and replacements or repairs, if it wasn't a certified installer, you might be out of luck if you have shingles blow off or something. Again, nothing against people who aren't licensed or not certified to do it, uh, but being licensed and insured is a huge thing. Have to have that make sure they prove that before you hire them.
SPEAKER_00:Yep, very important. And not a sales pitch at all, but we don't charge anything for inspection. So if you guys have any questions, concerns, or just want us to take a look, uh, you can make an appointment with us at the website. It's SureToproofing.com, S-U-R-E-T-O-P roofing.com.
SPEAKER_01:It's exciting times, and it's exciting that you tuned in. We thank you for doing that. Again, the Carolinacontractor.com is the website. And tune in next week where we hope to hear and see you again and talk about football too, maybe.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks, everybody. We appreciate the support.